I finally have my beloved Speedy in the hands of a competent watchmaker (Jamie Dolinar). As soon as he got it he ran over a checklist with dings, scratches, etc.... and he shot me some pictures.
He immediately began diagnosing why the hour subdial would not reset to zero and within 30min he had the answer.
Previous watchmaker/linkchanger/battery replacer did not reinstall the reset hook lever. It is completely missing from my watch. My hands were also misaligned and out of level. Excess oil inside the movement as well.
Something that took Jamie 30 minutes to diagnose took this guy 6 months to Experiment on my watch.
Pictures below of what Jamie took for me. The stem is corroded as well so that might need to be replaced too.
Again, choose your watchmakers carefully to avoid the crap I went through.

 

Yes indeed . Strip mall battery changers are deadly. If all you see is battery change reviews steer clear. If you see lots of stories about restoring pocket watches, heirloom watches etc that's step 1. Then a visit to asses, plus references.

 

I completely agree. The guy whom screwed up my watch is supposedly the only (so called) watchmaker in New Orleans.... or so I was told.
He told me "I've done hundreds of these".... Complete BS! If anyone wants to steer clear of him, send me a PM and I will let you know who it is. I don't want to BLAST anybody on a forum. I also don't want anyone to get screwed by this guy again!

 

Sorry to hear about your horror story. Having a precious watch ruined or botched by a "watch butcher" is a real nightmare for any watch enthusiast and collector. I hear similar stories from gun collectors, etc.

As much as I despise the outrageous price of "full maintenance service" that manufactures impose, I always take my TAG-Heuer to the local authorized dealer (that is also Rolex's AD) with their in-house watchmaker and my Omega watches to the closest boutique to make sure that my watches will be brought back to the factory specs with genuine factory parts by factory trained watchmakers (or technicians). And the service comes with the factory warranty.

The downside of taking my watches to the AD and boutique is, of course, the high cost of regular maintenance. That's why I will probably buy one more watch and no more...

 

Can't do that with antique watches.

 

I can imagine that collectors of fine antique and vintage watches face challenges that collectors of modern watches do not. I'm sure even for those affluent collectors with no financial concern, locating a well qualified independent watchmaker locally or in the region can sometimes be a challenge due to their availability and accessbility....

 

Famous last words....

 

Never say never, when it comes to collecting something, right?

 

Nice to see that you found a competent watchmaker! They are becoming a rare breed sadly. Took me about a year to find someone competent whom I would trust to work on my beloved pieces. Only downside, he has a 10, yes ten, month waiting list. My KO2907 will be at the Spa until may 2017 .

If anyone is in need of a competent Omega cert. watchmaker in Germany, shoot me a PM I'll happily pass his contact Infos. Fair prices also.

Cheers,

Max

 

Reset hook lever = operating lever for hour hammer. The hour hammer is certainly not going to move unless the op. lever is there to push it...

Certainly lots of ugly things in those photos...

 

Archer, yes there are and Jamie is making them all right. He's got it back on the timer as well and it is running much better. See photos.
Here is another issue that he managed to fix as well. (See photo)

 

Bent fourth wheel pivots are common - if people aren't careful with removing the hands it will bend the pivot every time...

 

Got my watch back from Jamie Dolinar(JD's watch repair) in Michigan and he went above and beyond for me to help me out.
Everything works flawlessly!! He even sourced some vintage hands for me from his own stash.

If you need an excellent watchmaker, I highly recommend Jamie.

 

Looks great! And kudos for sharing!

 

As I said in another thread, Jamie is a good guy. Glad he has it sorted for you.

Cheers, Al

 

Can't imagine that happening to one of my pieces.....Hopefully you've acquired someone who knows what they are doing. I have a few names as well if you are ok with working through the mail. I'm sure several on the forums have proper suggestions for your area. Best of luck in the future with any servicing,

Thomas

 

Wow.. thanks for sharing. Congrats!

 

While we are dealing with good watchmaker, I'd like to find one in europe, preferably in france.
Anyone ?

 

In France? In the entire country? There are plenty of good watchmakers! You should specify a city.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think there are THAT many good and talented watchmakers in France.
I think they are about 10 maybe.

And by the way, I live in Mulhouse, about 150 km from Strasbourg.