I agree with Achim. I'd like to help, but I'm not really inclined to take apart my Greenlander to measure the movement holder for a stranger.

 

Even when you can get the parts, the costs are all over the place.

One of the things that separated the US from Europe at the founding, was to break the power of the Guilds. Such Guilds in the 18th and 19th centuries had the right to destroy inferior work. Often this would be where the master destroyed the apprentice possible masterpiece, as they liked having the cheap mostly unpaid labor to do all the work, and they only had to put their name on it. Often these Guilds were tied to religious orders to give them legitimacy.

The work around for this was Patent law, which Jefferson called a 'Necessary evil.' The premise behind it was that one would have a short window or monopoly in which to market the idea. Sadly the so called guilds found a way around this by purchasing the patents, then extending further and further out in time the so called monopoly window.

Ironically France and the Confederation Helvetique copied much of the US patent structures. Note how innovative they were until the corporations decided share value and pension plans were more important than taking risks that could cause the company to fail

I can see both sides. On the other hand, why a part for a Landeron 48 cost 15USD$ and the same part for a Valjoux 23/72 cost 110USD$? This pricing is simply weird. I guess this is simply marketing 101, supply and demand.

Personally I think Right to repair and access to tools and materials, should be a fundamental right. Such access encourages curiosity and a way to learn about things. Who else remembers 'Sams Photo facts?' The library had a whole wall of these covering every radio and television, and probably phonograph or tape player, made between say 1927 and 1988 or so. This was all trashed and replaced with desks for computer usage. Then the whole library was trashed because no one likes mid century modern anymore either.

If anything patents and copyrights are too long. Such things need to be shorter so the younger generations have a chance to learn such things while they are still young.

-j

 

So, can you help the OP with the rings? You have plenty of stuff; some of these as well ?

 

Without knowing the size, It is hard to say. While I did accumulate quite a bit of dust, there is always that one more part one needs. That I think is where the frustration comes from. Then there is also the time it takes to sort through 'stuff.' I suspect that is another reason the manufactures are not willing to simply sell 'parts.'

 

Post and beam forever!

https://www.atomic-ranch.com/architecture-design/preservation-corner/post-and-beam/

 

I don't have a movement spring but I have a couple of pretty decent images of one that I sold many years ago, if that would help.

 

Yes please, I can compare it with Sei Tacche version that is almost a fit!

 

Still waiting for your correct case and Mvmt. Measurement. If it nearly fits, give the whole lot to a watchmaker and make it fit. Body too thick: lathe material off. Too tight: cut it and solder a piece in, polish it and nobody will ever notice....

 

Just talked with my local watchmaker, this is what we will do. Lathe a bit off and job done!

 

Thank you, basically same ring indeed (compared with one I have from Sei Tacche).

 

You're welcome. Hope the minor modification goes well for you. A pic of your Longines WWW would be a nice way to cap off the thread.

 

Agreed! Let’s see those Greenlanders to end on a good note. Would love to own one

 

Well here is the watch itself. Finally back from the grips of the worst vendor I dealt in my life - Longines. Anyone suggesting "dial replacement" to this watch has proven to me, they do not know what they are doing at all. Full stop. Excuse in their favour as "they wanted to do restoration..." is not liable. This would destroy 60-80% of the value probably.

They are simply incompetent greedy vendor that does not deserve any praise at all. This is my opinion. As you can see by the pictures this watch is nowhere near a 2500EUR service fee however you turn it.

 

The movement holder looks odd. What exactly did they do at service, did they itemise it for you post service?
Did you get the movement spring machined down to fit in the end?

 

Movement holder ring is still missing (it has tabs). They do not itemize anything. They simply come up with a random number and “take it or leave it”.

 

I am a little confused. I thought the whole point of sending it to Longines for service was to get the correct movement spring? Yet it still doesn't appear to have happened post service.

 

I refused to pay 2400eur for bogus service claim and wanted only movement holder ring. They did not want to provide one. Thus 2 months wasted and NOTHING done.

 

OK, I understand now, they just returned your watch as you didn't accept the quote for service.

Good luck with the movement spring modification or finding an original. Your best bet by far regarding finding the original spring is to register on the MWR forum. Finding parts for most moderately rare vintage watches is a long haul that relies on building contacts/relationships, and ideally having something to add to the mix yourself. Folks that have a stash of rare parts rarely offer them for sale openly in my experience.

 

The lesson or takeaway from my point of view is this:

Before one sends a watch out for service, make an effort to find out what the recipient's policy is on service.

The WARNING should be something like: "Look before you leap."

I do not see fault on the part of Longines for offering full-service only.
I do not see fault on the part of any watch manufacturer for not wanting to sell rare vintage or custom made parts for a vintage watch to an end-user.
However; Longines is not completely innocent here.

I did just have a look at the Longines site:

https://www.longines.com/en-us/send-and-service-your-watch

I then went to the "Services Pricing" section and a partial service is listed as an option:

https://www.longines.com/en-us/maintenance-prices

I assume the pricing pertains only to current or recent model watches, but it's not made clear.

In looking over the prices, it would be reasonable to think that the service that the OP wanted would cost much less than $2,400 EUR.

Longines could do with a better policy statement concerning the servicing of vintage watches.

One is invited to make an inquiry and I would hope that Longines would set a proper expectation level if one were to write them and describe what is wanted.

Cheers,

Joe