I’ve written about Omegas SMP before but this one has such a beautiful deep blue glossy dial it would be criminal not to feature it! It came in for a movement service as the owner has just bought it and there wasn’t any history with it.

The traditional Omega hippocampus adorns the caseback.

With the caseback and magnetic shield removed we have a view of the calibre 1538 movement.

Once the movement is uncased the beautiful glossy blue dial and swords type hands can be seen, lovely isn’t it?

Underneath that dial is the calendar components, it’s nice to see a bit of perlage decoration on the top cover.

With that cover removed you can see more of the components. The brass wheel with the steel circle in the centre is a clever magnetic clutch that enables the fast setting of the hour hand for different time zones.

The calendar side fully stripped.

Flip the movement over and the circuit and motion work side is ready to be tackled. Once again a nice touch is the perlage on the coil cover.

The keyless work and train are accessible once the circuit and coil are removed.

The movement was soon ready for cleaning and inspection.

It’s probably just me but does the coil cover put anyone else in mind of the famous giant statues on Easter Island?

Must just be me then!

Once the parts had been cleaned reassembly started. A point to mention is don’t put the rotor or the magnetic clutch in a cleaning machine, in fact never put anything magnetic in as they will attract all the tiny metal particles suspended in the cleaning solution and you’ll have a fun time cleaning them off when they come out. It’s best to clean these separately in some fresh cleaning solution.

Top plate back on the train and the keyless work reinstalled.

The circuit side completed.

With the calendar side completed we now have a freshly lubricated movement ready for the dial and handset.

That lovely dial again, the contrast between the relief printed waves and the glossy blue dial really makes the dial stand out. Or ‘pop’ if your into your americanisms.

The movement recased and ready for a fresh battery.

With the watch resealed it’s time for a pressure test.

With that successfully passed the watch is done and ready for a few more years service.

And a shot back on the ultrasonically cleaned bracelet!