This is my first time doing a movement swap. I bought this watch as a non-runner off eBay for £24. My intention was to take the movement apart to practice on and maybe fix it along the way. I bought a second watch (same model) for even cheaper in the hopes I could get one to work out of the two. The other watch works, just needs a new capacitor, so I left it alone. This one had a very stiff rotor. Apparently it's a common problem when they wear from a lot of use and the flywheel / stator starts to touch where it shouldn't. At my skill level (beginner) the only option is to replace the movement. I found the OEM version of the 5M62A (a direct replacement for the 5M42A in this watch) on AliExpress. I also changed the crystal for a sapphire one. The parts were cheap enough, but I also bought a crystal press and hand removal / refitting tools.
Here's an album of the process: https://imgur.com/a/5rrvTfS
I think it worked quite well. I gave the case and bracelet a clean & refinish too. I could have done the case better, may try that again in the future. This was my first time trying. The bracelet I'm happy with, but it's still only a folded link one, so may change that. This was supposed to be a practice watch, but I really like it now. That may be because of the amount of effort I've put in! Also it remind me a bit of a Datejust, except without the magnification window (which I've never really liked).
