How do you get this watch out of its case

[quantieme]

I have this little ladies blancpain that is running really fast and I have know idea how to remove it from its case, there is no back it clearly lifts out from the front but the stem does not appear to be the type that snaps apart as you can see the setting lever holding it in position, I tried removing the dial but no  luck there either and there is no where you can hold the stem to unscrew the crown. Any ideas or am I missing something really obvious.

[quantieme]

Just now, quantieme said:

I have this little ladies blancpain that is running really fast and I have know idea how to remove it from its case, there is no back it clearly lifts out from the front but the stem does not appear to be the type that snaps apart as you can see the setting lever holding it in position, I tried removing the dial but no  luck there either and there is no where you can hold the stem to unscrew the crown. Any ideas or am I missing something really obvious.

Forgot the pics

[jguitron]

Interesting. It would seem that you’ll need to remove the dial and see what’s holding things?

Definitively a front loader

I’m curious to see what the right answer is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[quantieme]

So am I, I have tried lifting the dial but it is pretty firm and I don’t want to apply too much pressure.

[anilv]

14 hours ago, quantieme said:

... but the stem does not appear to be the type that snaps apart as you can see the setting lever holding it in position, ...

Watches with 2-piece stems also have set-levers holding in the part that goes into the movt. The joint is above the set-lever.

Getting the dial off may not help as it looks like the set lever still needs to be unscrewed from the other side.

My guess it there is a removable back but the joint is invisible. Blancpain is a high end manufacturer so they would take pains to get this done right. Take a good look thru a high power loupe, especially the angle where the flat sides start to chamfer in.. Otherwise it may be a 2-piece stem, not really common on ladies movement though.

Try to hold the watch face down over a soft surface and rotate the stem (stem pulled out to the setting position) does the watch try to come out? ie the side away from stem falls away from the case? Try rotating the stem .. sometimes they just fall apart at the right angle. I remember a Ladies Cartier where this was the case.

Good luck

Anilv

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2018 by anilv

[Ishima]

Listen to JDM. it's staring you right in the face. for extra clarification, I've circled where you need to focus your attention. 
At least I think that's right anyway, it looks as if it might be on a setting lever screw, which would mean it wouldn't lift up, but I can think of no other way this would be de-cased if it been designed to fully expose the setting lever with the front of the case removed. 

[wls1971]

How tightly attached is the button to stem I have in the past had to unscrew the crown from the stem to extract movements from ladies watches, some times by doing this it allows just enough clearance for the movement to come out at a angle. I have a pair of tweezers with a right angle end that has allowed me to grip the stem and unscrew the crown.

Although it would be nice to remove the movement have you tried the obvious and  demagnetised the watch to see if this brings the rate down?

[wls1971]

26 minutes ago, jdm said:

Not needed here as the stem release is accessible.

That's based on the assumption there is enough play in the setting lever to be able to lift it and free the stem, all options can be explored until one is proven correct.

Edited February 1, 2018 by wls1971

[quantieme]

57 minutes ago, wls1971 said:

How tightly attached is the button to stem I have in the past had to unscrew the crown from the stem to extract movements from ladies watches, some times by doing this it allows just enough clearance for the movement to come out at a angle. I have a pair of tweezers with a right angle end that has allowed me to grip the stem and unscrew the crown.

Although it would be nice to remove the movement have you tried the obvious and  demagnetised the watch to see if this brings the rate down?

Yes  this has just occurred to me and I have tried it so will give it half an hour and see what happens as it was gaining 6 mins in 30 mins.

i will also try and lift the lever even though it looks like it is screwed on.

[quantieme]

Tried lifting lever but no movement on it at all, Watch still gaining 10 mins in an hour despite demagnetising it and I have looked at the Case thoroughly under a 20x loupe and definitely no join for case back although I can see someone has tried to prise it between the lugs obviously assuming there was a join. I will try later and put some pressure on the stem incase it is a snap fit.

[quantieme]

9 hours ago, anilv said:

Watches with 2-piece stems also have set-levers holding in the part that goes into the movt. The joint is above the set-lever.

Getting the dial off may not help as it looks like the set lever still needs to be unscrewed from the other side.

My guess it there is a removable back but the joint is invisible. Blancpain is a high end manufacturer so they would take pains to get this done right. Take a good look thru a high power loupe, especially the angle where the flat sides start to chamfer in.. Otherwise it may be a 2-piece stem, not really common on ladies movement though.

Try to hold the watch face down over a soft surface and rotate the stem (stem pulled out to the setting position) does the watch try to come out? ie the side away from stem falls away from the case? Try rotating the stem .. sometimes they just fall apart at the right angle. I remember a Ladies Cartier where this was the case.

Good luck

Anilv

 

 

 

Yes it does try and fall out but is stopped by the stem.

[vinn3]

le Carles book has a page and verse on this very subject.  vin

[rodabod]

The set lever would certainly be easy to lift if it was the sprung type, but it could potentially be impossible if it’s screwed down from the other side. 

I’m interested to know what those two large screws are for outside the dial. May just be for the set lever spring, but seems quite far away and quite large. 

[Ishima]

Just a thought and I may be wrong, but if it is a threaded setting lever, could you not grip the threaded post with a pin vice and turn it from the bottom of the keyless to rise the setting lever, much as if you were turning the screw on the top of the movement? I somehow doubt thats proper procedure, but I don't see any actual problem, shouldn't need to grip it hard enough to damage the thread. (again, if there is one)

Any chance of a closer image of the setting lever? you can place an eyeglass over your phone's camera to good effect, usually. 

Edited February 1, 2018 by Ishima

[jdm]

2 hours ago, rodabod said:

The set lever would certainly be easy to lift if it was the sprung type, but it could potentially be impossible if it’s screwed down from the other side. 

I’m interested to know what those two large screws are for outside the dial. May just be for the set lever spring, but seems quite far away and quite large. 

You are right, and I apologize for saying decisively that one can lift this setting lever. To avoid further confusion I've removed my own postings.

I think it's a Peseux 60 or similar, I should have checked first. 

 

Compare to setting lever detail

So, either it has a two pieces stem, or one has to grab the stem possibly after turning the two dial eccentrics and removing the dial, and undo the the crown. 

[quantieme]

15 hours ago, rodabod said:

The set lever would certainly be easy to lift if it was the sprung type, but it could potentially be impossible if it’s screwed down from the other side. 

I’m interested to know what those two large screws are for outside the dial. May just be for the set lever spring, but seems quite far away and quite large. 

Yes it is set lever spring

[quantieme]

15 hours ago, Ishima said:

Just a thought and I may be wrong, but if it is a threaded setting lever, could you not grip the threaded post with a pin vice and turn it from the bottom of the keyless to rise the setting lever, much as if you were turning the screw on the top of the movement? I somehow doubt thats proper procedure, but I don't see any actual problem, shouldn't need to grip it hard enough to damage the thread. (again, if there is one)

Any chance of a closer image of the setting lever? you can place an eyeglass over your phone's camera to good effect, usually. 

I had thought of the turning the screw from above option but had not figured out the best way to grip it, I didn’t think of the pin vice that’s a good idea. Another good idea the loupe over the camera lens would never of thought of that, have enclosed another pic using above method.

[Ishima]

Who knows if there's enough to grip, if not maybe brass tweezers, i can't imagine too much resistance in turning it and a soft metal like brass would be ideal for not damaging the thread. 

[rodabod]

I doubt you could grip that easily and it may crush the threads. I would maybe try covering the hands and dial, and use a slotting file to cut a slot in the end of the setting lever screw. Then just screw (clockwise!) with a screwdriver. 

Stil begs the question of “how did they assemble this?” though. There could still be a split stem where the split is hidden. If you pull it very hard and it isn’t a split, then what’s the worst that could happen? Snapped stem, snapped crown, broken keyless works components?.... might be worth seeing how much spare parts cost in case they are very cheap. 

[jdm]

Can you try try turning 180 deg the larger screws which could be dial eccentrics. lift dial then remove, setting spring, yoke and grab stem to remove crown.

[quantieme]

35 minutes ago, rodabod said:

I doubt you could grip that easily and it may crush the threads. I would maybe try covering the hands and dial, and use a slotting file to cut a slot in the end of the setting lever screw. Then just screw (clockwise!) with a screwdriver. 

Stil begs the question of “how did they assemble this?” though. There could still be a split stem where the split is hidden. If you pull it very hard and it isn’t a split, then what’s the worst that could happen? Snapped stem, snapped crown, broken keyless works components?.... might be worth seeing how much spare parts cost in case they are very cheap. 

I’ve tried the pin  vice it just slipped off,  I will now try the file and slot method thanks. I’ve also tried a fair bit of pressure on the crown and if it was snap fit it would have moved. If this doesn’t work I think I will try and drill through the setting lever hole to remove the screw and source a new lever. I am still intrigued as to how they Cased this watch, logic says that the crown should come off.

[quantieme]

36 minutes ago, jdm said:

Can you try try turning 180 deg the larger screws which could be dial eccentrics. lift dial then remove the yoke, setting spring and grab stem to remove crown.

The top screw is 5he set lever spring.

[jdm]

17 minutes ago, quantieme said:

The top screw is 5he set lever spring.

I don't think so. The spring has two small screws close to the stem. In your picture the screw is bigger and more far away.

 

[quantieme]

10 minutes ago, jdm said:

I don't think so. The spring has two small screws close to the stem. In your picture the screw is bigger and more far away.

 

It looks like a spring on top of a lever?

[jdm]

3 minutes ago, quantieme said:

It looks like a spring on top of a lever?

I think these are the dial retainers and you're seeing the end of the joke below. Half a turn them both and see if the dial comes out.