[boatman123]

Hello all,

First post here. I was gifted the family heirloom on my wedding day - A Vacheron Constantin 6087. It is still in beautiful shape, though there is one item of note. The round pushers appear to have had their caps cut off - see pictures attached.

The 'repair' appears contemporary with the rest of the watch, but I have no idea what would have caused someone to do this.

I am saving up the means to have this timepiece repaired. Vacheron has indicated that the minimum service cost is an eye-popping $3,100 USD. That is presumably before replacing / re-manufacturing these pusher caps.

After authentication, etc. it's likely the cost will rise to well over $5,000 USD. Worth it? Perhaps - though it will be several years before I get there.

Any thoughts out there as to what could have led a watchmaker to perform this action? I haven't a clue.

 

[Hartmut Richter]

Welcome to Watchuseek! It sounds like a very nice watch, opverall - any chance of more piccies? We looove piccies!

As for the pushers, I wonder whether they were cut or just worn so that the top of the caps dropped off. If cut, I wonder whether they were lost and two from another watch that nearly fitted (but not quite) were "adapted". Ultimately, I also wonder how generic these things are. If they are highly VC-specific, you'll just have to bite the bullet and spend the cash eventually - and the price is likely to rise rather than drop if you leave it for a long time! However, what I would do is to try and find pictures of the exact reference and get a decent independent watchmaker onto trying to find replacements. If he can come up with something that fits perfectly and that even VC can never distinguish from what they put onto the watch in the first place, you'll save heaps of $$$!

Good luck!

Hartmut Richter

 

[DON]

Gold cap pressed onto a steel tube. Gold worn through from possible rubbing to the point sharp edges snagging and perhaps the previous owner had the tops removed.

One edge looks cleaned up, but second not so much.

Did Vacheron directly quote that price or did you go to a VC retailer, VC Boutique or a non VC retailer?

Other than VC direct. All other stores will charge a mark up over the factory repair fee

If the case has horn lugs. A Google search will give you a value on the watch depending on overall condition

Might be worth the investment depending on dial condition etc., but full images would need to be seen to see the condition of the watch

DON

 

[Old Navman]

Hello all,

First post here. I was gifted the family heirloom on my wedding day - A Vacheron Constantin 6087. It is still in beautiful shape, though there is one item of note. The round pushers appear to have had their caps cut off - see pictures attached.

The 'repair' appears contemporary with the rest of the watch, but I have no idea what would have caused someone to do this.

I am saving up the means to have this timepiece repaired. Vacheron has indicated that the minimum service cost is an eye-popping $3,100 USD. That is presumably before replacing / re-manufacturing these pusher caps.

After authentication, etc. it's likely the cost will rise to well over $5,000 USD. Worth it? Perhaps - though it will be several years before I get there.

Any thoughts out there as to what could have led a watchmaker to perform this action? I haven't a clue.

As it's already been said it must be a very nice VC watch. However, it must be at least made of platinum and encrusted with diamonds for them to charge you that much. Of course, all jokes aside you'd definitely expect some ridiculous price (as this) from a very well-known watch manufacturer. As you already know this is a genuine VC don't worry too much about the authentication - seek out an independent watch maker and see if they can source those pushers for you. Good luck - please post some more photos of you family heirloom.

 

[Tick Talk]

Has anyone from VC actually checked the watch, or are you going by an email estimate? I ask because unfortunately there are more than a few fakes of this vintage chronograph out there. Heck its so popular that VC released a modern version in 2015.

Assuming all is OK I'm going to predict that the cost of restorations by VC will likely double your already generous estimate. They really have you over a barrel because to have anyone else touch it risks a loss of value. Here is a catalog image for anyone wondering what we're talking about.

 

[Dan S]

As @DON mentioned, those are typical worn gold plated pusher caps, possibly polished up a bit afterwards.

Sad that we don't get to see any photos of the actual watch.

 

[boatman123]

Hey all,

Thank you for the great comments. I will certainly take some pictures of the watch for all to see. I will likely start up another thread as I assume the watch is of interest enough to warrant it. Based on what I have researched, this is indeed a 6087 with the cow horn lugs.

It’s what I believe to be yellow gold (I’m having trouble identifying the difference between yellow and pink gold with its patina). It features a tachy/telemeter scale and based on the clear hallmarks I don’t believe it has ever been polished.

Unfortunately the band is not original, having been replaced after the original deteriorated over the last 60 years.

It still keeps time, but I haven’t been winding it as I’m sure it hasn’t had it’s scheduled maintainence done in at least two or three decades.

Stay tuned : )

 

[Michael Maddan]

boatman123...Hello!

My oh my: What a PRICE V&C threw at you!

I respectfully suggest that you shop around at Independent watchmakers...I would not be at all surprised if you discovered someone able to do a good job on your watch for, say, 90% less than what you mentioned here.

I've owned my share of fine-quality Swiss watches, and there IS an initial inclination to make one of these old pieces 'as good as possible, with documentation if available'...it's as if you're doing Justice to the Brand, by having it Serviced ONLY by those who made it.

Which seems OK.

Still: some of the prices being charged for what used to be considered pretty common repairs and replacements, do seem--essentially--obscene.

A similar comment applies to the current fad for 'documentation'. You may have heard that a number of automobile manufacturers are doing just the same thing: charging a Small King's Ransom for providing the owner with a slip of paper ( one assumes it's Handmade, with appropriate Watermarks ) acknowledging, yes; we made that car !

Of course, to each, their own. I assume that a Lottery Winner with, say, $100,000,000 USD to spend might not wince at some of the prices we're seeing as relates to items traditionally purchased by Kings and Potentates and Football Stars.

Then again...silly prices are silly prices.

Oh: take a look over at the NAWCC or AWI sites. I was a member of both USA organizations, and learned that there are folks there who can do anything. They tend to price their work at 'what it's worth', not as a function of who made it.

Good luck, and be patient...many old parts are still around, but it can take time...

Michael.

 

[boatman123]

Hello all,

I still can't post links due to my low post count. Hopefully these attachments come through OK. Most of the scratches are in the plexiglass 'crystal' and not on the dial itself. Apologies for how blurry they came out - I need better lighting.

 

[mkws]

They did come through OK. Still, one thing doesn't seem right - the 6087 seems to have had several versions, but in neither that I know of is the hour hand a stub, and the minute hand doesn't reach the minute track.

 

[boatman123]

They did come through OK. Still, one thing doesn't seem right - the 6087 seems to have had several versions, but in neither that I know of is the hour hand a stub, and the minute hand doesn't reach the minute track.

Wow, now that you mention it the minute hand is a shorty! I've no idea how that would have ended up on there over the course of its life, but would love to hear some theories. Has anyone seen anything remotely similar? Wondering why they would produce a minute hand this short to begin with.

 

[boatman123]

Hey all,

I've been able to take some detailed, magnified pictures under better lighting. Sorry for the huge attachments, I'm still unable to post links due to my low post count.

 

[mkws]

Wow, now that you mention it the minute hand is a shorty! I've no idea how that would have ended up on there over the course of its life, but would love to hear some theories. Has anyone seen anything remotely similar? Wondering why they would produce a minute hand this short to begin with.

Quite simply, I don't believe the hands are original to the watch. My theory would be that they're incorrect service replacements, installed on an "if it fits, it fits" basis. Given the wear to the pushers, the watch appears to have been worn regularly for a long time, so presumably it has been serviced/repaired a number of times. Maybe the crystal popped out and the original hand was damaged, maybe it was a flop on the part of whoever serviced it. Regrettably, I don't have a sixth sense to simply know what exactly was the reason.

 

[Tick Talk]

Does "SWISS" appear at the bottom of the dial?

 

[boatman123]

Does "SWISS" appear at the bottom of the dial?

Yes indeed - the magnified shots obscured this but this was in one of the (shaky) earlier pictures I took. "SWISS" on its own at the bottom of the dial.

 

[Michael Maddan]

boatman123...Hello.

Well: sometimes things will fly-off a workbench & never come back ( ! ), other times a piece will come off in pieces ( ! ), from time to time, a piece will be damaged / rusty / etc., and the Watchmaker will make an 'Executive Decision', and simply substitute an available part, instead of ordering a Factory item...which can be priced, say, at 10-times the price of Gold...!

Your Vacheron is a Real Sweetie. Lucky you. Enjoy...there aren't many of these around. Michael.

 

[DON]

You don't mention who gave the actual repair quote, but if not from VC directly. I would contact them and see what they say.

18kt pusher caps, hands all around, cleaning and new plexiglass

Do not polish case or replace dial

VC is one of a few companies that keep stock of replacement parts for their old watches (you hope)

DON

 

[boatman123]

You don't mention who gave the actual repair quote, but if not from VC directly. I would contact them and see what they say.

18kt pusher caps, hands all around, cleaning and new plexiglass

Do not polish case or replace dial

VC is one of a few companies that keep stock of replacement parts for their old watches (you hope)

DON

Hey DON,

That quote was directly from VC. $3100 (minimum for service), $870 (cert of authenticity) plus shipping fees and any parts that are required for restore.

At this point, I'll likely have the case back removed to obtain the case and movement numbers and send in the $155 to have the 'extract from archives' pulled until I can save up for the remainder.

 

[Dan S]

You don't mention who gave the actual repair quote, but if not from VC directly. I would contact them and see what they say.

18kt pusher caps, hands all around, cleaning and new plexiglass

Do not polish case or replace dial

VC is one of a few companies that keep stock of replacement parts for their old watches (you hope)

DON

It's a tough pill to swallow, but if they have the right parts, it's worth considering.

 

[Hartmut Richter]

I don't think that VC necessarily keep stock of replacement parts for all their old watches. VC is one of the companies that have committed themselves to repairing any watch they have ever made. Another such company is Zenith. In contrast, from what I hear, Rolex only guarantee that they will service and repair watches until they are 30 years old; after that, it's a matter of luck and availability of parts (Rolex's attitude seems to be that they make so many watches of the same few types over the years that after 30 years, it's about time you bought a new one!). And if VC don't have the pushers any more, they will still honour their pledge and repair the watch - but they will make damn sure that they don't lose out on it!!

Hartmut Richter