Anders has sent us this impressive B-Uhr for a service.
The movement is beautifully decorated with Cote de Geneve on all the bridges and perlage on the base plate.Performance is not to bad, but letting a watch run in this kind of dirt will wear the movement down.I remove the movement from the front of the case.I remove the hands one by one as they are so large.The dial removed shows more nice perlage decoration on the dial side of the base plate. Almost unbelievable to think this was military equipment.I have removed the central seconds cock, pinion and the intermediate wheel that is pressed on the pivot of the third wheel and engages with the seconds pinion.Here you can see the hacking lever mechanism.Here you can see how dirty the movement really is.Here you can see the remains of old oil that has solidified, this stuff is too tough for the cleaning machine to remove.The solution is some good old pegwood to clean the jewel.Here you can see I have removed the barrel bridge.I now remove the setting mechanism.I will reuse the old mainspring after cleaning it, as it is still good.The movement fully taken apart and cleaned.The mainspring is clean and back in the barrel.I have put the barrel back in place together with the barrel bridge.Now the bridge for the centre wheel and third wheel is in place.I fit the winding mechanism into place. I have also put the cap jewels for the escape wheel and balance back in place.A nice feature is that both the forth wheel and escape wheel have separate cocks.Now the movement is back together and ticking as it should.Dial Up.Crown up.Crown Right.Crown LeftCrown downDial down.The movement is ready for the dial.The Luminous compound on the hands is falling apart and on the minute hand you can see a large crack along the middle.We agree with Anders that the best way to preserve the hands is to apply a thin layer of new compound on the back of the hands. This prevents the compound from falling apart and is not visible to the naked eye.Here the movement goes back in the case with dial and hands in place.This movement looks as good as it performs.I have got to say even though I’m not a huge fan of military watches, I love the functional look of this watch. Andres wanted to keep the watch as original as possible and decided to keep the old crystal.The case back has properly stamped military markings.With approval from Anders here is a wrist shot to truly sow the dimensions of this beast!
Hello. I’ve lost my stop- second levers. Can you show them and their dimensions? You might have to make yourself.
I can’t – the watch isn’t with me any more.
Hi,
I’m thinking of getting one that has come up for sale near me! It’s in very good condition, still has the original Strap!! What’s a good price for one in all original condition?
Regards,
Ken
I am afraid I don’t do valuations.
What a beautiful movement. Thank you for sharing. I truly enjoyed this thread.
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Great post Mitka! I’ve always wanted to have a look inside one of those beasts. Great solution (IMO) for the hands.
Btw, that blue nato strap does not really fit … ! 😉
Awesome
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A beauty!
What size is it?
I do not remember. I think it was 55mm. Sure Anders will let us know;)
All the original B-uhr navigation watches was 55mm.
IWC, A. Lange & Sohne, Laco, Wempe and Stowa was the only suppliers. Exterior is next to identical.
The Stowa has perhaps the most beautiful movement.
Cheers.
Definitely is a well executed elabore difficult to find nowadays unless you fork out thousands…
The movement is in nice condition and excellent time keeping in six positions for a watch that must be 70 odd years old. Shame about the crazed crystal, be careful it doesn’t fall out. Nice work Mitka.
The crystal is safe.
And it looks much nicer in real life and natural daylight.
I had to decide whether to replace it or not.
As it may be the 70 year old original I decided to leave it.
I can replace it easily later on if I regret the decision.
what a beautiful movement.
Sitting with it in hands right now…. The size is enormous! It makes my classic Speedmaster look like a little ladies watch in comparison. 🙂
Not a daily wearer for sure, but a unique piece of horological history.
Thanks Mitka!
Looks great, incredibly big too. When you take it of at night you could always hang it back on the wall!
A lovely movement. Great post!