Clayton sent in this Tissot Chronograph. The crown has come loose, but dial and case are in good condition…
If you think that this looks familiar, you are right. The Lemania 1281 is the precursor to the famous Omega 321. There are quite a few differences, so parts aren’t really interchangeable.
Not too bad, but there is dirt, the oil has dried up, and there is also some rust, so high time for a service.
The pendant tube doesn’t look too good, so I will change that, and I will also fit new pushers, as the pusher screws are bent.
There is rust on the bottom plate, so that will need cleaning up as well. This side is almost identical with the Omega 321.
There are quite a few differences to the 321 which are visible here. The construction of the intermediate wheel that drives the minute recorder, the minute recorder runner and its spring, the start/stop lever construction, and the clutch spring, which comes in from the top, rather than from the side as on the 321.
The gear train is now visible, with a bit of rust on the winding pinion, the winding stem, and setting lever screw.
I will also fit a new mainspring.
Now it’s time to take the bottom plate apart.
The parts go into the cleaning machine.
With all the parts cleaned, re-assembly starts, and i put in the balance jewels.
The gear train goes into place.
In order to test the movement, I put in the winding gears.
Now I can complete the chronograph layer.
The bottom plate is complete, and I can put the dial on.
The new pusher screws are as usual too long, and have to be cut to size, with a new slit for the screwdriver cut in.
The watch is back together, and looking very good indeed.
Im wondering how close this movement is to the 861 used in the Speedmaster Pro. The 861 also uses the cheaper cam operated design, but apparently this design is more robust, else NASA wouldn’t have chosen it. So it seems wrong to call it merely a move to make the watch cheaper.
Hello! Amazing work on this chronograph! I have recently acquired one in excellent shape, but it is missing the little spring-loaded lever for the minute counter when the chronograph is initiated. Would you happen to have any particular part location where I could find that? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Ebay is always a good source of spare parts.
I have one of these and I am looking to get it serviced. What does a service like this cost?
Hi Michael,
Check out the price list on this Web site.
Nice to see a 1281 being serviced!
Lemania cal 1281 was an early “budget type” cam operated design.
The 127x/8x series of movements was regarded as robust and good value.
Compared to the “finer” CH12 / 2310 / Omega 321 they had for instance a flat spring instead of Breguet type, and cam operation instead of column wheel.
Beautiful watch. Did yo have to change out the pusher caps as well? The thread on the new screw looks a narrower and a bit more course than the original.
Yes, I changed the complete pushers.