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Carlo, absolutely correct..
In Response To: Bucket List - Check! ()

Hi Carlo,

Thanks for your considerations, I totally agree.

In ordert o avoid to dismount the hands and dial to reassemble the setting lever I never unscrewed the lever screw more than exactly 1.5 turns, usually is enough to temove the stem, until now never failed so think could be correct.

Absolutely right also for the tools, better to spend a bit more but only once :-)

Best.

Gianluca

: That was awesome!! Very well done, and I am thrilled to have some
: sort of reference point with pictures finally! I would never
: have the patience or skill to service my own watches, but I have
: always wanted to completely disassemble one of my Autavia's and
: reassemble it. It is actually on my Bucket list!! :)

: After seeing your excellent documentation, I finally might have the
: courage to actually attempt to do this. The furthest I ever went
: was taking the movement out of the case! LOL!

: WARNING!!! I will say this for the "rookies" (myself
: included). It is not as easy as Gianluca has excellently
: documented. My first attempt of removing the movement out of the
: case turned into a costly expense. In order to take the movement
: out of the case, you need to slightly unscrew the lever screw,
: so you may pull the stem with crown out of the case. Even this
: simple first task, I screwed (literally!!!) up, and turned it a
: bit more than I should, which apparently did more
: "damage" than I thought. I was unable to put the crown
: and stem back, which required me to ship the watch to Craig, who
: had to take dial off, and reset the set lever, since I was
: "done" with trying to do anything else myself! LOL! So
: be warned, this is not for the faint of heart and make sure you
: realize that you might end up needing to send it in for service.
: And all this was just from trying to remove a damn crown, so I
: can't imagine taking the entire movement apart! Practice makes
: perfect, but do keep in mind the potential cost factor of
: sending your watch in to service.

: I also would suggest using good quality tools specifically made for
: watch repairs, which is a separate investment by itself. I
: initially had bought the cheaper tool sets, thinking how much
: difference could a screwdriver be that they charge $200+ for a
: set vs the Chinese knock off that was $10! Oh boy, talk about
: quality difference! Remember, these are very very small and
: delicate parts you are dealing with, so I do suggest making an
: investment in the proper tools, before attempting to do anything
: to your $1k+ watch.

: I'm not trying to discourage anyone, but just trying to share my
: own experience and the risks you are about to take.

: Excellent work Gianluca! Can't wait to see the next article!

: Cheers
: Carlo

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