Rolex Oyster Royal 6426 Calibre 1215 – Service

Featured on the blog today is this lovely vintage Rolex Oyster Royal 6426 Calibre 1215. This particular watch was produced in 1955 according to its serial number, and it is powered by the excellent and beautifully finished Rolex Calibre 1215: a  manual wind movement, with centre sweep second, Breguet hairspring and shock resistant settings on both balance and escape wheel, a very nice spec for that era.

Rolex 6426 Service

 

First impressions of the Calibre 1215 movement are good after opening the oyster case: It looks in great condition apart from a little dirt and dry lubricant.Rolex Calibre 1215 Service

 

The original dial and hands are beautifully preserved. This Oyster Royal Precision Rolex has very distinctive sword hands, a nice change from the baton hands commonly found on the Precision range.

 

This is the dial side, with nice perlage finish on the mainplate.

 

Movement disassembly nearly finished, with just the train wheels left.

 

And here we are, with all parts ready for cleaning and detailed inspection. Vintage Rolex Service

 

The case is also stripped down, and all gaskets will be replaced.

 

Following cleaning, all parts are found to be in excellent condition, so the service is straightforward, re-assembly can start with a new mainspring.

 

Balance wheel is in place with balance jewels lubricated. The balance is shock protected by KIF Flector springs.

 

The train is coming together.

 

Train and barrel bridges are now in place, ready for lubrication of the pivots, and assembly of the escapement. The escape wheel is shock protected, with KIF duofix springs.

 

The movement is now fully re-assembled. The Calibre 1215 has an indirectly driven sweep second, as you can tell from the driving wheel and friction spring above the train bridge.Rolex Precision Service

 

Dial and hands are now in place.Calibre 1215 dial and hands

 

Finally the original tropic crystal is given a light polish. The case and bracelet are also sympathetically polished. This Rolex Oyster Royal 6426 looks stunning, and is now in great mechanical condition, ready for many more years of service.

Rolex-Oyster-Royal-Service

 

2 Replies to “Rolex Oyster Royal 6426 Calibre 1215 – Service”

  1. The additional jewels on the escape wheel are not for shock protection right? The hole jewel will be fixed. They are just to maintain end float and preventing the shoulders of the pivot from contacting the inner part of the jewel.

    1. Hi Anil, yes you are correct, the shock protection on the escape wheel allows the use of conical pivots, without shoulders, thus reducing friction. It still provides some shock protection vertically, but not laterally like on a balance wheel.
      Best regards
      Olivier

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