Sicura Submarine 400 – 23 Jewels
Sicura, a watch company born in the Swiss mountains, embarked on its horological journey in the mid-20th century. With a vision to create timepieces that blend style and affordability, Sicura quickly gained recognition for its innovative designs and reliable movements.
The Submarine 400 is a great example of that. A beautifully designed watch with a very reliable, but very cheap, EB8021N pin lever escapement of “pillar” construction.
As the ’70s dawned, Sicura’s ambitions soared even higher. In a moment of audacity, they acquired the iconic brand Breitling, renowned for its precision and aviation heritage. This bold move added a new chapter to Sicura’s story, as they became custodians of Breitling’s legacy.
With the acquisition, Sicura further solidified its position in the watchmaking world, combining its own innovative approach with Breitling’s timeless craftsmanship. This union allowed Sicura to offer a diverse range of timepieces, catering to both the adventurous aviators and the stylish urban dwellers.
Through the decades, Sicura’s commitment to quality and affordability remained unwavering. They continued to create timepieces that were not only accurate and reliable but also accessible to watch enthusiasts around the globe.
Thus, Sicura’s fascinating journey from its humble beginnings to acquiring Breitling stands as a testament to their passion for horology and their determination to make watches that capture both the spirit of the times and the hearts of their wearers.
Want us to take a look at your watch?
This one was great fun for us. Our first Sicura but the association with Breitling had us both excited.
It came to us not working, and looking very sad indeed, with a crystal you could barely see through. Here’s a “before” shot:
It was in terrible shape, with a very worn leather strap that immediately went in the bin. The outside of the case was caked in “bits of human wrist” (see below, not for the squemish!) but after a lot of cleaning, the case came up pretty well in the end. Once we got the back off, we were able to inspect the 23 jewel movement properly. An inspection revealed a freely swinging balance but a lot of muck and caked on, dried out oil so, it was time to give it a good service
Due to the amount of dirt on the watch, we took off the bezel, too, and gave the case parts a good run through the ultrasonic after some pre-cleaning.
The Crystal was cracked and had to be replaced but, thankfully, the dial was in great condition so we left well alone.
The lume on the hands was pretty grubby but intact and we didn’t want to completely remove the vintage look and feel so stopped short of re-luming.
After reassembly and lubrication, the watch sprang back into life, but still wasn’t doing very well. You can see the low amplitude and the high rate on the timegrapher below. Not much use as a daily wear gaining nearly 3.5 minutes a day.
Our first thought was magnetism but, on closer inspection, even after cleaning, the hairspring looked pretty gooey still so, we took off the balance again and cleaned it really carefully in naptha, which worked a charm.
Once we’d re-lubricated the cap jewel, which was a pretty fiddly task to have to do twice on this non-shock-protected movement, we were off to the races and the watch now runs a charm.