Service: Favre-Leuba / ETA 2824

IMG_0101I love a watch with a story, and this one certainly has one!

The crown on the dial and the Arabic writing are the clue. The owner of the watch, Michael, was working for the Zoological Society of London in the late 70s and 80s. Part of the job as a senior staff member was to take a turn at being duty officer at the London Zoo over weekends.On one occasion, Queen Noor of Jordan visited the Zoo with her children, and Michael was asked to show her and her family round the Zoo. He remembers her as a truly charming lady, but he wasn’t so sure about the female bodyguard. The following Monday after the visit, a representative from the embassy presented Michael with this watch and a personal letter from Queen Noor. Queen Noor wrote to him asking advice about whether or not she should accept a lion cub as a gift for her  children.

The watch has been well worn since then, and is in need of some attention.

IMG_0103The case back, which holds the movement, snaps into the bezel. There isn’t too much dirt here considering the age of the watch, and that’s a good sign.

IMG_0104Close-up of the dial. There is a scratch between the centre and the date window, but otherwise, the condition is good considering the age of the watch. Now I would really like one of my Arabic speaking readers to let me know what the writing under the crown says!

IMG_0108That’s what I call “barely moving”.

IMG_0107

An old friend, the ETA 2824.IMG_0109

The gears of the auto winder.IMG_0110

Balance and pallet fork removed.IMG_0112

The mainspring looks a bit tired, and I will replace it as usual.IMG_0113

The bottom plate. You can see that I have already removed the balance jewels.IMG_0117

The movement taken apart and ready for the cleaning machine.IMG_0118

The new mainspring and the barrel.IMG_0119

Epilame treatment for the escape wheel, pallet fork and cap jewels.IMG_0122

The base movement is back together and beating, and looking very nice.IMG_0123

I adjust the beat error and beat rate, but will do a fine adjustment after the watch has run for a day. Very good performance compared to what the watch was doing before the service.IMG_0125

And the bottom plate is back together and ready for the dial.IMG_0126I give the crystal a light polish as it has a lot of scratches, and put the watch back together. The design clearly makes this watch a child of its time, and with the story behind it, a great watch to have!

18 thoughts on “Service: Favre-Leuba / ETA 2824

  1. Hello, could you please tell me the mainspring size/code for Favre Leuba 111 automatic?
    There’s no information on GR.

  2. Please can anyone tell me the exact type of gasket I need to replace on caseback of a 1970,s FAVRE LEUBA SEA RAIDER, 36000 hi-beat ?, watch is keeping excellent time but a very small amount of moisture got in, dryed out now, would you advise full service needed and how much should that cost ? thanks for any help, Tom, UK.

    • You can buy gaskets by size at cousinsuk.com.
      Usually, a service is called for once a watch got wet, but considering the value of the watch, I would just continue to wear it.

      Best regards,

      Christian

  3. hi
    Interesting reading about the Favre leuba , I have one with a similar story, I was given one as a thank you by if I remember correctly, the sultan of Brunei royal family.
    I would like your opinion on it and think it would benefit from a clean and service
    Many thanks

  4. Love the story too. I asked my Arabic speaking colleagues and apparently the writing is the name of the previous Jordan king: Hussein bin Talal.

  5. I’m sure he’d never sell it but the story and the letters from the Queen(if he kept them) would really up the value of this beautiful watch!

  6. You don’t hear so much of Favre-Leuba these days, but it looks like they are still going. This one is nicely styled… I rather like it 😉

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