I am very proud to see my name again amongst the prize winners in the official journal of the British Horological Institute. I was awarded the ‘Best Serviced Chronograph Watch’ BHI prize for 2021. With a grade of 99% following the two-day practical exam, I could not be happier . Your chronograph is in good hands! For more regular update you can follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/o.n.atelier/ All the best Olivier The post 2021 BHI Prize award – Best serviced chronograph watch appeared first on O.N. Atelier ..read more

Under the loupe today is a very nice vintage Ollech & Wajs 2002 Valjoux 7730. O&W was created in Switzerland in the late 1950’s, and grew in popularity in the 1960’s, especially with servicemen, sportsman, divers and aviators thanks to a strong reputation for quality and dependable mechanical watches. O&W still operate today, see their website       The watch arrived in running condition, but was not keeping time and had not been serviced in many years so was in need of a full service and a replacement of the crystal .         Upon opening the c ..read more

Featured on the blog today is this lovely vintage Rolex Oyster Royal 6426 Calibre 1215. This particular watch was produced in 1955 according to its serial number, and it is powered by the excellent and beautifully finished Rolex Calibre 1215: a  manual wind movement, with centre sweep second, Breguet hairspring and shock resistant settings on both balance and escape wheel, a very nice spec for that era.   First impressions of the Calibre 1215 movement are good after opening the oyster case: It looks in great condition apart from a little dirt and dry lubricant.   The original d ..read more

Today under the loupe is this CWC 1983 Royal Navy quartz divers watch, an iconic British military watch. A new incarnation of this watch was released by CWC in recent years, but the watch I am featuring today is the original, as issued in 1983 to a member of the Royal Navy.   As you can see, the watch is in a pretty sorry condition: Not running, missing crown, stem broken and stuck in the tube, bent bars, heavily scratched crystal, and decaying lume on the hands. I also notice that the bezel does not click as it should and feels very loose in both directions.  All of these issues wi ..read more

This very nice vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date reference 1500 came in for a service. The watch is powered by the excellent Rolex Calibre 1570. It was a highly regarded chronometer rated movement produced by Rolex throughout the mid 60s to mid 70s, and fitted to the Oyster Perpetual, Submariner and Explorer range. I  start by opening the caseback which reveals the beautifully executed Rolex Calibre 1570. The movement looks in very nice condition, and it is very clean despite some ageing lubricant, so far so good.   Movement is de-cased, the dial and hands are in beautiful conditi ..read more

  UPDATE: I have now setup a new website dedicated to Seiko mods – for details please visit http://suwamods.co.uk      The NH36 movement upgrade can be carried out on the SXK007 or SKX009 (7S26-0020) watches as detailed below. It consists of the replacement of the original 7S26 movement with a “modern” Hattori NH36 (or Seiko Calibre 4R36), which has a hack and wind facility. The NH36 movement upgrade is a cost effective alternative to a service, as it is less labour intensive than a full strip-down / clean and rebuild. It is also an opportunity to add functionalities to yo ..read more

This interesting Bulova automatic divers watch came in for a service. It is a  very collectable model, the “M7” on the caseback and movement indicates that it was produced in 1967. It has a lovely bakelite bezel insert and  is powered by the 17 jewels Bulova Calibre 11ALAC, self winding movement. When the watch came in the bezel was seized, the timegrapher trace very poor and the crystal had internal cracks which cannot be polished, so time for a bit of TLC. Case back open:   I start by disassembling the automatic works.   The automatic system on this movement is an u ..read more

I now offer a watch battery replacement service which can be purchased directly through the website via a simple “buy now” button so there is no need to contact me for a quotation. The service includes an optional vacuum and pressure test. Click here for full details. Battery replacement on a Tag Heuer watch:   Quartz watch diagnostic equipment: Witschi Q Test 6000   Vacuum and pressure test equipment (Witschi ALC Waterproof tester)   The post Watch Battery Replacement and Pressure Test appeared first on O.N. Atelier ..read more

Something a little different today on the blog as I predominantly featured mechanical watches in the past. This article is about the service of a British Military Watch, the CWC G10. This watch was issued to a member of the British military in 1980. It is powered by the Quartz movement ESA 536.121. This particular model is the first incarnation of the many G10 versions, and is nicknamed “fatboy” due to its thicker case profile in comparison to subsequent models. As you can tell from the photo below the watch does certainly look like it has hard a hard life!   I start by opening the ..read more

I am very proud to see my name again amongst the prize winners in the official journal of the British Horological Institute. I was awarded the ‘Best Serviced Chronograph Watch’ BHI prize for 2021. With a grade of 99% following the two-day practical exam, I could not be happier . Your chronograph is in good hands! For more regular update you can follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/o.n.atelier/ All the best Olivier The post 2021 BHI Prize award – Best serviced chronograph watch appeared first on O.N. Atelier ..read more