Good afternoon all, I received some advice from another forum member to post here. I have a vintage G6518 with a black dial my grandfather bought when he retired from the Army in the 1950s. Right now I have no idea what is wrong with it, from what i can tell the movement is not operational at the moment, 2 hands are missing and the crown stem is bent. Another member here told me that the dial looked very nice, which i was surprised by as well, considering everything this watch has been through. Really hoping someone here can give me some advice on what to do, in order to get this timepiece fixed. I have attached some photos of the watch. Thank you in advance!
I think it's worth restoring, both because of its family history and also because it will be a nice watch once fixed. Without knowing exactly what the watch needs, it's difficult to comment on the quote you received for repair. What did they say they would do for $950? Did they disassemble the watch, diagnose what was wrong, and specify what is required? Or was it just some sort of generic price for repair?
They just gave me a generic price. They didn’t do anything to the watch. They told me they needed $150 in order to touch the watch. Unfortunately I am in a relatively small town and options are sparse.
That is a "we don't want to fix it" price. Hopefully, there are some people here can help you with a referral. You don't have to hand carry it in to a shop.
That’s really what I figured. Really hoping someone here can help. I really have no idea how much the watch is worth or care, but it’s the only thing I have of his.
Any price that a repair shop gives you without diagnosing the problem is likely to be high, since they are protecting themselves against any possible problem that could arise. The watchmakers I work with take the watch, sometimes giving me an estimate of the minimum base price for a service, and then tell me what else is needed once they have disassembled the watch (e.g. cost of replacement parts and/or extra work for installation). I think this is quite common. Aside from its value as an heirloom, the watch does have actual value as a collectible. Once properly restored, I think it will be worth at least $1k.
That’s good to know. I guess my fear is I give it to a watchmaker and parts are replaced that do not need to be replaced. I would like to keep it as original as possible. I don’t know who to trust, or what watchmaker will be able to source the original hands
You will have to post it if you want to use a watchmaker who works on vintage and could help. Many people work mail order so you shouldn't worry. If you search on here, you should be able to find someone in Florida (?) or at least USA who could help. As @Dan S says, expect to get it to them and they will supply a quote. Don't worry about this if you find a watchmaker who does vintage. We have far too much to do to be replacing parts that don't need to be changed... Best regards, Chris
You are in the correct forum. You need someone in Florida (or USA, I suspect - I'm in UK) who will look after your watch. Do some searching here and find some watchmaker recommendations and then update your thread with some names, if you want any further comments on them. Best of luck, Chris
I have used the Swiss House in Orlando. Owner and his wife are very nice and I am comfortable taking my watches to him for service. Prices are very reasonable too. The Watch Professor is also in Orlando - Baldwin Park area but I have not used him. The Swiss House is closer.
My opinion is that it's worth having it restored. If I exclude the movement service, it's not a very big deal finding some proper hands and crown and a stem! The case doesn't lool bad either. 950 bucks is too much. If I were to service it, if there's no real problem with the movement, I would take around 250 euros, including a crystal, some hands and a stem. Best