. . . watchmakers, and our passion for Omega.

Early last year, my pal West Coast Bill scored a ref 2364 on eBay because I told him he needed it.



WCB doesn't participate in practically any forum, which makes him all the more remarkable as a collector. He's amassed a bevy of Omega bumpers that would be the envy of many.


[WCB's '49 ref 2576 cal 343 / photo credit: Dr No]

Nary a manual wind chronometer in his collection, though. He's got at least one manual (a jumbo cal 265) I know of, but he's one of those guys who just doesn't appreciate the allure of manual winding, much less rg chronomètres. So when he forwarded a link to an eBay auction of a gold ref 2364 with applied Arabics, I told him he needed it in his collection.

He won the auction. (At a remarkably low price, too.)

Two weeks later, he said, "Art, I'm not feeling it. I'm going to let it go."

To which I replied, "Sold!" And took it off his hands in less time than it takes to say Lemania. Not sure who was happier, me or Bill. (He was able to reacquire the ref 2576 pictured above as part of the deal.)

In between Bill's acquisition and my swiping, he'd taken it to his watchmaker for inspection. Timing was literally perfect dial up and down, but +15 crown up and -15 crown down.

So what did I do? Took it to my watchmaker.

Digression: my watchmaker, who'd performed ably earlier, had displayed alarming lapses in the previous year. Without going into detail, I have to say I gave it to him with trepidation; he'd made some blunders recently, but our relationship was such that I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

He put it on his timer and essentially confirmed Bill's watchmaker's results. It didn't need servicing, he said, but timing could be improved with regulation. So I left it in his care.

At the same time, he had another Omega of mine in for repair. He'd serviced my ref 2179 years before, but timing results were never acceptable. Many adjustments and fixes ensued, including a replacement sweep seconds pinion, to no avail. I persuaded him to tear the 2179 apart again for thorough inspection. His diagnosis was a previous watchmaker had shaved the underside of the balance bridge to fit a non-standard balance staff. The only recourse was to find a replacement nickel-finish bridge. Which I did, at considerable expense.

A few weeks later, he called. "Come by", he said, "I've got one ready."

I was expecting the 2179, or one of the others he'd had for awhile. It was the 2364 he brought out as I entered his shop.

"So how did it go?", I asked. "Usually, it takes a lot longer for you to regulate a watch."

"Regulate? What do you mean? I replaced the balance bridge."



He'd conflated the two jobs.



He pried open the case to show me the nickel-finish balance bridge inserted in the 30T2rg.



"Umm, no. That bridge was supposed to go in the other Omega."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Not a problem - I'll switch them back."



I couldn't believe he would make such an obvious screw-up, but he did. And you guessed it: when I timed it afterwards, it was nothing like before.



Quandary. Obviously, I couldn't return the chronomètre to the same watchmaker. I didn't have a relationship established with Bill's watchmaker, who would've refused to work on it anyways, according to Bill. And I feared sending it to Omega.

So what did I do?

I contacted Al.

And luckily, he accepted. He was swamped at the time and not taking in new work, but after a day or two, he said he would take the job.

That was May or June of '17, to the best of my recollection.

A few weeks ago, I contacted him to see if I could pay in advance as there was a surplus of funds in my Paypal account. To my pleasant surprise, he said it was almost ready, and shortly afterwards, declared the job done.

So, after a year and a half, I'm finally able to enjoy my Arabic 2364 . . .



. . . entirely thanks to Al.

Merry Christmas to all on OF!

Art

 

Crazy story and Kudos to @Archer

Merry Christmas!

 

Al's da man, no doubt about it!

 

Seriously you have a friend called West Coast Bill??

That is a badass name. I imagine walking in to a saloon, looking around and seeing this sharp looking gentleman sitting in the corner. Wearing a two-gun rig and with his hat down so you can’t see his eyes, only the toothpick he is slowly chewing.

I lean over the bar and ask the bartender who that is. He glance over there looking a little alarmed before answering me. “That is West Coast Bill” he says. He pours me a whisky and speaks again “Looks like your number is up kid... sorry”

 

Well done Art. A nice Christmas present. You have the patience of a saint!!!

 

Hi Art,

Thanks again for your patience. The watch actually set a new record for me in terms of incoming condition - it had the most positional variation of any watch that's been in my shop that was able to run...



It looks like it's "just" 105.5 seconds of Delta, but it's actually 1055 seconds. And the rest of the numbers certainly aren't great either, like the balance amplitudes. Not sure I've tweaked a watch movement more than I tweaked this one...

Cheers, Al

 

Nice ending for this story! But I am surprised a watch with these timing results could run!

 

Good to see you here, Chris!

Yes, restoration took awhile, but Al let me know that it would up front. He was slammed at the time, not taking in any other work.

I was fortunate to get on his waiting list.

Best,

Art

 

You're not too far off the mark.

I spend a lot time in a saloon. And get challenged to a quick draw more often than I care to admit.

See the guy slapping the corner pocket? He's saying that's where he wants the 8 ball.

It's my shot. We're playing "opponent calls the 8." He thinks he's doing me a favor by calling an easy one-rail bank.

I called three.

 

Now that's Money

 

Never sawn a timegrapher plot like this one. What the hell was wrong with that movement. Only the balance bridge?

 

Come to think of it, he should've given me 3 - 1 odds.

 

I find it helps to look at my watch . . .

. . . in between shots.

 

Amazing story! Really shows the importance of having a good watchmaker. And I still need to train a lot to have your Billiard skills!

 

Incredible read...

Art, is your old watchmaker colour-blind? How can you mix up a nickle-plated cock with a copper-coloured one?
You will have to change your watchmaker - best to stick with AL! But unfortunately he does not accept new customers (afaik)... you have been lucky this time

 

There was nothing wrong with the movement when I handed it to my then-watchmaker. What butchery he inflicted is a matter only Al would be able to clarify.

Art

 

I'll trade lessons for the Omega in your avatar.

 

The mentioned watchmaker is now in his early seventies, Erich. He's been working on my watches since 2011. At first - the first three years - he performed generally good work. Then, he began slipping. But our relationship was so congenial, and he was so accessible and reasonable when it came time to pay up, that I accepted his increasingly slip-shod behavior. The incredible screw-up with the precious 2364 was the last straw; I've given him no further work, and fortunately found an excellent watchmaker even closer to home.

And yes, Al's acceptance was akin to hitting the lottery. I don't know what I would've done if he had turned the job down.

Best,

Art