So I’ve got this old Omega from 1948 that belonged to my grandpa. Kept losing time like crazy last month. Like 20 minutes slow every couple days. Figured I’d finally learn how to keep these classics ticking right.
First Thing I Did
Grabbed my cheap magnifier glass because these tiny parts? Forget seeing ’em with naked eyes. Popped open the case back real gentle with my pry tool. Saw tons of black gunk inside. Old dried oil looks like tar. Nasty.
The Cleaning Part Sucked
- Dunked every screw and gear in lighter fluid overnight. Don’t tell the wife I used her good glass bowl.
- Scrubbed the movement with toothpicks for like three hours. Felt like defusing a bomb.
- Found two rusty gears under the balance wheel. Little monsters were grinding everything.
Ran to my watch buddy Dave’s garage workshop. Guy’s got every tool known to man. He showed me how to buff rust off with 2000-grit paper. You basically just breathe on the paper while rubbing. Too much pressure and you’re screwed.
The Oil Thing Is Tricky
Dave gave me this syringe with super thin oil. Said “one tiny drop per jewel – no more!” My hands shook like a leaf. Oiled three spots before I sneezed and wasted half the oil tube. Nearly cried.
Reassembly took two tries. First time I put the date wheel in backward. Watch jumped to 31st every noon. Realized it when my calendar showed Thursday twice. Felt stupid as hell.
What Finally Worked
- Used silicon grease for the winding stem after reading old Omega forums
- Demagnetized it three times because fridge magnets kept attacking it
- Made a padded box from cigar case foam for nighttime storage
Now it runs +2 seconds daily. That rusty horror in June? Totally worth it. Left a coffee stain on Dave’s workbench though. He still sends me cleanup reminders.
