Patek Philippe 5167A Case Restoration

I'm 64 years old now and I guess well on my way to popping the clogs.
I'm told that the way to keep the mind active is to take on a challenge or two.
Since I'm not into parachute jumping or white water rafting, the next best thing is to try to revamp a well battered Patek Philippe 5167A watch case.
A risky challenge because cock it up and you're looking at mega money for PP to put it right:
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The glass has to be removed in order to grain the case top.
The front glass is octagonal and 0.80mm thick. I have a guy who hand makes glasses for me but he would struggle to make one to accurately fit the nylon gasket and form a water tight seal on this watch. A new glass from PP would likely cost over £300.00.
The back glass is just as tricky as it is two sizes in one, stepped, to fit both inside and outside diameters of the caseback.
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If I mess the front shaped gasket up trying to remove it the same expense arises.
I put the case with glass gasket in an ultrasonic tank with plenty of warm water mixed with ammonia and fairy liquid. After about an hour the gasket lifted itself out of it's bezel recess unharmed. Phew !
I then polished the octagonal case bezel and lugs.
With 180 then 400 emery stuck to lollypop sticks I grained the case sides. I used to eat a lot of lollies til I discovered that you can buy the sticks at The Range !
With a flat sheet of 400 emery stuck to a breadboard I grained the case top by sliding it up and back by hand.
The deployment clasp was straightforward.
Although not factory perfect I think the case now looks much improved.
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This job took about 8 hours on and off.
And not one Valium passed my lips !

Brendan(webwatchmaker)

You're a braver man than me. I've jumped out a plane but taking that refurb on is a much scarier challenge in my view!

Great effort and result is excellent. It's night and day from where it was. Well done.

Well done Sir, an excellent piece of work. A PP dealer told me never to attempt to remove scratches yourself, but to return the watch to PP as they have the correct tools and know how - well he would say that wouldn't he, and we might as well do an £800 service whilst the watch is away.

Great stuff! You need to make these repair posts a regular feature [emoji106]

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Great thread. Balls of Steel.

Looks excellent.

Brendan - another great job! I'm sure your client will be very happy. It is always great to see your posts. Now - do you have a single malt - I think you deserve one!

All the best

Martyn

Huge respect for a superb result.

You're a braver man than I!

Top job yet again. 👍🏼

Wow, amazing skill

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Not too shabby.

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Originally Posted by Wallasey Runner

Well done Sir, an excellent piece of work. A PP dealer told me never to attempt to remove scratches yourself, but to return the watch to PP as they have the correct tools and know how - well he would say that wouldn't he, and we might as well do an £800 service whilst the watch is away.

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A PP service on an uncomplicated watch like that is £800?! Plus probably another few hundred for the polishing. My god.

I liked the scratches they gave it some character. What's the backstory to this, is the owner a wealthy bricklayer?

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Originally Posted by wileeeeeey

A PP service on an uncomplicated watch like that is £800?! Plus probably another few hundred for the polishing. My god.

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They do say factor in a grand ever five years for services if you own an Aquanaut or a Nautilus and more if you have additional complications. If you look at it as £20 a week it doesn't sound as bad.

A beautiful job. Lovely watch.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wallasey Runner

They do say factor in a grand ever five years for services if you own an Aquanaut or a Nautilus and more if you have additional complications. If you look at it as £20 a week it doesn't sound as bad.

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I suppose it's proportionate to the cost of the brand. A Mercedes mechanic will charge more than a Ford mechanic but yikes. Makes the Aquanaut W44NE sold with a free service seem like such a great deal now looking back!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wallasey Runner

They do say factor in a grand ever five years for services if you own an Aquanaut or a Nautilus and more if you have additional complications. If you look at it as £20 a week it doesn't sound as bad.

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Apologies, bad maths - £20 a week is the grand saved in a year.

Over a 5 year period it is less than £4 a week. That sounds much better, the price of an expensive coffee.

I'm not sure which is more impressive. The person who beats a PP up like that, or the person brave enough to go at it with sand paper and lollie sticks!

Goodwork!

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Originally Posted by Watcha

I'm not sure which is more impressive. The person who beats a PP up like that, or the person brave enough to go at it with sand paper and lollie sticks!

Goodwork!

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The raspberry ripple addiction was how it all started...

Brendan(webwatchmaker)

Balls of steel indeed! Great job in every respect.


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Great job Brendan. This just makes me want another Aquanaut though :-D

Wow great work!!!

Respect to the owner also for not babying the Aqua!

nice work there..looks lovely

Will PP supply any parts needed?

Excellent work. Due to the cost I'd be too frightened to even wear a PP. Let alone take it to bits and run sand paper over it! Well done.

Looks good Brendan.

Another interesting thread from Brendan.

Good result on the polishing. It is only a SS watch after all and is as amenable to careful handling as any other watch, even though it bears the name PP. Just need to gird the loins and look past the name.

Plenty of cheaper watches out there that would be more difficult to polish with a greater number of finishes on them.



Mitch

I love these threads - the perfect combination of a beautiful watch and a skilled craftsman!

I wonder what stories those scratches were witness to?

You must have nerves of steel Brendan, the end result turned out very nice though.

Nice bit of work.

Wow ! Fantastic work and really interesting post.

OP, could I ask what the cost of such work would be?

Please don't divulge if you don't wish to, but I'd be really interested in a real world conoarision versus the manufacturer cost.

Two things strike me.
1) isn't 0.8mm a little thin for a crystal on a dive watch?
2) it's nice to see someone who actually wears the watch without wrapping it in cotton wool first.

I must say, great job in the end.

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Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan

Two things strike me.
1) isn't 0.8mm a little thin for a crystal on a dive watch?
2) it's nice to see someone who actually wears the watch without wrapping it in cotton wool first.

I must say, great job in the end.

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Dive watch? Que?

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Originally Posted by seikopath

Dive watch? Que?

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Oh, I thought it was.
Just shows I don't move in Patek circles!

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Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan

Oh, I thought it was.
Just shows I don't move in Patek circles!

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Mais les dive watches avaient des rotating bezels nestce pas

Good job, well done! But AP and PP do not charge more than a few hundred quid for polish jobs. Turnaround with PP could be months though.

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Originally Posted by wileeeeeey

A PP service on an uncomplicated watch like that is £800?! Plus probably another few hundred for the polishing. My god.

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No, that's very fair, the watch costs more than double a Subc but their service is less than double Rolex's.

Excellent work sir, and thank you for posting.

Looks great :-)

Impressive work indeed. Is the owner a forum member ? If so respect for not being precious with the watch.

Looks sharp

Brilliant work from Brendan, as always. And I too like the idea of a watch getting out into the world and living a full life. But how did the Patek get quite that bad...I mean, really.

Adrian others have said, these repair threads are really interesting. Thanks for taking the time to share your work with us Brendan - and a great result!

Thank you for all your replies.
I learnt a lot about polishing from the polisher Paul at Blancpain Lausanne. We got on really well and he showed me many of the hand made devices he used to finish cases and bracelets. Chief amongst them was masking tape, lollipop sticks, emery and polish mixes.
I just wish that more young people were entering this trade.
It is so rewarding mentally and this is much enhanced by the appreciation posters have shown on this thread.
Thanks again.

Brendan(webwatchmaker)

Nice one Brendan, taking that glass and gasket out is not for the faint hearted!

I also use lolly sticks with wet and dry paper stuck on using very thin double-sided adhesive tape. Sticking the abrasive with the thicker foam tape gives a bit more flexibility which can be helpful sometimes.

It's possible to get excellent refinishing results with fairly basic equipment if you know how to improvise. My enthusiasm for this work has waned thesedays because it's tedious and time-consuming, but I'm surprised more people don't try to get into it.

Often the hardest part is stripping the case down; bezels have to be removed, glass has to come out, Helium valves removed etc.......but once you get down to the basic case it's surprisingly easy. As with all things, practice makes perfect. Cheap scruffy watches on bracelets can be found easily, they're ideal for developing skills and making mistakes with!

Paul

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

Nice one Brendan, taking that glass and gasket out is not for the faint hearted!

I also use lolly sticks with wet and dry paper stuck on using very thin double-sided adhesive tape. Sticking the abrasive with the thicker foam tape gives a bit more flexibility which can be helpful sometimes.

It's possible to get excellent refinishing results with fairly basic equipment if you know how to improvise. My enthusiasm for this work has waned thesedays because it's tedious and time-consuming, but I'm surprised more people don't try to get into it.

Often the hardest part is stripping the case down; bezels have to be removed, glass has to come out, Helium valves removed etc.......but once you get down to the basic case it's surprisingly easy. As with all things, practice makes perfect. Cheap scruffy watches on bracelets can be found easily, they're ideal for developing skills and making mistakes with!

Paul

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I use a glass press with a flat die on the inside of the glass and the case is supported glass down above a hollow die filled with funky foam.
When the glass flies out into the hollow die it is protected from damage by the funky foam dampening it's fall.
The gasket is the tricky part. You can't prise it out because it's brittle and fragile. I put the case with gasket in an ultrasonic tank. As the ultrasonic warms up the fluid in it, the gasket comes out by itself.
I use lolly sticks because I want a flat surface so that edges of the case don't become rounded.
Artist's 3m spray mounting glue is the best for sticking emery to wood. I make 20 or so sticks at a time and leave them under pressure to dry. Then cut them out with a Stanley knife.

Brendan(webwatchmaker)

Daytona turns out as nice after the service I will be very happy!

M