Service: Lemania Chronograph calibre 2221

IMG_4336It’s a rare Lemania, so it has to be Anders’ watch!

This is a single-pusher chronograph, so starting, stopping and resetting all happens with the same button.

Let’s have a peek inside…IMG_4334

Very odd – the case back has been turned out inside, as if to remove a logo. If you look at any Omega case back, this is where the triangle with the Omega logo sits 😉IMG_4332

Inside is a Lemania calibre 2221 with a hacking second, and a serial number 1317442. The movement is in great shape, but needs a service as the amplitude is a bit weak.IMG_5128

The luminous compound on the hands is very fragile. I would like to preserve it, and apply binder to it, but it’s no use, and the compound just disintegrates like sand.IMG_5159

I mix orange, green and yellow Bergeon compound to get at least somewhere close to the original.IMG_5130

The 2221 has a minute recorder that turns continuously, e.g. you don’t have that distinct advancing from one minute to the next. It’s driven by a little wheel off the centre wheel.IMG_5142

This is the little pinion that drives the minute recorder.IMG_5161

All the parts clean and ready. I order a new mainspring. Oddly enough, somebody had fitted an automatic mainspring… I decide on a 1.4 x 0.12 x 480, which fits nicely into the barrel.IMG_5235

The new mainspring fills 1/3 of the barrel as it should, and has the right height. I had to make an educated guess on the strength, and we’ll see later on the timegrapher if that was right…IMG_5215

The gear train and barrel in place. Note the pretty elaborate stop lever for the hacking second.IMG_5236The base movement is back together, and now comes the moment of truth…IMG_5237

The amplitude is very good, but not too high, so the mainspring is just right. The beat error of 0.7ms is very good considering it’s adjusted on the collet, so I will leave that.IMG_5241

I put the chronograph back together, and adjust the depthing.IMG_5242

The bottom plate is quite simple as there is no hour recorder.IMG_5244

Now I can put on the dial and hands. You can see here that the chronograph has been running for 43 seconds, and the minute recorder shows almost a minute, as it’s running continuously.IMG_5247 IMG_5246

The case back gets a new gasket.IMG_5248

A great watch. The case, dial, hands and movement are in super condition, and the watch is as rare as hens’ teeth! I’m very envious indeed, but it has to go back to Norway…

11 thoughts on “Service: Lemania Chronograph calibre 2221

  1. Hi. I have a 1970 tissot seastar with a lemania 1277/1281 ??? I have owned since 1972. I need it repaired and correct crown fitted.it has the 3 small dials and large sweep 2nd hand.can anyone value it and find out if worth repair. Regards Gerry

  2. Hi Christian,
    Thank you for yet another fantastic job!
    To the caseback, and also the movement, it seems this has been removed at Lemania. This movement, and case, was only ever sold officially to RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). The caliber 2221 (a 2220 with hacking feature) has only been found in these.
    It is pure speculations, but it appears to me that Lemania has made this watch as a sample or prototype. The removal of Omega markings from a case like this would only reduce the value of it (the Omega version has been sold at GBP5-8000 on auctions).
    Another piece of proof to the theory is the fact that the movement is unsigned except for the (Lemania) serial number. All other caliber 2221 out there that I have seen has been signed Omega. Now who else but Lemania would have access to blanks? All Omega chronograph movements between 1930 and 1970 was also made by Lemania…
    Anyone with some more info to fill in is more than welcome to contribute!

  3. That’s an interesting piece; did the back of the, er, case-back also show any evidence of having any markings machined off?

    Am I right in thinking that the timegrapher results improved slightly when the chrono components were functioning..?

    The re-lumed hands look very smart 😉

    • The case back is blank, as you would expect from an Omega case.
      Not quite sure what you mean by the timegrapher results improving – I don’t think there is an improvement up from 303 degrees 😉

      • But it was 287* in the earlier pic – was trying to work out if that was due to it all just settling in, or if the state of the watch impacts on that?

        I was also wondering if there was any military service / issue numbers on the back – its a pretty good bet that really good quality chronos of that age were 😉

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