Service: Fortis / ETA 2836-2

IMG_20130910_213106Andrew sent in this Fortis. The bezel is missing, so I ordered a new one from Fortis in Switzerland.

Fortis charged 48 Swiss Francs for the bezel, and my bank charged me £33 for transfer charges alone! I am not surprised, as it’s the bank that also has to fund prostitutes and crack cocaine for their ex-chairman.

IMG_4431

Inside lurks an old friend – the ETA 2836-2.IMG_4432

A bit of dirt under the crown wheel.IMG_4434

The bottom plate with the very snappy day/date changer.IMG_4458

I start off with the usual new mainspring.IMG_4460

The base movement is back together – let’s see what it does…IMG_4461

That will need some adjusting.IMG_4575

That looks better. These ETA movements never disappoint!IMG_4576

I case the movement, give it a final adjustment, and waterproof test. All is well, and the watch can go back to Andrew.

24 thoughts on “Service: Fortis / ETA 2836-2

  1. Hi ive got one of these watches, and the crown will no longer change the time.
    Its driving me nuts, could you repair it by any chance ?
    And can i ask you how long the lead time would be at the moment ?
    Thanks
    Chris

  2. Hi there,
    I have a fortis cosmonaut watch from about 20 years ols. The crown is not getting in anymore. So i can not close it of anymore. My watch maker told me that he can not fix it anymore. That part is not for sale he told me. Can you help?

  3. Hello!
    Could you tell me where could I buy a ETA 2846 mainspring (or a barrel – complete) from? I didn’t find it on Cousinsuk.com.
    Sorry if I posted in the wrong thread, but I think 2846 and 2836-2 have the same barrel/mainspring.

    Thank you in advance!
    Bogdan
    (Romania)

      • Thank you very much!
        Now if I’m not too pushy, could you tell me how do you know it fits? It doesn’t say it is for 2846 so I assume you searched for those particular dimensions. Where did you find the mainspring dimensions for the 2846? (if it’s not a trade secret)

          • One more question/problem if I may – I post here because this thread is about 2836-2 which is close (I believe) to 2846 and 2824.
            Here goes: could I replace the automatic bridge alltogether (wheels and everything) from 2846 with one from 2824? I have a problem cleaning/oiling the unidirectional wheels and I’d like to change them, and I have a 2824 at my disposal. I’d try to replace only those two but I don’t know if they’ll fit: 2824 has jewels where 2846 has metal bushes (I hope it’s the correct term) on the automatic bridges.

          • :)) You just love it when give quick straight answers, don’t you? 🙂

            I was eager to know. I will get my hands on 2824 on monday and “try”.

            Thank you!

  4. Thanks Christian
    The beauty is back on my wrist it’s almost like new.
    I am looking forward to see the old tritium visibility at night.
    All the best.

  5. The 33 quid was probably the SWIFT transfer fee that you have to pay for outside-EU transactions.
    Since the Swiss are not in the EU, the bank took this opportunity to rob you unfortunately.

    Great blog!

  6. Christian, 48 Swiss Francs is a bargain. I had to source replacement bezel for an Omega speedmaster last week, that came in at £121 +VAT 🙁

    £33 in fee’s is ridiculous though…

    • Yes, I had to replace a TAG bezel the other day. List price was £300, so I took a 1p coin and turned it into a bezel instead. The customer loved the result, and so much cheaper!

      • Very inventive, must have been quite a small bezel! ;-p
        If you ever need anything larger turning, my dad has a couple of metalworking lathes and a milling machine set up in his shed now, he’d be more than happy to help out!

          • I am sure there would be a market for simple, sympathetic watch cases for all the orphaned movements on eBay…

          • Funny you should mention that Cirrus, I’ve discussed it with him before. It was after he helped me re-house a lovely Roamer Premier movement. I had a case for an old ‘dollar watch’ (with an un-repairable movement) that just needed reaming slightly to make the larger movement fit. It felt great to bring it back to life… 🙂

          • I was thinking of trying to use my little model-making lathe to make a watch case. It cant handle anything of any size or hardness, but I might just be able to knock something up for a smaller, vintage movement.

            Not sure how I would form the hole for the stem though… I have a pillar drill, but positioning the piece might be tricky 🙂

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