Repair + Service: Roamer RotoDate 44 Jewels – MST437

IMG_7750This Roamer belongs to Jeff, my wife’s uncle, and he got it in his early twens. It hasn’t been working for ages, and he would like to wear it again.

The dial and hands have seen their share of bad treatment, but, considering the age of the watch, they aren’t too bad.IMG_7751

Lovely case back, with the Swiss Cross on it.

IMG_7752The dial isn’t too bad – a sizeable scratch at 3, but that’s to be expected at that age.

IMG_7755

Very nicely executed date change mechanism, and very snappy.IMG_7767

You can see the gears for the auto winder on the left. The clutches are a bit stiff, so it’s almost impossible to manually wind.IMG_7768

Auto winder clutch wheels and rotor bearing.IMG_7769

If you are wondering about the “3/4” on the barrel bridge – this is the instruction to disengage the auto winder so that you can let down the mainspring. Turn the screw 3/4 turn, and then slide it to the side.IMG_7771

The gear train exposed.IMG_7775

The old mainspring in the barrel.IMG_7776

And all goes into the cleaning machine.IMG_7843

I start off with braking grease on the wall of the barrel, and then put in the new mainspring.IMG_7844

Barrel bridge and intermediate bridge for the centre wheel in place.IMG_7845

Now the gear train goes in.IMG_7847

And the movement is ticking again.IMG_7849

Auto winder and rotor bearing in place.IMG_7863

The winding pinion is missing a tooth, but I’m lucky in finding a new one on cousinsuk.IMG_7906

Bottom plate back together.IMG_7908

First adjustment on the timegrapher, with the mainspring barely wound. Nice.IMG_7909

The movement has a split winding stem, and it goes into the case back, which is then pressed into the case itself.IMG_7910Back together and looking good.

 

 

21 thoughts on “Repair + Service: Roamer RotoDate 44 Jewels – MST437

  1. Thank you so much for documenting your repairs and sharing them free! I am grateful to this unique contribution to the hobby that is this resource, it’s great to explore and find smaller brands with nice interesting movements that are still affordable. I want to ask a question regarding the reverser wheels here, can they be opened for cleaning or are they a sealed unit? Would be hard to clean if they are seald.. Any tipical wear points in these movements in your experience? Thank you again for the awesome watchguy site you made! George.

  2. My Stingray Roto 44Date came back from service. But I can’t change the date manually. Can you help? Thanks Peter

  3. Hi, i have a Roamer Rotopower 44 automatic, the crown came of and the ax is broke, please help me find the spare parts to fix it.

  4. Roamer rotopower – 44 – hallmarked gold case.

    Any info regarding this (new to me) and info on replacement crystal welcomed!

  5. You mentioned that the clutches were stiff, making it difficult to wind. Did cleaning make manual winding easier, or is that due to the design?

    • The reverser wheels usually get better by cleaning and oiling them. But this is an automatic watch, and it doesn’t really need manual winding, and the reverser wheels don’t like it.

  6. Roamer Rotodate Brevete MST 437. I too have this same watch which was past down from my great grandfather. Took my a while to figure out what it was. I was wondering if anyone knows what this watch is worth now a days. Its in great condition works fine.

  7. Hi Christian, thanks for sharing this information and your insights.
    I wonder what your opinion is on the quality of these particular movements. (MST 436,437,470 and 471) I read on the internet; “This is the movement Rolex SHOULD have put in the Sub”.(Richard Sexton, July 2001) Do you agree? I have read other articles by you, in which you are more outspoken about the quality of the movement concerned. Very curious to your answer. Best regards Paul

    • MST movement are of very good quality, but sometimes a bit overconstructed, e.g. a simpler construction would have worked just as well, and lasted longer.

  8. I have the exact same watch. Sadly it is waiting for service and I hope the parts are still available. In the flesh it is quite understated.
    I have refrained from using it in fear of damage.

    Interesting seeing one stripped down.

    Thanks Christian

  9. Nice looking watch. Are there really 44 bearing jewels in this movement? The rotor looks to have 28 jewels printed on the face, although it is difficult to make it out exactly as the print has worn off in places.

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