Restoration: Omega Medicus calibre 23.4SC

IMG_6416Michael found this Omega Medicus – in very poor condition indeed. The dial has had it, and, if you ever wondered when I actually advocate a dial restoration, this one really needs it!

Both Michael and I first think that this watch just doesn’t have a second hand, but we’re in for a suprise…IMG_6421

Check out the top plate – there is clearly the provision for a central second. And that’s why the Medicus was called Medicus – it was made for GPs who had to take people’s pulses all the time, and the large central second hand is perfect for the job.

harding01

Some numpty has filed down a couple of the balance screws. I never understand this. Do these people think that Omega ships balances with screws that are too heavy???IMG_6422

Lots of grime, dirt, and solidified grease.IMG_6423

But all not too bad.IMG_6425

The mainspring is broken.IMG_6428

The parts go into the cleaning machine.IMG_6586

The new mainspring is actually of the old type, and I quite like that. This is original, and how it should be.IMG_6587

The new mainspring is in the barrel.IMG_6588

Now I put back together the jewels in the balance cock.IMG_6589

And the movement is ticking. But how will it tick? Remember the filed-off balance screws…IMG_6590

Yep, that’s what you get. The movement is much too fast. Surprise.IMG_7186

Michael managed to source the missing parts for the central second. Not in perfect shape – you can see that the central second arbor is a bit bent, but I can sort that out.IMG_7187

Michael also managed to find a used balance, and now the movement is complete and running as it should.IMG_9521

Jan at Kronoswelt in Singen did a great job on the dial, and this is pretty much as close to the original as it can be.IMG_9522

Now for the missing second hand … A year ago, I purchased a lot of watch parts from a retired watchmaker – and they always come in handy.IMG_9523

I cut the second hand to size (in the original photos, the second hand reaches just to the black square on the outside), and I have to squeeze the tube a bit to make it fit.IMG_9528Please compare to the before shot!

No case polishing – this is a pretty thin case, and it’s in good condition, and a few scratches just have to be there. Perfectly polished would not only look out of place, but it would take off material that can never be replaced.

 

10 thoughts on “Restoration: Omega Medicus calibre 23.4SC

  1. I have a 23.4 calibre “Old Collection” Omega with serial number 9105717.

    Service centre says it needs full maintenance service and want over $US3,000 to fix.

    Can you tell me a little about the square faced 1926 (?) watch with a baby second hand just above the six. Could it be worth spending that much to overhaul?

    • It is very unlikely that your watch will ever be worth that much money. Just check completed auctions on eBay to establish the value.

      I suggest trying a reputable local watchmaker.

      • As I feared.

        The chap who sold the watch to me will service it for $US200, which is a bit more palatable.

        The service centre said it was 1926 but the vendor says 50s or 60s. I have not seen anything like it on any of the sites I’ve scoured. Is there a way to find out>

  2. Pingback: Dial Restoration - Page 2

  3. Hi Michael.. that was a beautiful watch, and Christian nice work with the service..!!

    Michael, may I ask what Kronoswelt took for the restoration job of the dial? I have a old Omega 30 dial that is in need of a restoration, and I like the job they did on your dail. If you don’t want to tell I understand, job like this differ from dial to dial. But it would be nice to have a hint of how much it would cost. Maybe its better if you mail me the price they charged you to my email.. di.corp(at)msn.com

  4. The watch, you might be interested to know, was made on 18 February, 1938. Some of you might be aware that you can order (for a cost) a certificate from Omega which shows the exact detail of your particular watch and I did this when I first bought it.

    Anyway, the long second hand and railway track chapter ring are typical of Medicus watches. As C mentioned, they were intended for doctors to use in counting pulse rates, so they would have been the cutting edge technology of the day. Hard to imagine now.

    The dial, as Christian said, was completely stripped and some parts had been removed from the movement. At this point, you’re faced with scrapping a watch completely, breaking it down to parts and flogging them on eBay or something. Or a complete restoration. I hate to see that happen to watches, there are too many bare movements out there which used to reside in fine solid gold cases which have now been melted down; very sad to see this happen. I know C feels the same way, and so he was the natural choice for the patient and painstaking rebuilding process.

    So that was the thinking behind restoring the dial. I spent hours trying to sort out the seemingly good, but inaccurate redials on this model, finally located a reliable source picture (Omega archives, but not online) and then the hunt began. I asked around 10 dial companies, and only Kronoswelt in Germany felt they could do it. There are times when I feel that redialling is okay, desirable even, and this is one of them, I think.

  5. Wow! Looks great, Christian. As always. Really looking forward to seeing it in the flesh, and to wearing it. It was an epic journey; even finding visual reference for the dial art was difficult. I can confidently say that there are very few (if any) of this model floating around out there with any accurately done redial. Once you start to look, it’s quite shocking how lazy people are about these things.
    I think that sourcing the movement parts was much harder than either of us had expected; but I’m pleased to say that the watch community is generally warm, friendly and really, really helpful. Thanks to so many good people out there!

  6. Great looking watch and, as usual, a great post! The more weird problems you run into, the more interesting it is to read … 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.