Navitimer Datora mech replacement

[TimeBomb 0]

Hello everyone,

 

I am new to this forum, having joined a few days ago. This is a great forum, full of incredibly interesting and useful information all in one place!

 

I have a fascination for mechanical watches (perhaps inherited from my grandpa who is a retired watchmaker) so I see the world of reps as a great way to be able to learn how these wonderful machines are made, can be upgraded, etc.

 

I am currently very interested in the Navitimer Datora replica, which from the very good review I read on this forum I realise that it is pretty close to the original, and uses an Asian 7750 mechanism, altered to perform like the Valjoux 7751.

 

What I am currently wondering is if it would be possible to buy a genuine, swiss valjoux 7751 mechanism and replace the asian 7750 with the swiss 7751 on this rep. The rep (as in the review) seems so close to the original, with all the dials and functions working, that I wonder if this could be done.

 

Has anyone tried it? Does anyone know if this is possible and if yes what is the degree of difficulty involved?

 

If this has already been answered elsewhere I apologise for repeating the question, please just point me to the right place and I will gladly read it through.

 

Many thanks for any help or replies, I hope I can contribute in the future to this very informative and helpful forum.

 

TB

[Luthier 1]

First - Asian 7750 is the exact copy of Valjoux 7750, and it's great movement.

Second - I'm not sure if A7750 subdials spacing is the same as on 7751.If you have exact data on both movements from ETA - you can compare.

[l47340 0]

Hey Timebomb,

 

I recently got hooked on the Datora as well, and it turned into a wild goose chase. I tried 3 separate dealers (house of souvenirs, watchinternational, and timesshops) and none of them had that in stock. I finally caught wind that the factory had stopped repping that model.

Sorry if I took the wind out of your sails, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

(on a related note, if you did find a dealer that still has some in stock... who the hell is it? haha)

Good luck with the reps amigo!

[TimeBomb 0]

Hello everyone,

 

Thanks for the replies. I did not want to imply that the Asian mechanisms are no good, for me is more of a challenge and therefore I would like to try out the mech replacement if it is indeed at all possible.

 

As l47340 pointed out, this little project seems to be falling at the first hurdle, ie, getting the replica itself with the Asian 7751 seems impossible at the moment.

 

If I managed to find someone in the trusted dealers still shipping them I will let you know, l47430.

 

In the meantime, does anyone know why the Datora replicas have been stopped? Will they bring a newer, better replica out, for example?

 

I read that there was potentially a better, more accurate replica of the Navitimer coming out and that could also be a good candidate for my project...

 

Any information most welcome!

 

TimeBomb

 

(PS: Mods, perhaps this topic should move to the general forum since it is no longer specifically about mods/repairs. Let me know if you'd like me to repost.)

[KBH 7]

Without knowing much about that particular watch, my first concern would be the stem location. When they use a 7750 and move the dial locations of the hands, they usually do it by adding additional gears to the top side of the movement. This in turn makes the movement fatter than the original. It then seems logical that the stem position would have to be lower or the dial higher in the replica case.

 

Having said that, I still have know idea of the actual feasibility.

[TimeBomb 0]

Without knowing much about that particular watch, my first concern would be the stem location. When they use a 7750 and move the dial locations of the hands, they usually do it by adding additional gears to the top side of the movement. This in turn makes the movement fatter than the original. It then seems logical that the stem position would have to be lower or the dial higher in the replica case.

 

Having said that, I still have know idea of the actual feasibility.

 

That's really interesting. I wonder if the replica case is the exact same size of the gen or not...

 

Still I first need to find a Datora replica and I am not being able to find one... B)

 

 

Many thanks!

TB

[l47340 0]

Hey TB,

 

It looks like Silix Prime has the Datora (http://www.silix-prime.com/bres062-p-2264.html). I have not contacted them about availability on this watch, but the site says there are 100 in stock so... let me know what you find out amigo, and good luck!