An Omega Seamaster — caliber 562, on its original beads-of-rice bracelet — arrived at our Seattle workshop running poorly and in need of a full service. Under the cream dial and gold dauphine hands was a problem that had quietly cascaded through the date works.

As received — the Omega Seamaster on its beads-of-rice bracelet.

One broken wheel, three damaged parts

On disassembly we found the calendar drive wheel was broken — and its loose pieces had gone on to damage the intermediate driving wheel and the hour wheel. One failure had become three. All three date-side components were pulled for replacement.

The date works — a snapped fragment among the calendar wheels.

A second fault

Under magnification, a second problem surfaced: the central-seconds bearing had come loose from the center post, feeding into the watch's weak, unreliable running.

Under the loupe — the central-seconds pinion at the center of the movement.

Rebuilding the movement

With everything cleaned, reassembly began at the mainspring barrel. The escapement and center-seconds parts received surface treatment, the cap jewels were opened, cleaned, and oiled, and the keyless works, gear train, and balance were rebuilt. Initial regulation showed power to the balance was low, so we adjusted the depth of the pallet stones, applied fresh shellac, and fitted a new mainspring — after which the movement ran far better.

The mainspring, barrel, and arbor during barrel service.

Finding the correct part

Research turned up something telling: the broken calendar drive wheel wasn't even the right part. At some point in the watch's life it had been swapped for an Omega 563 component. We sourced the correct wheel designed for the 562, and fitted it alongside a new hour wheel and intermediate driving wheel.

The calendar plate and date wheels laid out for dial-side reassembly.

Cased and tested

The calendar and dial were rebuilt, the hands cleaned and re-lumed, and the case and bracelet cleaned. A new crystal went in, the movement was cased, and the watch passed multi-day timing, power-reserve, and quality-control testing before being returned.

The finished Omega Seamaster, serviced and cased.

This is the kind of work we do every day: complete, documented vintage watch restoration on mechanical watches and Accutrons of every make. If you have a vintage Omega in need of service, start an intake and tell us about it.