Not a fake Omega watch - and yes, this is a wind-up :-)

 
Inspired by the recent infestation of fake watch spammers, specifically the 'Omega' thread, I thought it might be nice to screw the back off my forty+ year old Omega Genève and take a few shots of the movement.
 
Here's the bumph from Omega's website:
 

 
 
I was given this watch by my wonderful grandad (who also left me his 18 carat gold signet ring engraved with his initials, which I've worn with pride since he died in 1980).
 
The watch is a beautiful piece of mechanical engineering in its own right, and its sentimental value means it's been well looked after (although it's now overdue a new front cover). I only wear it on special occasions, but I wind it up every so often to keep the movement in good order.
 
Anyway, here are a few pics for you. For the technically minded, all shots were taken on my Canon EOS 600D + 50mm f1.8 (set to f22) using various combinations of my Polaroid automatic macro extension tubes. Lighting was provided by my LED ring-light. The RAW files were developed and converted to .tif format in Adobe Lightroom 5. Final processing and conversion to 'jpeg was done in Photoshop Elements 11.
 
 
The front:
 

 
 
The back:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Oh yeah, what did you use for lighting?
 
It's nice lighting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
arrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh..... that's 2 down and the day has just begun.
 

mike_mccue
 
Can anyone technically minded explain what the jewels are for?
 
I thought "17 jewels" meant it got really hot inside.
 
best regards,
mike

Mike,
 
If you notice from the pics, the Jewels are all on "Pivot" points (i.e. on points that spin or turn)
The reason for this is the fact that the jewels will not wear out like the metal would from 
constant "pivoting" or "spinning", nor will they heat as much as if these were Metal pivots. (i.e. Bushings)
The end result is that the Mechanisms will last far longer, hence, why Clocks or Watches
with Jewel movements are more expensive then those without.

McQ said cleavage.
 
TeeHee!

Thanks gentlemen
 
Mike this is the cheap and cheerful ringlight I've got - NEEWER 48 LED Ring Light
 
It's handy because it comes with a mains adapter, although it can also run on batteries. You get a range of adapter rings so it can be attached to a variety of lenses.
 
The best feature is being able to select just half the LEDs (either right or left) to add shadows and depth. The full setting is good for even lighting, although it can leave the image looking a bit flat.
 
My next purchase will definitely be a ringflash though. Having to stop down to small apertures to get any depth of field means the more light you can get on the subject the better.
 
Incidentally, these are the extension rings I bought - Polaroid Auto Focus DG Macro Extension Tube Set
 
These do feel really well made, and keep the electronic connections between the camera and lens, so auto focus and exposure work as per usual.
 
So what do you chaps want next - I've got some steam trains and a butterfly called Gary in the can

Thanks Steve,
 I think my wife will be getting a surprise real soon. She has been asking about getting some macro gear for her.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

SteveStrummerUK
Thanks gentlemen
 
Mike this is the cheap and cheerful ringlight I've got - NEEWER 48 LED Ring Light
 
It's handy because it comes with a mains adapter, although it can also run on batteries. You get a range of adapter rings so it can be attached to a variety of lenses.
 
The best feature is being able to select just half the LEDs (either right or left) to add shadows and depth. The full setting is good for even lighting, although it can leave the image looking a bit flat.
 
My next purchase will definitely be a ringflash though. Having to stop down to small apertures to get any depth of field means the more light you can get on the subject the better.
 
Incidentally, these are the extension rings I bought - Polaroid Auto Focus DG Macro Extension Tube Set
 
These do feel really well made, and keep the electronic connections between the camera and lens, so auto focus and exposure work as per usual.
 
So what do you chaps want next - I've got some steam trains and a butterfly called Gary in the can

mike_mccue
Thanks Steve,
 I think my wife will be getting a surprise real soon. She has been asking about getting some macro gear for her.
 

The genuine Canon ringflash looks like an amazing bit of kit Mike.
 
And of course, you'd be able to borrow it whenever
 
If I had a bit more of an engineering/woodworking type brain on me, I would definitely build myself some kind of jig to hold both camera and subject, and maybe lighting. It seems that having the camera/tripod separate makes it very difficult to get perfectly perpendicular to the subject. I was actually finding it easier to move the watch forwards and back to get it in focus range.
 

Nice pics!

mike_mccue
I agree Larry. That's what you said. :-) Sometimes, I am denser than coal.
 
I know a bit about bigger bearings and such and just didn't appreciate how these jewel bearings were functioning more like bushings than some sort of micro roller bearing.
 
:-)
 
I'm still curious about how they get around the cleavage plane issue, because that occurs at the molecular level and so it seems, to me, like it would be very difficult to get a perfectly round circle out of a material that is pre disposed to make a perfectly proportioned polygon.
 
best regards,
mike

That much I'm not quite sure of...
I know that they usually use Ruby or Sapphire for the Jewels...
And any quality Watch will also have a Sapphire Crystal...
Sapphire is EXTREMELY scratch resistant...

With my mega gigantic hands, I can't even begin to imagine how they
get those Gems perfectly round to fit inside a gear that's the size of
a pencil tip.....and then drill those microscopic 
holes in the gems and then feed tiny little axles through them....
and then attach them to tiny little gears, etc....I know these guys must have the patience of the Saints to do it...
I'm sure modern machines can do this now...but this was all done by hand for centuries...

Being a Mechanical Engineer most of my life...I find it completely fascinating...

Beagle
Am I the only one who noticed that Strummy needs to clean his watch???

He doesn't have time for that.

funniest post by

craigb

Beagle
Am I the only one who noticed that Strummy needs to clean his watch???

He doesn't have time for that.

funniest post by craigb (ITHRN) EVVVA!