[TwiceRetired]

Just for fun I found the 1951 list price for this watch of $71.50 and ran it through an inflation calculator. The 2022 list price adjusted for inflation from 1951 would be $803.81. My have times changed!

 

[Watchbreath]

Just for fun I found the 1951 list price for this watch of $71.50 and ran it through an inflation calculator. The 2022 list price adjusted for inflation from 1951 would be $803.81. My have times changed!

That calculator doesn't factor in 'purchasing power".

 

[DowningB]

My go to watch repair guy is a 30 year member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) and a 25 year member of the American Watchmaker/Clockmakers Institute (AWCI). Membership in the latter means he's pledged to perform work at very high professional and ethical standards.

I've sent him a lot of watches over the years. His rates are reasonable and his work is first-rate. Unfortunately, he's really backlogged right now, and recently I had to beg him to take an 1888 French pendant watch that was a gift for my wife. As he said, who knows when I'll get it back, but that's ok by me. He's worth it. But I'm certainly not going to name him here, lol.

National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC)

American Watchmakers/Clockmakers Institute (AWCI)

 

[Lonewuf]

I had a disturbing experience with my first "good" watch about 15 years ago. My Sea Dweller stopped running and I took it to an independent repair place that supposedly had "a guy who used to work for Rolex" on staff (why do they all say that?). They got it going, but it stopped again within a week or so. I took it back and it's been running fine since, but I won't be surprised if I find out someday that they didn't use genuine parts.

That Hamilton reminds me of one of two watches that my mother's father gave me when I was a kid. One was square and the other was round, but beyond that I have no memory of them other than that I was so young that I couldn't set them by myself. I'm sure that they weren't expensive, but I wish I still had them.

 

[Saswatch]

I've been lucky with auto, guitar, and watch repair-- and man, having good support on those three issues really does make life much easier and less complicated. The only issue I've noticed: They don't seem quite as motivated to go the extra mile later in their careers, which I can understand.

I really like my watch repair guy for simple jobs on all watches and complicated jobs on affordables... I forgot to screw in the crown on an Invicta 2936, and he dried it and cleaned it for $20. He's also a fantastic enabler.

He's an older guy, probably in his late 70s, and my suspicion is that while he's good now, he probably used to be great. My experience with luthiers, for example, has been that even the best ones start losing their edge a bit in their late 70s to mid '80s.

This is another pattern I see with my watchmaker-- don't bother regulating it if it's only -20 seconds, don't bother with too much preventive maintenance, etc... not lazy, per se, just a little sloppy around the edges.

So true with the main local watch maker I go to. He’s an older gentleman who can replace the hair spring and other work like cleaning on the cheap. But when it comes to regulation, I have to ask him because -20 seconds is alright in his books.

He also doesn’t seem to have a problem scratching the caseback so I’ve learned to loosen it just a hint before taking any watch there.

 

[Mike_Mc]

I managed a jewelry store for over 30 years, the store is a Rolex authorized retailer and our main watchmaker was Rolex trained and he was capable on almost every other watch. If you are looking for a watchmaker, you might look for the credential CW21 or CMW21. Certified Watchmaker for the 21st Century and Certified Master Watchmaker. These are American Watchmakers & Clockmakers Institute testing and our man signed up early and when he and the 11 other people taking the test were informed that about half of them would not pass the test. He told me that they had put a sticky oil and very fine metal filings inside the watch movement. After the test he asked about what was in the movement. They informed him that it was done to see if any person didn’t fully disassemble the watch they couldn’t get it clean. They were looking for people taking shortcuts. Our guy passed the Master level. We had a Swiss watchmaker that was also very good. Unfortunately, these guys are retired. Our new watchmaker is also Rolex trained but doesn’t have the 40 year experience with all kinds of watches. Our watchmaker wouldn’t work on many watches because he couldn’t get original parts, and only substituted with customers permission. We had a great inventory of watch parts because we’d had watchmakers for all of our 100 year history. Like any profession, you always want the best, but they are sometimes hard to find. As to the timing issue. We had the most modern and sophisticated equipment for regulating watches. It still takes a skilled person to adjust it properly, and tested in at least five positions. Then it goes on a winding machine that simulates wearing a watch. Then it is checked again for accuracy. There are no shortcuts to proper watch repair, that’s why to great ones are busy and have a backlog.

 

[Catalyzt]

So true with the main local watch maker I go to. He’s an older gentleman who can replace the hair spring and other work like cleaning on the cheap. But when it comes to regulation, I have to ask him because -20 seconds is alright in his books.

He also doesn’t seem to have a problem scratching the caseback so I’ve learned to loosen it just a hint before taking any watch there.

..and my guy scratched the case on one of my watches, too, though it was only one of maybe 30 watches he'd worked on, and the scratch was also in an inconspicuous place.

I always remind him: Remember, I'm a little crazy, I see every scratch, charge me a bit more, take a little longer.

And he has been more careful... after raising my rate all of maybe 5%! If I know a job is going to require some physical force, even just stubborn bracelet pins, I make sure to remind him and pay him a few bucks more.

Great guy, a fixture in our neighborhood, I plan to support his business as long as I can.

 

[Saswatch]

..and my guy scratched the case on one of my watches, too, though it was only one of maybe 30 watches he'd worked on, and the scratch was also in an inconspicuous place.

I always remind him: Remember, I'm a little crazy, I see every scratch, charge me a bit more, take a little longer.

And he has been more careful... after raising my rate all of maybe 5%! If I know a job is going to require some physical force, even just stubborn bracelet pins, I make sure to remind him and pay him a few bucks more.

Great guy, a fixture in our neighborhood, I plan to support his business as long as I can.

Funny you say that. He scratched the lugs on a vintage Seiko and now I can’t sell it but it runs well and he fixed the date corrector gear. I’ll ask him about scratch removal to see if he gets the hint.

If I weren’t a couple time zones away from you, I’d think we were referring to the same watchmaker.

 

[mlatchmouth]

Membership in the latter means he's pledged to perform work at very high professional and ethical standards.

Thanks for the info.

 

[TwiceRetired]

Name of "California guy".

FZ-Watches.

 

[RonD.]

Regarding the crown, I think the watch just has the wrong crown. The tube the stem goes through is very large, so the inside of the crown should have metal to take up that space.

 

[TwiceRetired]

Regarding the crown, I think the watch just has the wrong crown. The tube the stem goes through is very large, so the inside of the crown should have metal to take up that space.

Thanks. It has been repaired now. Sit on the pln very nicely. I don't know what he did to it. But it works fine now.

 

[Bobomatic]

Given my growing vintage collection, I'm learning how to take apart, clean and reassemble my pieces. It's a small investment in the tools but I just can't find anybody I trust anymore. If it needs any major repair, I'll cross that bridge when or if I get to it. Right now my collection is pretty soild mechanical wise... and cleaning and oiling myself will hopefully keep it that way.

 

[barrysimpson758]

LOL. It had became detached from the stem. The crown functions fine now. However, It actually swivels a little on the stem. I have never experienced this before. The guy who serviced it said with this model it was supposed to do that. What do you think?

I know Vostoks feel like the crown is wobbly and broke when you try to wind it. On those watches it is designed that way 😎

 

[sazabi2001]

Sometimes for old watches, repair job is quite depends on whether the shop has the part of for that type of watches. I think I got quite a collection of parts and spare movements, but there is always some watches I can’t find parts or not economically to DIY repair. I mean old watches is a huge topic, you can only have that many parts and can’t have everything.