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Fascinating...when I see this,I know that there is hope for every damage on the watch I see...
i love this thread, fascinating.... I want a lapping machine, anyone thing a WTB might find me one :D
Fascinating...when I see this,I know that there is hope for every damage on the watch I see...
This thread deserves reviving every few days. Fantastic writeup and pictures Gary, thanks.
I have an f300 Seamaster case that's going to Rocco soon for a light touchup - he generously agreed to waive his usual condition that he also service the movement ;) If it comes back half as good as some of those photos, I'll be overjoyed.
Chris
Thanks for dig out the thread...! And thanks to Gary - as a long time I like to get some more infos about the lapping machine (in german Lapidiermaschine), often used with my favourites: Omega, Heuer & Longines from the 70s!
Very cool machine!
This thread was maybe the main reason I registered here - it is absolutely fantastic!
Excellent photos and the workmanship looks exceptional throughout. I had no idea restorations of this quality were even possible...
I agree with you. This thread is a phenomenal contribution to the watch community. I would love to see some more examples - perhaps a vintage Rolex with a nice chamfer.Originally Posted by drab.
I've just caught sight of this thread and spent along time looking through each page at the example before and after shops, impressive, very impressive
Apologies for the off-topic but can you tell me who makes this strap?
I think it's by Giuliano:
http://chronocentric.com/forums/chro...=read;id=27196
"A man of little significance"
I recently saw in a sales thread that the seller said there was no evidence of rebrushing or refinishing with a lapping maching. Rebrushing I can understand, but is there a way to tell if a watch has not been refinished with a lapping machine? Looking at the examples posted here, it doesn't seem to be the case?
I've never seen a watch case refinished by hand look anywhere near as good as by lapping machine. You just can't get the perfectly crisp edges between brushed and polished parts, for example.
"A man of little significance"
Right, spotting a rebrushing I can understand, what had me perplexed is being able to determine whether the watch had been refinished with a lapping machine or not.
Just look at the edges, there's no better way of telling. By hand it's not possible to get a completely sharp edge between, say, brushed and polished parts of the watch. I've not seen a watch rebrushed by hands without feathering on the polished sides from the brushed sides. Look on the picture of the Speedy Mk2 a few posts up, see how the edges are sharp?
Lapping also gives a slightly curved grain, it's not perfectly straight.
"A man of little significance"
So you're saying you can spot a watch that's been refinished with a lapping maching as opposed to the original finish ?
No, I was answering your question as I understood it.
"A man of little significance"
OK ;-) So the question remains then !
Well then the answer is yes, I can.
"A man of little significance"
err...are you OK ?
The original finish is often created with... a lapping machine. At that point it all comes down to the skill of the person working the machine.
Thanks for the info.
Just a note for those who have an email into Rocco like I did and are waiting to hear back, he's been very busy and apologizes for being slow to reply and says he'll do it as soon as possible!
Last edited by webvan; 22nd June 2013 at 22:46.
Looks like I'm going to have to send him my Mk. IV Speedmaster.
And it certainly did. Together with a movement service by our very own KeithT, I have a fantastic vintage watch that stands up well against the usual Seamasters and Subs that I tend to see around this office.
I keep failing to find any time to take some photos but, as soon as I can, I will post them.
Chris
A long overdue update to this thread. Sorry my new job means I don't get much time for photography or indeed forum participation these days.
Anyway this time we have an Omega Seamaster 176.004, commonly known as the Big Blue. No before pics I'm afraid and the during pics were taken by my watchmaker. However you'll hopefully get an idea of the extent of the damage to the case and how much it needed to be built up to get it back to its former glory.
During
After pics to follow...
After
Quite and improvement I hope you'll agree.
Cheers,
Gary
That really is remarkable but I suppose it comes with a hefty price tag?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Sure is huge improvement!Nice job
Not too bad IMHO Eddie, between £100 - £200 depending on the case shape/complexity and amount of work needed.
Cheers,
Gary
IMHO that's a bargain
Do you receive cases for repair from other countries?
I will probably need this in futureand it's always good to know where to get this
Yep, my watchmaker's repaired cases from all over Europe and beyond. I'll send you a PM for future reference.Do you receive cases for repair from other countries?
I will probably need this in future
Cheers,
Gary
Remarkable work, thanks for posting!
Not too bad at all, especially bearing in mind the time and expertise.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Gary,thanks for PM
Clearly a lapping machine allows the refinishing of SS cases, however as a relative novice in such things, it would be great to understand more.
By the looks of things even deep nicks in a case can be filled and refinished with a range of brushing effects - is there more to it that than? Do they work equally well for polished SS finishes?
From a practical point of view what can a watch maker with one of these do that one without cant ?
Apologies if a bit uninformed but keen to know more!
Cheers
Well, my newly acquired Flightmaster is going to visit Rocco for a while. Despite being shaped like a well smoothed pebble, Rocco is confident that he can make it look lovely again. He did say it's the worse he's seen and that it will be an "interesting job", but didn't seem daunted in any way.
I have to say the work on this thread so far looks amazing so I'm looking forward to seeing what can be done.
Will be interesting to see the results indeed, should look great as usual! You're sending it in for a full service?
I don't think it will be getting a full service but maybe a few little issues sorted while the watch is disassembled.
Just seen this thread. GOBSMACKED... could someone PM his details!
Thanks,
James.
Bit of an update on my Flightmaster. After two hours of welding the case now looks like this (look at the size of those individual welds - unbelievable!)
I had a good look at your Flightmaster case today Benny. A serious amount of work has gone into building the case back up so it's in a position to be lapped and you're right about the welds.
Cheers,
Gary
P.S. James if no one has already passed on Rocco's details just drop me a PM.
I said to Rocco that it looked like a lot of metal had gone back in to the case. I was amazed when I saw your first posts showing what could be done with the lapping machine and was even more impressed when I saw what could be repaired when combined with the welding. It's great that there are talented people that can still do this kind of work. Hopefuly it's not a dying art.
Thats an incredible about of work on a watch case, and I wonder how many man hours this would take alone (welding), and then of course the lapping. Very expensive machines iirc, fine grinding machines.
I am unsure how a lapping machine actually works though, I mean, how did that case back on page one get done, polishing the outer circumference, and leaving the centre brushed?
Any links to videos, sites, guides, tutorials would be appreciated.
Also, given the amount of time, effort, and passion put into this work, I am guessing it costs a pretty penny, so the watches being restored with this process must be very very rare, or expensive, £10k+?
Thats a really fair price for the level of work involved. A replacement bezel from Tag Heuer would set you back more than three times that easily.
Ony two hours for my Flightmaster apparently, which I find amazing.
Excellent thread, I noticed it a while ago, but now I think I may need some help.
I have a brand new watch that was purchased from the US and upon arrival I noticed the screwdriver came loose in the box and left a few marks on the left side of the case http://www.flickr.com/photos/4123991...n/photostream/
I don't know if a simple brush/polish can do the job, but I would really appreciate it if someone can PM me the Rocco's contact details.
Kind regards,
Catalin
Last edited by Inq24; 12th November 2013 at 13:40.
That looks quite deep,near the crown...screwdriver did this??
It's actually on the other side of the crown, but I'm starting to doubt the screwdriver version so I'm sending the watch back to the seller and letting him handle it.That looks quite deep,near the crown...screwdriver did this??
I was looking at the pics of the damaged Submariner , was it fixed in the end as I didn't see any final pics :-( and how would the crown guards be lapped ? Confusing ;-()
Tom
Wow the transformations are simply incredible!
Could someone kindly forward me the details as I would love to get my Speedy looking like new :)
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