ETA 2783 Keyless Works Swiss Watch Repair Under The Microscope

In this video I discuss the history of the small brand Swiss watchmakers of the 1950s and 60s and then I fix the keyless works of a vintage ETA 2783 Swiss made watch movement. The ETA 2783, released in 1974, is a direct predecessor of the modern caliber ETA 2824 (Sellita SW200). The keyless works is an integral part of mechanical watches and also a domain in which things can easily go wrong, particularly when the watch is being serviced. The stem release can be pressed (or screwed) to deep into the movement and can displace or jam the spring that helps switch and hold the stem between the setting and winding mechanism positions. That's what happened to this ETA 2783 movement, and in this video I show how I repaired the fault.

Below are links to the pages referenced in this video (unsponsored):

ricardo (Swiss auction website):
https://www.ricardo.ch/

Watchys (Swiss watch parts website - from which I bought the lot of vintage watch parts on ricardo - they also sell direct):
https://www.watchys.ch

1970 historical Swiss Horological publication DAVOINE (pdf):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nWwM_ciZ5QyXE0PQnJEVaw2ekdfTodpD/view?usp=sharing
see pages 149-160 (155 - 166 pdf) for a comprehensive list of Swiss Watch companies circa 1970 (prior to the quartz crisis)

Ranfft website (movement references):
http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk

chapter index:
00:00 introduction - ETA 2783
00:20 my background with ETA 2472
00:42 background: my purchase of lot of vintage Swiss watch parts on ricardo auction website
00:53 incomplete donor watch from that lot of vintage Swiss watch parts (ETA 2783)
02:00 learning watchmaking is interesting because of both the micro mechanical aspect of the craft and the history
03:10 visit to Roland Ranfft's website for movement information about ETA 2783 hand sizes and dial / stem distances
04:25 discussion of the difficulty of fitting a vintage movement to a vintage case
06:50 estimated value of ETA 2783 is US$50 to $150 (NOS - new old stock)
07:10 often it's cheaper just to buy a complete watch with an ETA 2783 or other ETA movement
07:36 mention of watch repair talk website as a resource for information
08:16 discussion of the 1970 historical Swiss Horological publication DAVOINE (presented on screen as a flip-through of the pdf - linked above) listing many of the thousands of small Swiss watch brands in the 1950s and 60s
14:31 introduction of the work to be carried out on on the keyless works of the ETA 2783
15:24 introduction of the Eakins trinocular video microscope I'll be using
16:00 explanation of the 0.5x Barlow lens use on the microscope to reduce the amount of magnification
18:01 discussion of the incredible usefulness of using a microscope for watchmaking
19:14 discussion of the problem I'll be trying to fix - the stem is stuck in the position for quick date setting
19:45 begin disassembly of the ETA 2783 setting and winding mechanism
22:07 diagnosis of the problem with the ETA 2783 keyless works and what's involved in fixing it
22:36 the problem shown visually
25:07 problem fixed: if you watch the yoke carefully when I remove the spring you'll see it pop back into the correct position
25:38 discussion of the setting lever jumper "arm" position and review of the fix before reattaching the plate that holds the keyless works in place
26:25 reassembly (this is a relatively long section because it's fidgety work and I kept forgetting the order of the reassembly in terms of part stacking...)
33:48 on my first test the fix doesn't work as expected so I remove and reinsert the stem
34:56 reinserting the stem worked! I demonstrate that the full function of the keyless works has been restored!
40:17 discussion of watchmaking as a profession as I reassemble the watch
41:32 reattachment of the date wheel - this is the first time I did this without removing the plate covering the date mechanism side of the movement - it takes some time but now I finally understand how to do it quickly the next time
46:12 success! the repair is complete - verification after it's fully assembled
47:42 plans for future videos
50:32 THANKS! Please Like and Subscribe!

My videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only. Critical / corrective comments and links to resources including other watchmaking channels are welcome.

#watchmaker #comedy #watchrepair #watchrestoration