20 year old NOS safequeen. Service or not?

[acce1999]

Caliber 3135. Running nicely with good amplitude. No visual inspection of the movement.

No need of service according to one watchmaker.

Another watchmaker says that a cleaning and oiling is strongly recommended due to the fact that oil might no longer be properly situated (in place).

What says the experts?

Thanks,

A

[TSW]

I would go for the service as the oils would be dried out.

[matt4hand]

I would service. I got got a 77 1680 that has never seen service. My watch guy opened it and said it was BONE dry. He also said it failed a pressure test do to cracks in the original crystal

Mine is getting the total treatment as we speak.

[acce1999]

Originally Posted by TSW

I would go for the service as the oils would be dried out.

Originally Posted by matt4hand

I would service. I got got a 77 1680 that has never seen service. My watch guy opened it and said it was BONE dry. He also said it failed a pressure test do to cracks in the original crystal

Mine is getting the total treatment as we speak.

Thanks. It is a caliber 3135, so it is lubricated with synthetic oil, not the earlier mineral oil, like on the caliber 1570 in the 1680. Synthetic oil do not really "dry out", but migth be redistributed if the watch is not regularly used. Good amplitude should - according to me - indicate a properly lubricated gear train and balance wheel, but not being an expert I value more opinions on this. My main concern would be if the rotor pin is still well lubricated, since this is the weak point of the watch. Also I am aware of the strong mainspring of the 3135, that will drive the gear train with or without lubrication...

Looking forward to more comments.

Best,

A

[TSW]

A,
Yes nowadays there are synthetic oils and those oil "dries" out as well but not as quick, and the wheels and the rotor axis will definitive run with friction and cause more tear on them.

[Rikki]

20 years ago they did not use all synthetics half of what they used were partial synthetics and will break down especially the oil used on the axle was discontinued 2 years ago because it would break down into it's constituant parts and lose any lubricity it may have had. Get it serviced. Rik

[SPARTAN2161]

synthetics become gummy rather than "dry" i would service. for the $200 or so it'll be worth it you know.

[acce1999]

Originally Posted by Rikki

20 years ago they did not use all synthetics half of what they used were partial synthetics and will break down especially the oil used on the axle was discontinued 2 years ago because it would break down into it's constituant parts and lose any lubricity it may have had. Get it serviced. Rik

Originally Posted by SPARTAN2161

synthetics become gummy rather than "dry" i would service. for the $200 or so it'll be worth it you know.

Thanks Rik and Nick,

My personal opinion is to get it serviced, but getting two different types of comments made me want to get yet another opinion.

I actually have all the oils used, including tools - but ... I am a hobbyist, and am fine disassembling and assembling ETA-calibers just for fun, but doing it for a couple of times doesn't make me an expert...

Rik: You confirm my concern about the axle.

Nick: You confirm my view upon oils.

Service it is!

Best,

A

[walkerwek1958]

Service it. I bought a 1987 16013 a few years back that had only been worn approx 10 times. Took it to have it serviced and was told the oil had completely dried up.

Paul

[MoBe]

Originally Posted by Rikki

20 years ago they did not use all synthetics half of what they used were partial synthetics and will break down especially the oil used on the axle was discontinued 2 years ago because it would break down into it's constituant parts and lose any lubricity it may have had. Get it serviced. Rik

My watch was seviced by Rolex in Feb. of this year.Would RSC have used the newer type lubricant,in other words would they throw out the old stuff and use the new oil as soon as it is available?

[Rikki]

Absolutely and oils change actually from year to year it is one of the most researched parts of watchmaking, lubricants. Since I started doing this 30 years ago oils have changed no less than 20 times. Rikki

[MoBe]

Originally Posted by Rikki

Absolutely and oils change actually from year to year it is one of the most researched parts of watchmaking, lubricants. Since I started doing this 30 years ago oils have changed no less than 20 times. Rikki

Thanks for the info.