Advice please on polishing / refinishing

I took a punt on a watch listed on ebay as 'LNIB'. The watch arrived yesterday and I am really disappointed. There are multiple dings where the glass meets the bezel, a few on top of one of the lugs and a scratch down the side of the bezel.

The seller says they will 'polish out' and has offered a full refund or a partial refund to cover the costs of the polishing / refinishing.

Normally I would just take the refund but I have never seen another version of this particular model for sale and it is a beauty.

I would like to know if there are any experts out there that could tell me if these marks can really be removed, approximate cost and any recommendations as to who to go to for the polish/refinish to get this looking mint again?

The dinks:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5474/9...6f88f89c_z.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/9...1e1cd745_z.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5334/9...607c01e1_z.jpg

The watch:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5493/9...cc7dbbd8_z.jpg

Thanks in advance.

IMHO Tony everything will polish out, except the dings in the bezel, they look much too deep. I would say a new bezel will be needed.

The marks around the glass will be hardest to remove, and the bezel needs to come off to do this properly. There's a risk/likelihood of marking the heavy grained finish on the case whilst doing this, which means it would need refinishing. I`m assuming the bezel also holds the glass in place, so there's the gasket/seal to potentially replace. If the case top needed to be refinished it needs doing on a lapping machine to get it right.

This is a job which could escalate, and the lack of spare parts availability would put me off doing it. Rocco at Watchworks might be the best bet, he has a lapping machine and (more importantly) a LOT of experience.

Paul

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Originally Posted by java

IMHO Tony everything will polish out, except the dings in the bezel, they look much too deep. I would say a new bezel will be needed.

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

The marks around the glass will be hardest to remove, and the glass needs to come out to do this properly. A replacement gasket needs to be available because there's the risk of damage when it's disturbed, and that's where the problem lies. I doubt whether parts will be available generally for this watch and it's a braver man than me who would take a chance on being able to refit the original gasket.

I`ve no idea who's an accredited repairer for these and I don`t know much about the brand thesedays. If it was a TAG or Omega I`d be happy to take this job on, but the lack of parts availability is a no-no for me. A pity, because it isn`t too difficult a job to refinish.

Paul

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Thanks Tim and Paul.

It is a pretty rare watch, to get a replacement bezel and gasket it would need to go to GP themselves I presume (if they have replacements at all for this partcular model). Knowing GP's servicing costs it's not going to be cheap, if they can do it at all.

I guess I am talking myself into returning it for a full refund or asking for a substantial partial refund and live with it?

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Originally Posted by Top Cat

I guess I am talking myself into returning it for a full refund or asking for a substantial partial refund and live with it?

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I consider a cameras macro setting can spoil our enjoyment sometimes.

That said, the marks are there for sure, so I'd agree with tackling the seller. Whether you can live with it even if a part refund is issued only you can tell.

Lovely piece.

Marks or not, that's a beautiful watch. I've always liked a combination of blue and gold on a cream dial and this one looks stunning.

Lovely piece, not LNIB, but it can be restored. Macroshots always make it look worse than IRL.

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Originally Posted by burnsey66

I consider a cameras macro setting can spoil our enjoyment sometimes.

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Absolutely agree! looking down at the wrist they aren't that noticeable but now I know they are there they draw my focus.

We are lucky enough to be able to liquidate watches for cash pretty quickly in times of emergency, if I take the part refund I think I will always be worried about whether I will be able to move it on in a hurry if I had to. Something else to consider!

How in the name of God did the seller think this was LNIB

Beautiful watch though and worth getting sorted, I'd take a partial refund and put it towards a refinish

Tried this a few months ago at a local shop and was really impressed tbh. If the seller agrees on a partial refund I would get it fixed.

It's a beauty, so I would also say partial refund. Although from the sellers point of view, that depends on where you take it, as I'm sure he will prefer to have the watch back if you needed to go to GP, because the price for a refinish will be huge and then you would have to wait a while too

That is a nice watch for sure. I would check with the likes of Rocco and also Genesis to get their view on ease/availability if parts needed/cost and then see what the seller will offer. I hope it all works out as it's a beauty - and a bit different too.

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

Rocco at Watchworks might be the best bet, he has a lapping machine and (more importantly) a LOT of experience.

Paul

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Originally Posted by ASW1

That is a nice watch for sure. I would check with the likes of Rocco

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Thanks Guys for the heads up. I spoke to Rocco who subsequently looked at this thread and is confident he can return the watch to its former glory. The seller is refunding me Rocco's costs plus a few beers so a happy outcome for everyone.

Once again the TZ community comes up trumps. Thanks very much.

Fantastic news! Always good when it works out well, and seeing some of Rocco's work on here, I'm sure you'll be happy.

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Originally Posted by Omegamanic

Fantastic news! Always good when it works out well, and seeing some of Rocco's work on here, I'm sure you'll be happy.

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I was just about to pm the OP on this, but Rocco will have no issue with this I'm sure .

Paul is correct about the potential for things going wrong , but it is possible with some time and patience to remove marks like this successfully without any issues .

Loving the watch by the way .

That's a lovely G-P and I have no doubt that it will be in safe hands with Rocco. Interesting that it doesn't have a signed crown - this makes me slightly more relaxed that my early 80s Gyromatic also doesn't have one.

Good stuff, that is a beautiful watch. Please do show us the results.

Very nice and like others I look forward to seeing the result of Rocco's work. 2 questions, model name and is it a fairly recent model?

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Originally Posted by liggy

Very nice and like others I look forward to seeing the result of Rocco's work. 2 questions, model name and is it a fairly recent model?

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The watch is the Girard Perregaux, model ref 2598. The first series of the model was released as the "1960 Vintage" and has that engraved on the back. GP then realised that they produced some similar models in the 70's and the second series was released as the "1970 Vintage" with the same serial number. Both watches are identical. From what I can find out, it came in 3 versions, stainless steel with a black face, stainless steel with the cream face (mine) and a Rose Gold version.

I believe they date from around 2002 - 2005? There is a black face 1960 Vintage without strap or box on Chrono 24 at the moment but it doesn't look a patch on the cream face (It's also not a rattrapante as described in the ad, the first chrono hand times the seconds, the bigger hand behind it times minutes. So the max the chrono can register is 59 mins and 59 seconds).

http://www.chrono24.com/en/girardper...arch/index.htm


Full report to follow when I get it back from Rocco!

Can't contribute to the actual question, but just wanted to say that that is one beautiful watch. Good luck, hope it sorts out well!

Thanks TopCat!