It’s a ZRC '64 Spirit GF40225. It’s similar but not identical to the Grand Fonds French Navy reissue that @coco owns and I’ve hankered after it for a fair while. As I assume ZRC wishes to discontinue this model, it’s currently discounted and, combined with the pound rallying fractionally against the Swiss Franc, it dropped to a price that I was happy with and it arrived direct from Switzerland with no additional duty to pay.
ZRC is Swiss but, even beyond the French Navy connection, this feels French. It’s quirky but there’s reasoning behind most of it. The crown at the bottom fouls the strap unless it is properly screwed down so you can’t put it on unless it is correctly secured. Then there’s the glass;
It’s huge; 4mm thick apparently, and it makes the face look odd in the pics (in reality, you don’t really notice it) but it feels incredibly solid. ZRC rates it to 300m but idly notes it’s been tested to 800m which suggests a certain degree of overbuilding and means I’m probably OK to wash up wearing it. The strap also basically feels like they’ve peeled a cow.
But… I love it. It’s very different to the sort of measured engineering of the Tudors and I love the colour palate. It’s quirky but not in a way that annoys you (I can imagine adjusting the ones with a date window gets old fast mind) and- unless Pete and I forget to communicate prior to meeting up, I’m unlikely to see another one. It’s not a logical purchase- I am sure the residuals are going to be erratic at best and even at the reduced price, it’s still expensive for a ETA 2824. I don’t care though. I’ve wanted one for years and now I have one.
Replaced the crystal, spring bars, all hands (only 2 of the tiny ones shown, I dropped the other…), crown, stem, pushers, gaskets, mainspring, the pallet fork and wheel and a few other cogs and a bit of metal that i dont recognise. It’s been fully cleaned and polished (tbf it didn’t need much because it’s been looked after).
I watch a good few watch restoration vids on YouTube and didn’t quite appreciate, via my 55" telly, just how small things like the pallet forks are…
Dom gave mine the once over before he retired. A screw head had sheared somehow and was causing issues.
Repair done and new mainspring and service and general clean up.
Hands etc left as original .
The time keeping since has been amazing.
< 1sec per day.
Hear some very mixed accounts of Omega servicing - one today on TZ where a chap first had his watch returned from"servicing" without an hour hand! Second effort resulted in his OEM strap and clasp being lost forever! Nowadays that’s about £5-600!
imagine a thin small ladies movement compared
