BR03 Regulating. Help Needed-Now I'm REALLY confused - UPDATED --YOU ALL BLOODY LIED TO ME!!!!

[black263 228]

What a lying bunch of gits you guys turned out to be. There I was, a novice at this sort of thing, thumb in my arse and my brain in neutral, and I came to you for advice. HUH. I may as well have asked my Granny, and she's been dead for 20 years. What the fuck is this idiot talking about I hear you ask. Read on my amigos!!!!!!!!

 

ORIGINAL POST

 

I have just bought a BR on M2M and it's a beautiful watch. Now I need to get into it to regulate it as it's gaining about two mins a day on the wrist, and this is confirmed on the Timegrapher.

 

 

From what I can gather by research, I have to remove the front using the 4 screws, and the crown by removing the "do not unscrew" screw and using a fine pusher through the hole. Does the movement then simply come out from the front? I also presume that the crown goes back in by pressing through the hole also. Is this correct, or can the crown simply be pushed back into place?. I've never handled a BR before, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[TheSav 2]

I'm sure there was a tutorial on here on removing the movement from a B&R. I'll see if I can find it.

[black263 228]

Someone must know how to do this!!

[cwazy1 0]

1. remove the do not remove screw in the back

2. eye out where the stem remove button is. it should be directly below the hole

3. depress button as with all movements and then remove stem in correct position

4. flip watch over

5. remove 4 screws that hold bezel/crystal assembly

6. remove bezel/crystal assembly

7. flip watch over and allow movement/dial/hands to fall out of case

8. regulate.

9. repeat backwards to put everything back in.

[black263 228]

Bugger me, I almost got it right. Only question is "remove stem in correct position". What is the correct position?

[kennycoder 97]

Correct position I think he means in the hour set position. At least that is what most the the people advise.

[black263 228]

So I undid the "do not unscrew" screw, pushed gently and the crown came off as advertised. I then "undid" the 4 screws on the front. Well, I say undid, as they dont unscrew, and all 4 simply rotate happily in either direction without appearing to unscrew. Looking closely at the case, with a loupe, I can't see any join where the front could possibly come off. Put the crown back in without any problem and it all runs as before with a gain of a couple of minutes a day. Any further advice?

[black263 228]

Do we have any B&R knowledge out there?

[Cynikal.Mindset 1]

it would appear the screws and/or the holes are stripped as you should be able to unscrew the 4 front screws and remove the front half of the watch case. So, you're gonna have to try a couple different things here...drill out the screws or try to apply some pressure while separating the case and unscrewing at the same time, use something like a guitar pick to do this as to not mar the case

[Cynikal.Mindset 1]

now we all know the gen uses an unmodified ETA 988.333 movement... so... what's inside the rep...

 

let's find out!

 

first we unscrew the dreaded 'do not unscrew' screw....

 

 

and release the stem

 

 

next we unscrew the 4 main screws - not you should use a plastic screwdriver to avoid damage.

 

as you can see like the gen the screws are polished.

 

 

then we lift up the front and pull it off.

 

 

then we are left with this:

 

 

unscrew the 4 face screws...

 

and this module pops out

 

flip it over.... and....

 

YES a genuine eta 988.333; serial indicates it's also made under eta's watchful eye which is nice...

 

general pics:

 

 

 

 

[black263 228]

Dont want to try drilling. The screws just spin anyway. My problem with the second option is that I cant see a join in the case to try to apply pressure. I need to find a watchsmith who can remove the case for me. Away on holiday on Friday so it will have to wait until the end of Aug.

[black263 228]

​What a lying bunch of gits you guys turned out to be. There I was, a novice at this sort of thing, thumb in my arse and my brain in neutral, and I came to you for advice. HUH. I may as well have asked my Granny, and she's been dead for 20 years. What the fuck is this idiot talking about I hear you ask. Read on my amigos!!!!!!!! :suck:

 

Well, two months have passed and I've been frustrated at every turn trying to get this sorted. So at half one this morning, after a couple of beers, I decided to try again. I thought that if I put a bit of leverage on the join, the pressure on the screws may enable them to bite. However, no matter how hard I looked, or what magnification loupe I used, I couldn't find a join where the two halves of the case met. Surely not I thought in my merry mind, so decided to try a wild, out of the box idea.

 

I grabbed my trusty case opener, and wedged it under the bezel where there was a gap.

 

 

 

I then gave it, what in the trade is known as "a bit of a thrunge", and -----bugger me

 

 

 

 

I unscrewed the do not unscrew screw, and with the crown in the hack position, and a little poke in the hole, the crown came out. Turned the whole thing upside down and there I was with a movement in my hand. The screws on the case appear to be purely decorative, and I'm guessing were just pressed into plain holes which is why they rotate, but don't unscrew. There is a cheap plastic movement holder inside the case, which as I guessed is a one-piece. ALL THE INFORMATION ABOVE WAS USELESS. YOU LIED TO ME, DAMN YOU.

 

 

At this point I had an outbreak of common sense and went to bed before trying to fiddle with regulating.

 

 

So this morning, it went back on the timegrapher

 

 

It took me a good 20 mins to finally get it somewhere near accurate, but in truth it is wandering all over from +20 to around -15 seconds per day. This was the best I could achieve.

 

 

You can ignore the 1 sec/day top left. I simply waited until it showed a decent figure as it drifted from plus to minus. However, I'm happy that it is much better than it was, and maybe the fluctuations will even out.

 

That reminds me of the TD who tried to change some cash at a UK bank. The cashier gave him the pounds and he queried the amount, since the day before he had received more sterling for the same amount. I'm sorry sir, said the cashier. Currency fluctuations. Ah said the TD. Maybe one day currency fluck you Blitish.

 

Drum roll and crash. I thank you.

[cwazy1 0]

Ahhh, it was a different case design

[black263 228]

Ahhh, it was a different case design

 

Correct, but everyone led me down the path of unscrewing hell.

[cwazy1 0]

hahhaha well... most the new B&R reps have correct case design as we were saying. We didnt know you had an older model.

[greg_r 83]

Ahhh, it was a different case design

 

Correct, but everyone led me down the path of unscrewing hell.

 

They're like that here...

[black263 228]

Ahhh, it was a different case design

 

Correct, but everyone led me down the path of unscrewing hell.

 

They're like that here...

BASTARDS :suck:

[black263 228]

hahhaha well... most the new B&R reps have correct case design as we were saying. We didnt know you had an older model.

I didn't even know there was an older model. You might have told me.

[cwazy1 0]

that would not have been as fun :P

[deju 1,889]

Never seen one come apart like that, learn something new every day!

[andyboy 5]

There is a message here.

 

 

Beer fixes everything.

 

[black263 228]

Without a couple inside, I doubt that I would have tried that way!

[elp 26]

not sure of the takeaway lesson - don't trust RWG experts? if all else fails, take a knife to it after a couple beers?

 

BTW, kudos on your patience - I would have taken a hammer to it after a couple days in frustration, let alone think logically about it for 2 months!

[black263 228]

not sure of the takeaway lesson - don't trust RWG experts? if all else fails, take a knife to it after a couple beers?

 

BTW, kudos on your patience - I would have taken a hammer to it after a couple days in frustration, let alone think logically about it for 2 months!

 

Didn't really think logically at all. Just kept trying what the perceived wisdom said I should do, until I had a beer-fuelled eureka moment.

[Judas 0]

 

 

 

 

Nice pics of your operations, black263.

I see your watch has two displays, do you have a picture when its enlightened?