All right! I got inspired and got myself a Bifora skin diver.. As you can see it’s looking pretty rough and needs a little work!
No doubt there has been moisture in this watch! But I think it’s worth fixing.
The movement is in overall better condition than I expected. The centre wheel and 4’th wheel are rusted together. The 4’th wheel is toast, but I can save the centre wheel.
I broach the centre wheel lightly to remove any rust and fragments remaining from the 4’th wheel.
The movement is cleaned and I have got a new 4’th wheel. I first fit the shock jewels and see that the balance moves freely.
Note how the 4’th wheel lower jewel sits loose in the centre wheel cock.
The base movement comes together and is running very good! The calibre 115 is a more refined conventional design compared to the utilitarian yet unusual calibre 910/1.
The hands needed the rust cleaning and at the same time I replaced the crumbling luminous compound.
I put the movement back into the case! The dial patina looks great and I’m very pleased with how this watch turned out.
In my opinion this is the perfect example of a underestimated, underpriced and very collectible watch. It’s a skin-diver, parts are still available and it’s a german in-house manufacture watch. Whats not to love!