Looking for good US mail-in repair for vintage watches

[xrono]

I am relatively new to vintage watches but now have a few needing some work. I only want mail-in, the best people have a low probability of being near me (and I did already try a few locals). I also want to pick someone I can build a relationship with, so they should be able to do a wide range of work. My watches are currently Omega/Universal/Longines from the 1930’s and 40’s.

Here are a few I have found:

1. Antique Watch Company - 16-week wait now
2. Mainly Watches
   
3. The Watch Tech - May not be taking on any more work now?
   
4. Carignan Watch Co. - Over a year wait now?
   
5. Ultra Vintage
   
6. RGM - Looks very high-end, perhaps more expensive than I need
7. [EDIT: adding ones mentioned below starting here]
8. Chronotek Inc
9. Paradise Time Service

These all look pretty reasonable to me but I would appreciate other opinions. I would particularly be interested in any younger watchmakers that are excellent that are looking for new customers. Thanks in advance.

Edited: Aug 11, 2024

 

[Dan S]

These days, pretty much every independent watchmaker is happy to accept watches shipped to them for servicing. Instead of reinventing the wheel and using google to search broadly for vintage watch repair (which will largely return clickbait and sites that manipulate the search results), why don't you search the forum for the hundreds of previous threads with first-hand recommendations for watch repair. The best way to search the forum is to use google with the "site:" operator. Perhaps even better, develop relationships with other collectors, in-person and online, so that you can get additional firsthand recommendations.

Many excellent watchmakers don't advertise or pay to have the search results elevated, and some of them don't even have websites. My main watchmaker, for example, has no web presence whatsoever, it's entirely a word-of-mouth business.

 

[Larry S]

xrono

I am relatively new to vintage watches but now have a few needing some work. I only want mail-in, the best people have a low probability of being near me (and I did already try a few locals). I also want to pick someone I can build a relationship with, so they should be able to do a wide range of work. My watches are currently Omega/Universal/Longines from the 1930’s and 40’s.

Here are a few I have found:

1. Antique Watch Company - 16-week wait now
2. Mainly Watches
   
3. The Watch Tech - May not be taking on any more work now?
   
4. Carignan Watch Co. - Over a year wait now?
   
5. Ultra Vintage
   
6. RGM - Looks very high-end, perhaps more expensive than I need

These all look pretty reasonable to me but I would appreciate other opinions. I would particularly be interested in any younger watchmakers that are excellent that are looking for new customers. Thanks in advance.

Where are you located? Always helps us help you. Everybody is busy btw.

 

[drose224]

Chronotek, Inc. (chronotekinc.com)
The absolute best for watch repair.

 

[gbesq]

drose224

Chronotek, Inc. (chronotekinc.com)
The absolute best for watch repair.

A second nod for Chronotek. Not inexpensive and not fast, but Michael and his staff are very, very good.

 

[xrono]

Thanks for the mention of Chronotek, will look into them.

Dan S

why don't you search the forum for the hundreds of previous threads with first-hand recommendations for watch repair.

I should have mentioned that I already did that, and several of the places on my list came from those posts. One reason why I posted anyway is to see if there were some younger people out there. I did have a few leads on some but none are big into earlier watches.

I am in Baltimore. There are some good places an hour or so away, but nothing any closer. To drop off and pick up a watch from a place an hour away is four hours of driving, I’d much rather mail it.

 

[gbesq]

xrono

Thanks for the mention of Chronotek, will look into them.



I should have mentioned that I already did that, and several of the places on my list came from those posts. One reason why I posted anyway is to see if there were some younger people out there. I did have a few leads on some but none are big into earlier watches.

I am in Baltimore. There are some good places an hour or so away, but nothing any closer. To drop off and pick up a watch from a place an hour away is four hours of driving, I’d much rather mail it.

PM sent

 

[Wlcutter]

I'll note as I do at every opportunity that the best watchmaker I know of is Donovan Paradise, of Paradise Time Service. I've literally never had a problem, and he's serviced hundreds of watches for me in the last dozen years. He's also got a very short wait time presently--north east Indiana's not the hotbed of mechanical watches presently.

 

[xrono]

Cool thanks .. I figured out how to edit and so I added the ones mentioned to my original list above. I will start sorting through things soon, lots of good places it looks like.

 

[Zman4eva]

I've used Andy Lewis at Ultra Vintage for a Zodiac and a non-working Omega Constellation. Everything came back great. Prices are much cheaper compared to other watchmakers I've asked. He's in Ohio so that may factor into the lower price.

He's currently servicing another Constellation for me and it's been 5 months so he must be really backed up.

One thing to note is that he does not have an Omega account so he'll need to buy Omega parts from his supplier at a premium (assuming the part is available).

 

[DON]

Best if you can post images and someone can advise if the watch is worth restoring. Some just are not worth the cost

 

[jsducote]

Orlando Watch Company did right by my '46 Chronomat