Gallet Chronograph - Venus 150 Service
This watch recently came to us for a service and to replace a cracked crystal. The Venus 150 was produced from the late 1930s through to the 60s, and I suspect this Gallet example in a clamshell case was made in the 1940s. If you have a vintage watch needing repair, be sure to get in touch.
After cleaning the movement components laid out. Even a simple chronograph has many more parts than a time only watch.
The basic movement must be first assembled, checked and tested to ensure it is running properly before the chronograph components can be fitted. For this reason a chronograph watch has more repair stages than a standard watch movement.
The Venus 150 has a somewhat unique train layout. The size of the third wheel size is so big that it needs to be arranged in a strange way with the intermediate wheel sitting on a sort of shelf.
Another somewhat unique feature of the Venus 150 is that some of the chronograph components are mounted to an additional plate which is screwed to the barrel bridge. In most chronograph movements have the components mounted directly to the bridge.
A clamshell case was an early form of ‘waterproofing’. A grub screw in each lug pushes the caseback into the case front, applying a clamping force between the crystal and a flat rubber washer.