Restoration: NOS Felca Watch with ETA 1080 Movement

I got a Felca watch in a friend’s batch to take a look at. Felca is the Felca Watch SA, founded on July 12th, 1943 in Grenchen – Switzerland. Felca is parts of Titoni watches nowadays.

It didn’t run well but it’s a NOS piece with the original labels still attached to the strap. It’s in a mint condition apart from some very minor marks because of storage.

The movement is an ETA 1080 and it ran irregularly with a low amplitude. Most of the time this is caused by a sticky hairspring. The ETA 1080 (17 jewels ) has a fixed stud, with Incabloc and capstones on the escape wheel bearing jewels. I’d estimate this Felca watch to be from the 50s.

Disassembly

As always I start with removing the power by moving and holding the click away from the ratchet wheel whilst gently letting the crown slip between my thumb and index finger. In this particular watch, the stem is a 2 piece one so it’s hard to keep the 2 parts attached outside of the case. Therefore I hold the ratchet wheel screw with a screwdriver and slowly release the power in the mainspring.

Then I remove the balance and the pallets and flip the movement over to the dial side. Once I removed the keyless works and motion works I flip back to the work side again. I continue with removing the crown wheel and ratchet wheel.

Then I remove the train wheel bridge and the barrel bridge to expose the train wheel. The center wheel is located under the center wheel cock. To be able to remove these parts, you’ll first have to pull out the escape-wheel, third wheel, and sweep-second wheel.

Finally, the main barrel is lifted and all parts can be cleaned in the cleaning machine.

Assembly

After the cleaning, I begin with the center wheel and the center wheel cock. Then I fit the escape-wheel, 3rd wheel, and sweep-second wheel again. I lubricate the posts of the center wheel and the sweep-second wheel with a tiny bit of HP1300 before I reinstall them.

Next are the main barrel and the wheel train bridge. I lubricate both of the bearing jewels with 9010 and the capstone as well. Then I fit the ratchet wheel and the crown wheel. The little shim of the crown wheel receives a tiny bit of hp1300.

Flip it to the dial side to install the keyless works and the motion works. I use little amounts of Moebius 9501 on certain parts in the keyless works and motion works. The bearing jewels (except that for the pallets) and the capstone for the escape wheel all receive a tiny bit of 9010.

Flip it back and fit the pallets and balance. The exit pallet stone receives a half stone face of Moebius 9415. Both the Incabloc jewel holes and stones are cleaned separately and lubricated with 9010.

What do you think of this Felca watch? Do you have a similar one? Let me know in the comments below.