Service: Orient calibre 46943

IMG_9639This is Jason’s second watch – another diver’s watch, an Orient with the calibre 46943 movement. It’s in need of a full service, and that’s what it will get.IMG_9642

There is a bit of a beat error, the amplitude is a bit low, and the escapement has some dirt on it.

IMG_9644The dial and hands are in great shape.

IMG_9648

The bottom plate with the day ring removed.IMG_9655

The auto winder assembly.IMG_9658

The gear train after removing the wheel bridge.IMG_9659

Only the centre wheel with its bridge left.IMG_9661

The mainspring has dried-up grease on it, but otherwise is looking good. As I can’t get hold of a new mainspring, I will use the current one.IMG_9662

And all goes into the cleaning machine.IMG_9672

I start of by putting the balance jewels back together.IMG_9673

And the cleaned mainspring goes back into the barrel.IMG_9674

The centre wheel and barrel back in place.IMG_9676

And the basic movement is back together and ticking.IMG_9680

The beat error is now perfect, we have a decent amplitude, but the graph is slightly wavy. This isn’t a new movement, and even a slight wobble in one of the wheels will lead to this. Nothing to really worry about.IMG_9682

The bottom plate is coming back together.IMG_9683

Everything ready for the day ring.IMG_9685

The auto winder bridge is back on.IMG_9688

And I can case the movement.IMG_9691Beautiful watch!

 

 

36 thoughts on “Service: Orient calibre 46943

  1. Hello, Is it necessary to use a graphite grease on the walls of a automatic movements mainspring? Did you do it on this watch cuz am servicing an old orient tristar with that same movement and i dont really wanna spend some money on some graphite grease that i will use once but never again.

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  3. I took my rotor off to let the watch die before changing out the hands and when I flipped the watch onto it’s back two washers fell out. One regular circular washer and one “snowflake washer”. I know they’re part of the winding assembly but I just can’t get them back together. Snowflake first and then regular. Also, the little part that the snowflake washer goes around comes out too. does the snowflake washer hold that part in?

  4. I have a problem with my battery. Where can I find the service central. The normal service shop told me that the shop only in Kuala Lumpur. I stay in Perak

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  6. So the day pusher on mine recently broke and I received a replacement part from Orient. However, it seems I’m missing the c-clip that keeps it from springing back out. Would you happen to know where I can get one/if there is something out there that would work in its place?

    Thanks,
    Dennis

  7. Hi,
    Good work, would you say that if taken care of reasonably well these movements can last a long time?.
    Your comment earlier seems to imply that, I hope so I have three Orients.
    One final point would it not be possible to source a generic mainspring?

    Jonathan

    • Yes, if the watch doesn’t get wet or dirty inside, the movement can last quite some time. It’s probably possible to find a mainspring that is close enough to the original.

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  10. I had a day pusher go bad twice in 3 years, The movement is orient 46943, I tried to get the part from orient USA and they didn’t provide it. I would avoid orient, i would pick citizen 8200 series or any seiko automatic over them. I am going from a family that has dealt in mechanical movement parts since 1970.

  11. Do you think Orient movements are inferior, in terms of the quality of hardware, to the ETA bits?

    In terms of long term viability, do you see these movements wearing out faster (noting your comment about the ‘wobble’), and is parts availability an issue? (seems like you get mainsprings for most of your watches, and this Orient isn’t even particularly old).

    I like Orient for their prices obviously, but also so many interesting designs and some neat complications for the money. But if the movements are sub par …

    • I rate ETA movements quite a bit higher than Orient. Volkswagen vs. Trabant. Both good workhorses, but the Orient was way cheaper to make, and it shows.

      Lasts for a lifetime, though, so there is nothing wrong having one.

      • I am curios why the higher rating of the ETA movements … in general.
        It seems like a sweeping statement so I’m trying to understand the details behind it…
        In my view if something is cheaper to make it does not mean it needs to be rated lower…it could mean it’s made more efficiently.
        So…objectively, what are the reasons you would rate them that way ??
        Is it the higher beat counts of ETA?
        Do you thing hey are more accurate ??
        Do they last significantly longer (considering similar care/servicing) ??
        Obviously all these questions would address similar-ish movements in terms of “features” …

  12. Christian,

    Are you happy with the 229 degrees of amplitude? That seems pretty low to me. How do you decide when enough amplitude is enough?

    Did you check the endshakes of the train wheels? This is beyond my hobby level of experience, but it seems to me that that could cause both low amplitude and the “wobble”…

    • If it weren’t a Japanese movement, I wouldn’t be happy. But Orients and Seikos always have a pretty weak amplitude – you rarely get more than that. Considering I wasn’t able to source a new mainspring, this is as good as it gets. Compared to the ETA I did before, this is a totally different kettle of fish. With the ETA, anything below 270 fully wound wouldn’t be acceptable. And the ETA has the performance to show that…

      • Iยดve owned and thinkered with Orients and Seikos for quite a while. I am no expert or qualified watch repairman in any way, can just talk from my nearly three decades of experience as an owner, but from just looking through the display case back or opening them, I always had the feeling that the amplitude was greater on ETA movements. It’s good to have corroboration. I am unsure how they compare to Citizen/Miyota, as I only own a couple with closed backs.

        Also, the rotor in Orients seems to me a bit more noisy and rattling than on ETA or Citizens, but nothing to worry about. I love them all. One of my Orients is actually the most accurate mechanical watch I’ve owned, can easily go a couple of weeks and stay accurate within 2 minutes, it’s uncanny.

        Orient also does bracelets better than Seiko in the low end in my opinion.

      • Lower amplitudes compared to ETA movements are normal, according to the Seiko Service Center in Tokyo, which I visited 2 years ago.
        Even older Grand Seikos do rarely exceed 240 degrees.
        But as long as they can be regulated quite well, I do not care about their amplitudes. Technically seen, lower amplitudes mean even less wear.

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