Reply With QuoteThat sounds particularly good value. It recently cost me £300 to have an Omega Constellation serviced, by an Omega specialist, which sounded a bit steep.
You may remember a few weeks ago, that I bought an vintage Omega Speed master Professional Mk II which at the first sign of a shower showed water inside the case.
I spoke to a few repairers, who made various recommendations, including one who advised changing the movement, and ended up sending the watch to Watch service UK in Fleet Street, London for an inspection, and estimate for service and any necessary repair.
https://www.watchserviceuk.com/conta...gaAtRhEALw_wcB
I accepted the estimate, and the watch has just been returned to me. The following work was carried out.
Dismantling the case with the removal of the mechanism and the dismantling of the hands and dial
Visual inspection of the mechanism for the presence of visible defects or corrosion on the boards and bridges
Full dismantling of the removed mechanism and removal of any defective parts
Cleaning of parts in a specialist watch cleaning machine (this uses special solutions to clean as efficiently as possible)
Drying of all cleaned parts
Rejecting parts, and replacement of used elements with new ones
The assembly of the mechanism and subsequent analysis of the operation of the individual components of the watch mechanism
Lubrication of all components
Re-pressing of jewels with punches (the absence of this stage of work often does not allow for the qualitative repair of complex chronographs.)
Mounting the dial and hands (if the old elements have become unusable, they will be changed to new ones.)
Assembling the case, checking and replacing the gaskets, waterproof test, eliminating leakage if any is found
Refitting the mechanism in the case, re-adjusting the accuracy of the stroke, and evaluating waterproofing .
In addition, I asked for the following work to be done, Case and bracelet polish/re-finish, re-luming of the dial indicies and hands (the cost of a new set of hands is £110) using matching vintage lume. Double checking the waterproofing integrity of the seals by carrying out a static waterproofing test to a minimum of 5 atm.
All work was completed and a written 2 year guarantee was issued.
Case finish may not be up to STS finish, but then the price of the service cost less than STS charge for a case re-furb! I'm very please with the result. On my wrist, and on the winder in the three days since it's return, the watch is currently running a +1 sec daily.
The cost of the entire job, inc case refurb was £250.
That sounds particularly good value. It recently cost me £300 to have an Omega Constellation serviced, by an Omega specialist, which sounded a bit steep.
Thanks for sharing, I work down the road and often walk past their premises.
That’s a great price, for a lot of work.
Looking at your photos it looks really nice. I’ve seen a lot of ropey MkIIs, yours is a really tidy example.
Service and other work sounds cheap, but I'd have left the case until you could get it grained properly.
It's not supposed to be brushed like a bracelet - it's a sunburst graining. Granted this one's been evidently refinished but it gives you the idea.
Last edited by Scepticalist; 12th April 2018 at 13:46.
Originally Posted by Scepticalist
Service and other work sounds cheap, but I'd have left the case until you could get it grained properly.
It's not supposed to be brushed like a bracelet - it's a sunburst graining. Granted this one's been evidently refinished but it gives you the idea.
The work was indeed reasonable. I never expected an STS finish to the case, nor did I want one. I wanted a workaday finish to a watch which I could wear every day and not have to worry about it. Looking at yours, which looks good, there doesn't appear to be an awful lot of difference netween the two. Mine is radially grained. I think the technician did a really good job. The case had previously been polished and hand brushed, and had a few scratches and dings. The case is now really good lookingg. The edges have been restoed, the chamfers have been polished, and it's looking really presentable, which is what I asked for.
I'm happy with it as it is.
It's chalk and cheese ^^^^^^
Anyhow,it's irrelevant because ,as you say,you are more than happy with the result.
May I recommend anyone thinking of doing something like this have a word with Simon Freese, who also charges less than STS but can correctly lap cases.
"A man of little significance"
And Rocco at Watchworks who did mine
That’s a cracking finish on that. Very nice.
Good point Ed, Rocco did mine too and did a cracking job of it.
"A man of little significance"
True but you get what you pay for. An STS service with laser welding (an extra charge) would run to more than double what Doug paid. Simon Freese would be cheaper but still hundreds more that £250. It is a more than acceptable level of work for the money it seems.
Last edited by Padders; 13th April 2018 at 06:48.
This sort of work amazes me and fills me with envy in equal measure.
"I asked for the following work to be done, Case and bracelet polish/re-finish, re-luming of the dial indicies and hands"
I have to comment in the defence of helpless vintage watches everywhere, while the OP is obviously happy with his 'beater' this treatment is detrimental to the watch and its value for 'vintage collectors'. The vintage market has started to understand more and more the value of originality. Re-luming dials and putting on new hands really hurts the value of the watch. Soft hand finishes to lapped cases are painful to my eyes, and I would prefer to have the blemishes.
Its not just budget services that are guilty. Omega full restorations are, and rightly so in my opinion, seen to take the heart and soul of a vintage watch and strip it away leaving a hollow Luminova filled shell.
I have no problem with Doug doing what he pleases to this Mk II. It suits his purposes, namely to smarten up an old watch and use it regularly. But as a collector, I now would not consider it as good as it was before the work was done.
With respect, the vintage market hasn't started to 'understand' anything....it's just market fashion which dictates the current practices. Restoring a watch isn't 'wrong' , it's a choice. I've seen plenty of unrestored watches that need sticking in the dustbin. Others have been lovely.
There's no 'wrong' or 'right' in any of this. Just fashion.
I disagree. Over restoration of any antiquity is bad. Bienne restorations were all the rage a few years ago. The difference between New old stock parts and new replacement parts was often misunderstood or not recognised. I agree sometimes a part is so damaged it needs replacing, but finding the correct old part is my preferred route when ever possible, and if not I will not buy in the first place.
I'm with Simon on this. Sure, if a watch has been refinished incorrectly then stick it on a lapping machine but to take something original and patinated and remove it all to make it temporarily as-new? Just buy a new watch.
"A man of little significance"
Disagree. I’m in favour of originality where it makes good sense, but I think people are becoming obsessed with it. It’s almost become fashionable for old watches to look scruffy, complete with a hideous faux aged strap. Folks are becoming conditioned to this way of thinking.
Bienne restorations aim to return a watch to ‘as new’ condition, that’s in keeping with my own philosophy. My interpretation of originality is based on how the watch was originally intended to look, that’s what I like to see as a collector, I take no pleasure from owning a scruffy battered mess that’s gone way beyond gentle patina.
I think people are being influenced by what they read on the internet thesedays, a lot of rubbish is written about refinishing by people who don’t know what they’re talking about, they’re simply repeating what they’ve read elsewhere.
As for the OP’s Speedy, I’ve refinished similar watches by hand and produced very good results; not quite as sharp as the work done with a lapping machine but a whole lot better than the scratched battered mess I started with. If that upsets the so-called purists that’s tough, but it gets the watch looking how it was intended to look.
There’s one very convenient aspect of the originality obsession.......owners of these hallowed old watches don’t have to pay to have them refinished or to have parts replaced at significant cost! The dealers benefit too because they don’t have to put so much money into a watch........they can now charge a premium for watches that are basically scruffy mess....kings new clothes syndrome in my opinion.
Paul
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