Gen Omega 175.0032 Speedmaster Reduced (to a pile of rust)

[hanski]

I’m still waiting on my refinished gen Tudor 7016/0 dial from the dial guy - so what should I do while I wait...?

Oh, why not gamble on a broken, gen Speedmaster reduced up for auction on eBay? That seems like a sensible way to spend money and time.

Well the auction was straight forward enough - images showed a slightly rusty 3220 movement without an oscillating weight and rusty stem. Seems likely water got it thru the tube, rusted the stem, and sat in the case back to rust the weight. Few parts, some cleaning, no problem. Oh and a new sweep hand.

Showed up two days later, looking like the auction but basically filled with oil. Huh, cool, that wasn’t obvious in the pics, not mentioned in the description, and not mentioned in answers to my line of questions. I’ll have to contact him with some dissatisfaction on that.

Well here’s my project, restore this obviously damaged Speedmaster to working condition.

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[mari115]

wow good luck with that! would be awesome if you updated your progress every now and then!

 

[hanski]

Watch is fully disassembled and ready for cleaning & inspection. But some of it doesn’t need to wait for the cleaning - the Dépraz Dubois Module is shot. So is the automatic works and barrel bridge. Basically, I’m in it for a new 3220 movement since I can’t seem to find a DD module to purchase and the other parts nearly add up to a NOS movement. Luckily it’s available now and on its way - phew.

Looks like I’ll need: new movement, crown, pushers, sweep hand, spring bar for bracelet clasp, and maybe a crystal for good measure.

Dial is in surprisingly nice condition. It’s developed a light patina and the lume has aged with the oil. Unfortunately the dial feet rusted off - I’ll have to resolder some on once I get rid of the oil. Last thing I need to a dial on fire...

Same goes for the hands.

Case and bezel look good otherwise.

Mainspring is in excellent shape.

I think after cleaning I will take stock of what parts are needed and build an Omega 1120 with this as the base. At least that’ll help offset some of the cost of repairs.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[hanski]

If I can impart one bit of advice, don’t pour oil into a corroded movement in hope to save it the oil will get everywhere and is absolutely not good for a matte black dial like this. I took great care to remove the oil from the dial but five of the lume plots fell off. The missing 40 and worn 20 on the subdials were all ready missing. I ended up reattaching 55, 60, 10, 25, and 35. Now the dial is clean and ready for dial feet.

It’s hard to imagine what happened to this watch. Filled with water long enough to fully rust out the DD module and blacken the rotor. Pretty substantially scuffed, dented, and scratched. Worn paint on the dial. Hmmm...there’s some kind of a story here that I’d love to hear.

Case, case back, pushers, crown, and crystal cleaned, de-rusted, and repolished. Turned out the pushers and crown were in fine condition after cleaning.


Did my best to restore the factory finishes but without eliminating any sign of age. This is to say, I sanded down some of the scratches and wear but not on the point of sharp edges. I then brushed the side + top of the case and the flat of the case back. Then polished the chamfers, bezel, case back, pushers, and crown.

Bracelet is next. Then onto seeing what parts of the movement I can salvage.

Still waiting on the new movement and chrono sweep hand.

 

[jackflash]

Thanks for sharing the journey! Good luck with the continued restoration. The Reduced are lovely watches.
Mine from the early 90s.

 

[hanski]

Thanks for sharing the journey! Good luck with the continued restoration. The Reduced are lovely watches.
Mine from the early 90s.

Thanks, handsome watch you got there. I like the aged lume plots. Maybe I’ll relume mine while I’m at it.
It’s funny, before getting this one I read and bought into all the hype for 321, 861, 1861, etc movements - thinking the reduced as a second rate watch. But having it in hand, working on it, it’s nice. As you said it’s a lovely watch and, now, IMHO an underrated watch.

 

[jackflash]

IMHO an underrated watch.

Agree! Tends to live in the shadow of its big brother. Keeps it an affordable classic though.

 

[Troklo]

Wow, good luck with the restoration and keep us posted!

 

[amplesufficiency]

Can’t wait to see the finished product. A restoration like this looks like so much fun but could get expensive real fast. Good luck!

 

[hanski]

Quick project update:

- Continued to clean up the dial, soldered on new dial feet, and relumed both the hands and dial to match.

- Repaired, repolished, and rebrushed the bracelet. Paid close attention to polishing only what should be and brushing the rest in the correct directionality.

- De-rusted and started cleaning the movement parts. Evaluating what I can save and what’s scrap. I’ll post an update on what’s what when I get through all the pieces.

 

[RedAggie03]

Wow, I can't imagine the skill it takes to do this work... Exciting restoration!

 

[hanski]

I’m about 33% satisfied with the movement clean up. I was able to save a few big ticket items (main plate, balance bridge, and balance wheel) but not all of them. The automatic works and barrel bridge were both lost to rust. Unfortunately the train wheels were all also lost to rust. The keyless works was mostly lost to rust and what I could save contains some pitting - so I’m apt to replace. DD module seems to have some parts that could be saved but being unfamiliar with it and replacement part availability, I decided not to disassemble.

In the end, I have a good start to building an Omega 1120 or parting the salvaged pieces. I’ll have to cost out the various parts needed to build and compare against the going rate for that movement.

For now, I’m just waiting on my new 3220 movement.

Pics below, right side is scrap, left side is saved, middle is pitted keyless works parts.

 

[MJH89]

I love looking through threads like this, I am always amazed at some of the skill that exists with the members of this forum.

Look forward to seeing the progress.

 

[steve3sc]

Amazing. I just blundered into this thread...great work bro. Blown away. You are my new idol!

 

[hanski]

Success! Well, almost finished. I still need to install a fresh set of gaskets and I haven’t been able to source a gen chrono sweep hand.

Regarding my spare movement - well if I buy all the necessary parts to rebuild a new movement it’s going to likely cost $500 (I need a lot of pieces, like 27 parts including a complete automatic works and barrel bridge complete). Not sure it’s worth it. I may simply eBay the various spare parts to offset costs.

The other outstanding question is the dial. It cleaned up nicely but it’s not perfect. Do I leave as is patina and all? Or buy a replacement dial? Thoughts welcome.

Onto the pictures (proper wristshot tomorrow with the sun):

 

[Rx4Time]

Looks great! Personally I'd get a new dial if you can locate one, but regardless, it turned out better than I imagined.

Here's a source for the hands. I've bought spare links, pins and collars for my two Speedmasters from them.

https://www.swisslimitededitions.com/c-1140-3220-hands

 

[Rx4Time]

I did stumble upon a dial if you are interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-speedmaster-reduced-dial-/173864193085?nav=SEARCH

 

[hanski]

Looks great! Personally I'd get a new dial if you can locate one, but regardless, it turned out better than I imagined.

Here's a source for the hands. I've bought spare links, pins and collars for my two Speedmasters from them.

https://www.swisslimitededitions.com/c-1140-3220-hands

Thanks and thanks for the reference! I’ve contacted them.

 

[hanski]

I did stumble upon a dial if you are interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-speedmaster-reduced-dial-/173864193085?nav=SEARCH

I did see, two actually, one with a hand set. I’m debating whether to spend the extra money and whether I kind of like the character of the watch as is. Juries still out.

 

[hanski]