Service: Nivada Grenchen Triple Date / AS 1302

IMG_0873This Nivada came all the way from Oregon for a service and case replating.

What on first sight looks like dial damage, is actually just a crack in the crystal that goes all the way around.IMG_0874
The side view shows the cracked crystal quite well.IMG_0876

The pushers for the date set are quite dirty.IMG_0928

The dial is in very good condition for the age of the watch!IMG_0929

The AS 1302 is a “bumper” automatic movement.IMG_0930

The bottom plate with the day of week and month wheel.IMG_0933

The auto winder with two ratchets that work in opposite direction. The hammer has springs to absorb the shock when it hits the movement.IMG_0938

The base movement with the balance and pallet fork removed.

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The gear train.

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The old mainspring, which I will replace.IMG_0947

The triple date mechanism is a simple but effective construction. As usual, the month wheel is advanced by hand, as this doesn’t happen automatically.IMG_0952

The day wheel in the middle. IMG_0969

All the parts have come out of the cleaning machine.IMG_0970

I put the balance jewels back in.IMG_1037

The new mainspring goes into the barrel.IMG_1038

Now the gear train goes on the plate.IMG_1039

Just the balance to go, and the movement will be beating.IMG_1040

I put the balance in, and the movement starts up.IMG_1041

Not too bad considering the age of the watch!IMG_1042

Now the keyless works go in.IMG_1043

When I want to fit the setting lever spring, I notice that it has broken. I check the photos from taking the watch apart, and see that it had already been damaged and had no more tension. IMG_1302

The new setting lever spring is in place.IMG_1303

The date mechanism sits on a plate of its own.IMG_1307

Everything ready for the dial.IMG_1308

I put the auto winder back together.IMG_1309

The movement is complete.IMG_1310

The dial and hands are back on.IMG_1362

The case looks great after having been replated.IMG_1363

Great looking watch!IMG_1364The case looks like new, and I’m very happy with the result.

 

10 thoughts on “Service: Nivada Grenchen Triple Date / AS 1302

  1. As the proud owner of this watch, I can honestly tell you that I’m having a tough time getting this watch off of my wrist now! And it’s actually a larger watch than would be the norm for watches of this era (that was actually the first comment from my wife when I mentioned it was produced in the late 40’s/early 50’s!)

    What was interesting was, when I was packing it up to send to Christian, I would shake the box gently to make sure nothing was moving, and I could feel something bumping around in the box, so I’d stuff more and more padding in, only to have the bumping continue … took me about 10 minutes to realize what I was feeling was the bumper hammer hitting the springs. It’s really substantial!

    Finally, I just want to comment that one of the things I really appreciate about working with Christian is he doesn’t hesitate to give truly honest advice. I asked about possibly having the dial redone, and aside from the unlikelihood that any dial restorer would have the template for this dial, Christian advised that he’d likely decline to do that work, even if the template existed, purely on principle. Now THAT’S the kind of definitive, personalized guidance I want from my watchmaker!

    Great job, once again, Christian! I’ve got a Wakmann World Timer that I’ll send you next!

  2. Beautiful watch. Unfortunately my Eloga triple date is 28 away from being worked on….
    The triple date theme seems to be a late 1940s early 50s thing. Mine goes back to 1949 according to advertising material. Also, the case sizes are small indicating early production.

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