Service: Alpina dead beat second clock.

mitka88

9 years ago

This clock was used in an Alpina dealership as an accurate timekeeper. They would often be displayed to the public. This model was made with a dead beat second hand. This must have looked very impressive on a small clock like this, as it was still a long time until the quartz clocks where mass produced. I got this particular clock last year, it’s running but is not keeping very good time.

The case is shaped like the Alpina triangle logo. I turn the clock around. The back is held in place by the feet.

I have removed the back. It’s pretty cool there is a little window to the movement.

The clock also has a hacking lever in the form of a pusher on the side of the case

Removing the case back cover reveals a nicely decorated swiss lever movement.

The dial is nice but, unfortunately the Alpina lettering is missing.

I remove the hands and dial revealing a nice cover plate for testing the timekeeping without the dial.

To let down the remaining power I remove the pallet fork.

I start taking the movement apart.

The watch consists of two gear trains; one lower one for the clock and the upper for the dead beat second hand.

The dead beat second gear train removed.

I can now remove the main running gear train. Looking at the dirt on the pivots, there was no doubt that a service was needed!

Lastly I remove the cover plate to remove the setting mechanism.

I take apart the balance cock.

To access the lower pivot jewel I need to unscrew a plate that is screwed onto the base plate.

I regularly change my cleaning fluid so it never gets very dirty. First I manually clean the larger parts in the cleaning solution before doing the same in the rinse solution. I do this outside as it’s smelly stuff;) The smaller parts go in the cleaning machine.

I also go over all the case parts.

I start by putting running gear train in place.

The wheel to the left is actually a barrel for the centre second gear train.

Putting the movement back together is a little more challenging for me as everything is in a larger scale to what I’m used to.

The lower bush for the central second is very worn so I decide to replace it. The bush is fitted above central second wheel hole so it needs to be custom made with a shoulder and the right hight.

I fit the new bushing.

Here you can see how the small barrel engages with the winding mechanism that also winds the large barrel.

The power is controlled by a lever mounted onto a pinion. The lever pinion engages with an intermediate pinion that is engaging with an overlapping wheel that is driven by the main gear-train.