Back from the dead: Unitas/AS 984

Unitas cal AS 984Today Christian is away for most of the day, so I must try to service this watch on my own. This is a watch that I have bought for practice. It was not running when I got it and when we opened the case I could see why! It was dirty and full of hair wrapped around the gears, after the hairs were picked out, it started ticking unhappily.

2014-04-03 09.49.00

This is a sad state of affairs!

2014-04-03 10.28.05I start of by cleaning off the old luminous compound on the hands and applying new luminous compound. The consistency is not what I planned but it looks good enough for this project! These hands are much more tricky than the Eterna hands as they have a much bigger slot to fill.
2014-04-03 11.09.59The movement is stamped A.Reymond S.A. AR 06. Which stands for Auguste Reymond a Swiss brand that still exists today.
2014-04-03 10.51.00
The movement is marked on the bottom plate, and it’s an AS 1187-94 based on the cal 984. There is lots of solidified grease and dirt all over the place.
2014-04-03 11.12.47I make sure to take pictures of  the dismantling of this watch so that I can see how it comes back together again.  If you look closely this movement is just covered with oil.
2014-04-03 11.28.08This mainspring is as sporty as  a12 year old golden retriever and it should get replaced, but since this is more for practice it’s being cleaned and greased again.
2014-04-03 11.34.40
Everything goes in the baskets for a clean.
2014-04-03 12.33.36
I start of with putting in the cap jewels  and making sure it swings freely.
2014-04-03 18.11.01Notice all the holes that are drilled into the underside of the movement.
2014-04-03 18.58.37
Looking much better than before!
2014-04-03 15.40.17
Not ideal, but considering what I started off with and the condition of that mainspring. I will accept this for now.
2014-04-03 18.43.40
The winding stem is too bent for comfort, but luckily Christian has a spare.
2014-04-04 07.54.59
I really like the design of the dial and hands of this watch. The print is in good shape and I don’t mind the patina except for that nasty scratch right at eleven. I might even consider a new mainspring and sending the case for new chrome plating.

7 thoughts on “Back from the dead: Unitas/AS 984

  1. I have a Unitas from WW2 but it does not have the sweep second hand it has the small one -wonder if it’s worth geting rpeaired- the winder won’t wind it just turns the hands

  2. Hi Mitka,

    hope you have taken some precautions against the radioactivity from the old luminous powder – they used nasty stuff back then, e.g. Radium 8-[
    Best wishes,

    noq2

    • All these holes have a stud that secures either the balance cock, train wheel bridge and barrel bridge. So my guess is they have reduced the thickens of the main plate so that the studs are more easily put in place.

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