Inherited an Ed White Speedmaster - I think. Suggestions for repair shops

Hi all,

Please forgive me - I'm new to the forum and someone on Facebook suggested I try here. I recently inherited this Speedmaster but it needs repairs. I am really worried because I do not want to go to an unscrupulous repair place and have parts from it taken out because I am relatively ignorant about these things. (I have many vintage watches but very few of any value). I'm even worried about removing the back so that I can at least photograph the movement.

Any suggestions for certified or authorized Omega repair places in the western US (preferably Arizona). I have been told to avoid the official Omega repair facilities as they may replace vintage parts (like the bezel) which may add value. The one repair place I found in Arizona (Donaldson), has many reports of bad customer service.

Any help is appreciated!

Thank you for listening to a newbie Omega owner.

Get in touch with Phillip Ridley. He's in AZ.

https://ridleywatchmakers.com/

Equally important to getting some referrals, is knowing how to "vet" the watchmaker you will entrust with your heirloom. There is a wealth of information on this forum, as well as www.speedmaster101.com but here are the basics, IMHO, for a vintage watch like yours. Bear in mind, every watchmaker has their own idea of what a proper servicing is on a vintage watch.

1. Ask your watchmaker, does he/she have experience with servicing a vintage calibre 321 Speedmaster ? If they don't, I wouldn't use them, but that's just me. There are too many great watchmakers with decades of experience to choose from. My choices would be: Al at Archer Watches, Adam at Lewis Watch Co, or Simon at Simon Freese Watchmaker, and yes, they are remote from you so you would be sending your watch to them.
2. Ask them what is their approach to servicing a vintage watch? What you want to hear from them is something along the lines of "It's important to retain the vintage appeal of the watch, and do a gentle service and restoration, that means preserving all the original parts as much as possible, particularly the dial, hands, crown, pushers, and case. We do not polish vintage watches unless the owner insists". Another good response from a watchmaker would be "You are the customer, tell me what your expectations are for this watch?". In my case, my answer would be "I don't want the watch polished. Second, please preserve the vintage look and feel of the watch, I don't want it to "look new", so I want to keep the dial, hands, case, crown, pushers, etc. unless you can't for correct operation, in which case lets discuss acquiring replacement vintage parts", and last "I want the watch movement to have a thorough servicing and for time keeping to be within specification".
3. If for any reason you don't "click" with the watchmaker, find another one. Bear in mind, you will typically have to leave the watch with the watchmaker for a long period of time, weeks and even months is not out of line, depending on how busy they are, but discuss it and make sure its within your expectation before leaving it.

Great watch! Congrats and good luck.