Eterna 1416U, from despair to redemption

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This thread started in the Ebay Disasters thread.

To cut a long story short, I bought 3 watches from a watchmaker's estate. All 3 were sold with good balances. While literally true... turns out he'd messed up the hairsprings on all three.

Vendor photo (before):



Today (after):



The dial has some light patina and radium burns, still wears very well on the wrist and is the large size calibre and case.

This was my first Eterna repair, and being unfamiliar with the calibre I made some basic mistakes. On the plus side, it is a absolutely magnificent movement with some very interesting features and top top quality build. Everything is machined to perfection, and honestly even after the pain I went through with this rebuild - I can honestly say that Eterna is totally underrated. These are classic movements and I can understand why when discussing them with my watchmaker/mentor why he waxed-lyrical over them.

Back to the resto.

Rust. More elsewhere...



...and, mangled hairspring,



...and a missing roller jewel and to top it all off, no click spring.



First lesson I learnt the hard way. Do not remove the cannon pinion yet.



I did...



The problem is, the cannon pinion isn't a conventional design. These two parts should stay together, you can see how the clutch is between the wheel and the cannon pinion.



I cannot describe to you the frustration of putting this back together, rebuilding the movement (twice), and not being able to work out why it wasn't running for long. I then removed the auto winder - no change, then the motion works - and it ran, beautifully, as it should. I managed to source a replacement cannon pinion assembly and everything was fine. Obviously the fit is critical and by removing and reassembling it I had disturbed the clutching function. The hazard of working on something different, and making a simple error.

Anyway, another design difference is the shock protection.



Cap and spring, see how finished even the retaining spring is.



Stripped ready for cleaning.



Parts purchased (balance complete, set bridge and crystal) from Cousins UK:



I forgot to get a photo of the lever before I assembled it, it was absolutely beautifully made.



Running:



Automatic assembly:



Finally done:



On the wrist, mistakes forgiven, and lightly patinated dial. I can also forget that this was an uneconomical repair and ended up costing far more than it should have.

[Outta Time]

Nice. Always good to see a watch back from the brink.....It may have been beyond economical repair, but the value now lies in that every time you look at it, you will know it's your work, and you saved it.

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Thanks mate. Although that wasn't at the brink, it was the bottom of the cliff . That said, I am loving this watch, it feels and looks great on the wrist

I certainly have a new appreciation for the brand, and that is a good thing.

[Erik_H]

A great job with a great result on that lovely watch.

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Thanks Erik, it was certainly the biggest challenge I have had in a while.

[Marrick]

The rate at which you are learning is truly amazing. Congratulations.

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The rate at which you are learning is truly amazing. Congratulations.

Thank you Steve, of course - it would probably be quicker if I didn't insist on buying such wrecks, but for me that's much of the fun of it

[JL Smout]

Nice work. It's gone from an ugly duckling to being a beatiful swan.

[audiomann1973]

Great job!!! I love Eterna watch and your has a beatiful look.

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Thanks chaps