Service: Poljot Chronograph calibre P3133

IMG_6927Robert from the Netherlands sent me this great looking Poljot chronograph. It’s not keeping good time, and not working properly.

Let’s see what’s happening…

IMG_6926Not much by the looks of it! A terrible amplitude, the watch is running way too slow, and the beat error is too large as well.

IMG_6931The P3133 chronograph movement – not entirely a Russian invention ๐Ÿ˜‰

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I slowly work my way through the chronograph layer.

IMG_6953The left handed screw for the lever that holds the wheel that advances the minute counter turns without coming loose – looks like somebody tried to unscrew it, didn’t notice that it was left hand, and broke the thread. As it’s it’s holding well enough, I will leave it in place, as I would otherwise have to replace the screw and bridge, and I can’t get hold of either one.

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All the parts in the cleaning baskets, and no lack of them! The mainspring still looks pretty spritely, and I will leave it.

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When servicing chronographs, I always put together the base movement first, and check if everything is well. There is no use assembling the chronograph layer if the movement isn’t performing as it should.

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Now that’s what I call good! Great amplitude, beat error and beat rate. I couldn’t be more happy with that.

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Now the arduous part begins – putting the chronograph layer back together. Here, I’m putting a bit of Moebius grease on.

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The top plate is back together, and the chronograph is working. I adjust the depthing as the last thing once the movement is cased.

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Now it’s time for the bottom plate and date ring. The mechanism that changes the date is quite unique, with anย eccentric little spring lever that only moves the date ring every couple of turns. It has to be put in in the right position, or it won’t change the date.

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The date change mechanism under the microscope.IMG_6989

Unfortunately, the tube of the second hand has come off.

poljot-second-handThe second hand and tube under the microscope.

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I rivet the hand in the staking set, but, when testing, it still can turn slightly against the tube. The forces of the reset are very strong, and the hand has to be fit properly against the tube.

So I get my soldering iron out, and solder the tube from the back side. You don’t solder under the microscope every day, but all goes well.

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The hands go back on, and the movement is ready for casing.

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A nice chronograph with a clean design. I like it!

 

30 thoughts on “Service: Poljot Chronograph calibre P3133

  1. I have a Pljot titanic watch movement #3133, it has a broken stem and the watch co said that it cannot be fixed, they been looking for a replacement movement for over 2 month with no luck my marking on the watch are 39993.
    Can you find a replacement movement or fix the existence watch.

  2. Hey. Anyone here can help me?
    3133 Poljot chronograph. When chrono is engaged, the big seconds hand stops at 58 min mark and the watch stops. Resetting chrono, all back to normal. Did all fine adjustments, sliding gear is fine, all adjustments are perfect, I cannot understand what is going on. Washed and oiled every tiny part of the watch.
    I heard this is a common issue with these movements. Anyone has an idea? Please e-mail ygrinman@gmail.com

    • If everything is perfect, your watch is running perfectly. Step back a bit and don’t assume you have done everything correctly. I never do.

      Check that your minute recorder on its own runs freely, and that you don’t have too much tension on your minute recorder jumper.

  3. Pingback: Service for a 3133

  4. Pingback: Problem with 3133 movement

  5. Chris,
    Sorry to bring up old post. I was wondering if P3133 fit into a watch case for ST19 movement or Valjoux 7765? I been searching throughout the internet and it seem you best person to ask. Thank you.
    -Dan

  6. Hello,

    I have a poljot titanic 3133 watch that needs a service and a second one that needs to have a mechanism transplant (I have the replacement mechanism).

    If I were to send them to yiu, can you help?

    Thanks.

    Nicholas Cross

  7. Hi,

    I have a new Strela watch which is basically a P3133 movement with a nice case. Unfortunately I have dropped it and now the shaft of the winding up mechanism is bent. The watch still works, but it’s not water proof any more (even a few drops of rain will cause condensation inside the case). Is there any chance to repair it within a reasonable price?

  8. Sorry to hijack your conversation but I have a few queries that perhaps folk on here could answer. I have my father’s old Tissot Seastar Navigator watch, from early 70’s i think. Unfortunately it got water damaged some years ago and a watch maker tried to fix it but left it in a pretty sorry state with quite a few bits missing (long story!) i finally got it back and the movement has had it. I took it to a local watchmaker and he told me it had a Reconvillier 7734 movement and my only hope was to try and get hold of a replacement movement online. After a bit of digging online I can’t find many references to this movement and it appears more common that these watches have a Valjoux 7734 movement. My questions are:
    1. Are the Valjoux and Reconvillier 7734 basically the same thing?
    2. Could a Poljot 3133 be used as a (cheap) alternative movement in my watch?
    3. Any ideas where i could find a suitable movement to try and get my dad’s watch going again.

    I’d appreciate any info/suggestions that anyone could give. Please excuse my total lack of knowledge in this area. Thank you. Tim

    • Hi Tim,

      To my knowledge, your Tissot has a Valjoux 7734 movement. I can get parts for that, but if it’s hopeless, we might have to find an original movement. I have never tried to replace a Valjoux with a Poljot 3133 – in principle, that should work, but in reality, things never are that easy!

      EBay is probably your best choice. But you can always send it over, and I can see what’s missing or broken, and if I can get the parts…

      Best regards,

      Christian

    • While quite similar, the Poljot 3133 cannot be substituted for the Valjoux 7734. The Poljot is considerably thicker and dial feet are in a different location.

  9. Very nice… wonder if you could have used your dial feet machine on that second hand tube?

    There are a few on eBay at the moment – and a few Sekonda ones that appear to be the same movement – but I have given up buying watches. Until I do ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • I think there would be too much heat applied if I used the machine. Soldering it with a soldering iron (I used a small one for electronics) was actually a quite controlled process and worked well.

  10. Beautiful watch!
    I’m keeping an eye out myself for a nice chronograph. At the moment I don’t really care whether it’s vintage or new, but since I tend not to wear watches >37/38mm, I think I’ll probably end up with a vintage one ๐Ÿ˜‰

    How large is this fine Poljot?

    • There was some discussion on the Christopher Ward Forum the other night as to if a bloke who preferred smaller watches could “get away with” wearing something from the Women’s collection. Our conclusion was that they could… and especially the Sports Chrono which is 37mm – and there is one in the Nearly New section right now ๐Ÿ˜‰

      http://www.christopherward.co.uk/nnn22-chr-sws.html

      • Hehehe ๐Ÿ™‚

        I think you’re right sizewise; I often wear (vintage) watches that are between 30~40 mm (I’ve found that a lot depends on lugshape en -distance as well). However, the style of that particular watch is not really in line with the Poljot, or the 1963 model Seagull that Christian mentioned.
        I guess I’d have to go into more detail when I mention a ‘nice’ chronograph next time…

        Christopher Ward has some realy nice watches (although for me most men’s models are too big), but almost all their women’s watches are too blingy for my taste. So it’s a good thing that there’s no arguing taste I guess ๐Ÿ™‚

        • I purchased a Precista PRS-5 chronograph from Timefactors, fitted with the Sea-Gull ST19, back in 2011. A nice review can be read here http://www.watcharama.com/prs5.htm
          It has a 37mm diameter case. Mine lost around 12 seconds a day out of the box, and one of the screws fell off the aviator strap after 2 weeks and was lost (pays to torque up the screws using locktite at home – lesson learned)!
          It certainly has a retro look and feel about it.

  11. BEAUTY! I have a love affair with Poljots. This was a great one to see. I been wanting to pick up a 3133.. Question: is the 3133 (which according to Scott is the same as a ETA 7734) much different to the ETA 7750?

  12. That is a really nice looking Poljot; a style that doesn’t appear to be available from poljot1.com, amongst the many dial variation of the 3133 Chronographs.

    Do you know when the watch was manufactured?

    Apologies, but another question: in your opinion is the 3133 movement (which I believe is identical to the Valjoux 7734, as Poljot purchased the tooling in the early ’70s) superior to the Sea-Gull ST19?

    • No idea when the watch was made – probably a good 20 years old or so.

      I prefer the ST19, as the start/stop/reset operates a bit smoother on the Sea-Gull.

      Nevertheless, the P3133 is a decent chronograph movement.

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