145.022-74 back from Archer Watches

Back in January, I posted a thread on the day I purchased a well used Speedy. It was in rough shape and seemed to have never been serviced. I dropped it off to Archer's for a full service. Over a month ago, I got the watch back but was waiting to purchase a Corfam style racing strap from Heuertime before sharing photos and updating the thread. Unfortunately, the strap has been out of stock with no known restock date. I currently have it on a 19mm StrapCo rally strap, which I heated and stretched a bit to minimize the gap.

When I received the watch, it came with a 125 page PDF and a few repair videos on a USB drive from Archer, detailing every step of the servicing process from A to Z. While it's impossible to share everything, I will post a few photos from the PDF. I want to emphasize that Archer exceeded my expectations. He is a true perfectionist who brought this 861 back to life with skill of a true master. I think all who know Archer will agree. What I like most about Archer is his excitement to share his knowledge of watchmaking.

I chose to replace the crown and pushers to get some water resistance, as I'd like to protect the dial and hands (and the movement) from dust, humidity, and moisture as much as possible. I'm not planning to go in the water with it, but I'd like to wear the watch worry free and maintain the condition of the dial and hands as much as possible. Archer returned the original crown and pushers to me, and they can be reinstalled in minutes, so I don’t see it as an issue in terms of retaining originality.

All I get from my watchmaker is a cash register receipt. I might buy a speedmaster and sent it to Archer just for this excellent experience

I'm not sure any watchmaker can match this.
I'm moving to Canada.

He worked on a Longines 30CH of mine. His documentation is basically watch porn.

I can second every single positive comment made about Archer. I have had several exceptional experiences with him and my expectations have always been exceeded. Really makes sending a watch out a highly enjoyable experience - the detail, photos and reporting he provides is incredible.

You’ll like it here, horology is included in our socialized medicine coverage.

I love seeing this, it shows you when a professional loves what they do.

If you are in the US, no need. He's done three of mine, all returned pretty much as new. The engineer in me gets jittery at the thought of his reports. They push every one of my buttons (the good buttons 😀 )

Edit: Now that I think about it deeper, he's done 4 (2 Speedy's, 1 2254 and 1 166.077). Spectacular performance on all.

Fantastic watch and an amazing service. I wonder how Archer decides which watches to accept for service? I suspect he has more business than he could ever make the time to actually do...

Super cool. Thanks for sharing. I have always wondered - how difficult is it to constantly be looking at tiny stuff?

I spend two minutes looking at my watches up close to see the fonts etc (without any lens or anything) and that’s guaranteed headache for the rest of the day…