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VSF Tai-Chi crown repair..

Robocop322

Known Member
21/6/14
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I recently purchased a fantastic VSF Tai Chi PO in near mint condition. The previous owner had modified the stem to operate without the spring as the crown would not screw down. I like the watch however the crown is not very secure. I know this is a common issue however have no idea as to if this is worth repairing. With all the recent problems in China parts are hard to get and at this point I simply want to replace the entire stem assembly.

I have sent messages to several of our trusted watch makers hoping to hear something soon. I am not sure where to start however thought I would ask here first. Does anyone know where I can find the needed parts or perhaps know a member who can repair this Omega Tai Chi? I like the watch so much I am willing to pay for repairs however just know nothing about the parts needed. Thanks for any help with this.
 

mrlemonjello

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22/4/20
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Is it just that the crown doesn't bite onto the threads of the tube? I had that problem with mine and used some pliers to gently squeeze the tube so the threads contacted again.
 
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Robocop322

Known Member
21/6/14
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From what the previous owner explained I believe that was the original problem. He modified it to work without the tube spring and I believe he must have also trimmed the stem allowing it to sit flush however then it was no longer a screw down crown. It worked just fine upon receiving the watch however when I tried to wind it manually the entire crown came off. I did get the crown back on with a little epoxy however must not have got the crown down far enough. It again works fine however after I re-attached the crown it no longer sits flush. There is a very noticeable gap between the crown and case now in the fully closed position. I can live with it however it is otherwise such a nice rep that I would like to just start over and replace the entire stem and tube if possible.

I have actually sent the watch to a friend up North who has a few connections with some local watch repair persons. He is having it inspected for my options as again it is worth a shot to try anything. It is a fantastic rep other than that crown problem. I told my friend that I do not care if he has to use spare parts from his junk drawer or a crown from another branded watch just if he can get it flush and stable enough to wind.....we shall see how it goes.
 

Plaasbaas

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I think there is nothing much to add to what you already accurately described. Originally eather the thread of the crown or the thread of the tube was worn out. If a watch repair person can source and put in a fitting tube your watch is as good as new with a new (longer) stem and new screw down crown.
 
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Robocop322

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21/6/14
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That was the confusing part to me when I first began looking online. There were many different stems listed for all kinds of different movements. I still do not understand how the stem actually works. In other words are all stems identical other than the length and if so I could just use any stem if I trimmed it to size and fit it to any crown with the same diameter. I tried to focus first on the VSF movement for this certain watch and see if I could find anything through our TDs.....none of them could get me the parts.

Then I started searching to see if anyone had used a stem from some other type movement and found nothing online. I do know the watch is listed as having a VSF Custom Made Super Rep Omega 8500 movement. The case is listed as 43.5mm however again I found nothing for the part number of this case just to have a starting point. The watch is a has a GMT hand so I started looking to see if a stem from any GMT automatic movement in any 43.5 mm watch would possibly work. Again I found all kinds of threads talking about the pinched tube fix however none where anyone had actually replaced parts or modified other parts to work.

From what I have read this seems to be a very common problem with all of these very popular VSF Omega reps. I kind of assumed someone would have by now figured out how to remedy this with easily available parts however it seems it is not that simple. So other than length is the stem from say a 2813 movement the same as the stem from the VSF GMT movement?

Surely it is not that simple as I kind of imagine that there surely must be little gears and notches along the stem that are different for each type movement. These are surely newbie questions and I apologize if the answer is obvious however again I am still learning the basics. I do try to do my own research yet for this topic have found nothing in any forums. I do see where hundreds of people love the VSF Planet Ocean yet also see where hundreds complain of the "wobbly" and weak crown stem issue. Many have broken and I have yet to find one thread with details of actually replacing all the parts. I did find where some have been able to make a gen tube fit and also a gen crown stem where others have said this did not work well for them.

I do not care if it looks gen or not or even if the crown is unbranded from some other junk watch. I would settle for a dang DHGate crown, Vostok tube, and generic 2813 stem if it would somehow work and sit flush. Anyway sorry such a long response I am just a little frustrated. Perhaps my friends watch repair person can pull off a repair and I will update this once I hear back from him.
 

Plaasbaas

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I'm no expert, but what little I know I share gladly. Had a broken stem once and ended up buying a generic one separately. But yes, stems are quite different depending on the movement. Just to give you an example: Chinese Movement Stems (cousinsuk.com) And I'm not saying that the one you need is one of them. But if you have the correct measurements from your old stem you could find the right one for your movement just by comparison. At least thats what I did.

I have read about this life hack of gently squeezing the tube. It seems to work, but some reported that it was back to the old state again after a couple of months. So to source the correct tube might be the better option in order to have a reliable and longlasting solution to the problem, if you want it to be a screw down type of crown again.

Edit: I hope the above link to cousins works and is allowed here, if not I apologize.
 
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Robocop322

Known Member
21/6/14
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Plaasbaas thank you for the information and cousinsuk was one of the sites I had searched as well as ofrei.com while looking for gen parts. I was willing to pay for a gen tube and crown just on the chance it could possibly work. The problem I found was that I was unable to determine the base type of movement VSF was using for the Tai-Chi Omega rep and as such had nothing to compare part numbers to. I did read a thread here discussing the VSF Custom Made Movement that went in to great detail on the inner workings. There were some comments in there that stated it appeared that the stem was a "modified 7750" stem. Well that just confused me even more as searching for a modified 7750 stem on google got me nowhere.

I am very confused about this VSF movement. Again I know absolutely zero about movements however have been reading as much as possible. I did learn what an "in house movement" is and I assumed all reps used some sort of common off the shelf movement and added a few decorations. When VSF labeled this as a custom movement it sounded like they had designed their own movement and I feel pretty sure that is not the case here. Regardless I will continue reading and perhaps can eventually find a solution. Thank you again for your time.
 
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Plaasbaas

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No problem at all Robocop322 ! I just feel with you and wish I could be of more help. I remember that I felt at a complete loss too, with movement specifications and part numbers. That's how I ended up comparing the broken stem that I had purely visually with specimens on cousins, took a leap of faith and ordered one blindly, since they are quite affordable, and compared them again under magnification when it arrived. And, yeah, I got lucky.

I very much hope that you find what you need, holding my thumbs!
 
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mrlemonjello

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22/4/20
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I wish that someone (smarter than I) would do a teardown and analysis of these VSF GMT movements.
 

Robocop322

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21/6/14
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I read through the detailed breakdown on this movement in the Omega Rep section here. Most of it was way over my head with technical stuff however I did find one part that showed the crown and stem as well as the keyless internals. Santre22 was the member who completely removed all the parts and did a fantastic job explaining how everything was set up. He mentioned that the keyless was a modified A7750 and most all related parts were a direct swap with the 7750. The photo of the crown and attached stem also said this part appeared to be a modified 7750 stem. So perhaps this is a start to find parts that can swap out directly. From what I have read this VSF rep is known to have crown issues and other than the crown is considered a fantastic rep.

I do not know enough about the inner workings to understand what the original problem was however I do know lots of reps are made that never have wobbly stems. Is this certain design simply faulty or was it crappy threads, weak metal, poor fit,...you know what would cause so many to fail? If this version had the modified 7750 stem was it the modification that caused it to be weak and fail? I was kind of hoping not to have it replaced and it simply fail again later. It would be great to find a fix that improved the original however it also seems that many people have never had future problems after swapping out the tube and stem with all gen parts. It is confusing as I read some threads saying their watch took gen parts without problems where others said it did not work for them.

Now this is simply a guess on my part as again I know zero about tech stuff here however if the rep is a modified A7750 all dressed up then a gen stem should not fit as the gen does not use a 7750 movement does it?
 

Pascoreli

Looking Around
24/2/19
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Hey Robocop. Did you find a solution to this problem? My crown just broke on my VSF planet ocean gmt last week. It still function fine, but doesn't screw in anymore. Very frustrating !!
 

Robocop322

Known Member
21/6/14
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My problem was the original owner had the broken crown problem and had repaired it by making the stem shorter and removing the spring. This allowed the crown to sit flush however it no longer would screw down. After I bought it the crown fell off and I wanted to start over and try to repair it back to factory specs. I sent mine to a friend however he is very busy and in his spare time is trying to find parts. As of today it is still not repaired however he claims it can be just as soon as he finds the time and parts.

From what I know now the factory stem and crown is a modified 7750 stem. If your threads are stripped on the crown side you will need a new stem and crown. If the tube threads are stripped you will need to press in a new stem tube. You may can get by with the "pinch trick" and get it working yourself. Some people report that very lightly pinching the tube will allow the threads to bite enough to screw down. Lots of info in old threads about this on here however this is usually only a short term repair.

Sorry I am not much help however mine is still out waiting for proper repairs. My friend is doing me a favor trying to fit mine in to his busy schedule and as such I am not rushing him.