Advice in Opening an Omega Dynamic

Hi all. I recently got an Omega Dynamic, I believe it to be reference 166.039 with a manual wind cal. 613. I'm trying to open it up, so I can check and photograph the movement, but no luck.

I've opened a few top loader Dynamics, Cosmic, and De Ville, so I wasn't expecting any holdbacks. Pushed the crown to the 2nd position (date advance), removed it, and pushed the "male" split stem into the neutral position so it would clear the tube. Tried rotating the dial counter clockwise but it doesn't budge. Must have tried for almost an hour.

It does feel like the stem is blocking it as maybe there's 1mm of movement both ways. The stem is pushed however and probing with a thin tool, it does seem like it's clearing the case tube. Not sure sure what else may be blocking it. I'd really appreciate some advice, maybe something I'm missing, before throwing the towel.

I did the same. Used pegwood to turn the dial, catching it in the 4 o'clock notch. It maybe moves 1mm.


This may be the culprit. That or the stem is not pushed all the way in, for whatever reason. Any suggestions what to try?

I just use the existing crown. Just don't push it in hard enough to engage the 2 piece stem. Chances are you won't get it perfectly aligned anyway. 😉

Unfortunately the stem was completely pushed in. Left it alone for now, as the more I tried, the more I risked damaging the dial. It's a nice looking watch and I'd hate myself if I messed it up.

I can't say I've ever run across a situation where I couldn't turn the movement on one of these, or any other front loader of this style. I have a run of front loaders in the shop recently...6 of them with various designs. I've had the movement turn with a lot of force, but never with it being able to move easily for a bit and then stop like you are describing.

First thought was the stem, but if it's in all the way and is the correct stem (there are different lengths so it's possible someone put a wring stem in the movement side), then that seems unlikely. It almost sounds like maybe something from the movement has been dislodged and is blocking the movement from turning. Like a screw fell out and is jamming the movement. If you try it again, try shaking the watch in different positions to see if there's something there that can be moved to allow it to turn.

That's why these are not the best design IMO because you simply cannot tell what's going on, and there's no easy solution when this happens. Not sure what I would even try if this came to me for service...there's no magic tricks a watchmaker is going to have to solve this.

Not magic, but the difference is that you'd have solved it in minutes. It took me 2+ hours over 2 days.

Gave it another shot and managed to finally open it. There was a tube between the movement and the case, where the stem went through. I imagine it was a snug fit to the pendant tube, blocking the movement from rotating. With some force and persistence, the tube detached and the movement turned freely.



Not sure of the purpose and if it's supposed to be there or something a watchmaker came up for whatever reason. Anyway, the issue is solved. Thanks to everyone for the input.

It is not supposed to be there. My guess is that this is something a watchmaker came up with in place of the proper plastic wedge. The wedge helps keep the two parts of the stem from coming apart by restricting their sideways movement.