Hi all, I just wanted to get an opinion on a Speedmaster Mark II Racing Dial that is being offered to me. It comes with box and original warranty papers too. It is being offered to me at $3100usd which seems a little steep to me, but box and warranty papers are not something that I’ve seen a lot recently. Bracelet is correct, but not original to the watch. Thanks.
Did she have a little work done or were the pictures really that shitty?
I see you had it serviced but looks like new crystal, new bracelet and possible some case work- and hands relumed?
New bracelet because Nesbit's threw away the original by mistake, new crystal, hands, case refinished (brushed and polished.)
They did a nice job on the case work- as they are known to do. I would have been apoplectic about them “throwing away” bracelet (not sure how that happens other than gross negligence by someone at their shop)- then asked for them to track another of that same model down. The modern replacement is a replacement but the original was a far nicer bracelet imo.
I agree about the bracelet. I won't be going back to Nesbit's again. Nice people but I really wanted the original bracelet. They also didn't refinish the caseback of my Speedmaster Automatic "Mark 4.5" because they said they didn't have the right equipment to do it but still charged me full price for service (over $1200.) When it came time to service my flightmaster I sent it to Bienne even though I knew the wait was going to be a lot longer than having it serviced in the US.
How long ago was this done? If still within a few months I would go back and tell them that the replacement bracelet is not the original and that you want them to replace “in-kind”. If there are any on eBay (full length and in reasonable shape) or in possession of a collector here, I would send them the link and ask to be made whole again.
Sure, you could probably find one yourself and buy it for a couple hundred bucks, but that’s not the point. They made a mistake with a customer’s watch- they bought a modern replacement from the factory (I hope they didn’t charge you for it and if they did- get fucked), and expected you to be fine with it. I
I am angry for you!
It was over a year ago and I let it drop when they paid for the modern replacement. They've lost my future business (not just for the bracelet incident) and I think that is a reasonable response. I don't have the time or inclination to be more unreasonable than that. You also aren't going to find that bracelet in nice condition on eBay for a couple of hundred bucks.
Mistakes happen all the time in business, screwups happen. A company like Nesbit's isn't going to go out and search for a vintage bracelet and hope that the owner is ok with the condition of the replacement vs. what was originally on the watch. They have no expertise in that area. They will replace it with a modern equivalent, and although that won't satisfy the real collector it is the most expedient way to handle the issue. In my view they should have comped the new bracelet and the overhaul, charging the owner nothing for the messup. I just refuse to get wound up with messups like this anymore, as you get older you know when to fight and when to settle. This one is a settlin' event.
I had Nesbit's overhaul my MkII Racing which I've had since 1973 a couple of years ago, they did a fine job saving the crystal which was last replaced in 1980, and the original hands. Casework was really done professionally, very happy with that. Fortunately I didn't send them the original bracelet on the watch as it was really stretched out and I wasn't going to use it again. Had it on a leather strap for awhile but now switching to an Uncle Seiko, good quality at a good price.
Mistakes happen all the time in business, screwups happen. A company like Nesbit's isn't going to go out and search for a vintage bracelet and hope that the owner is ok with the condition of the replacement vs. what was originally on the watch. They have no expertise in that area. They will replace it with a modern equivalent, and although that won't satisfy the real collector it is the most expedient way to handle the issue. In my view they should have comped the new bracelet and the overhaul, charging the owner nothing for the messup. I just refuse to get wound up with messups like this anymore, as you get older you know when to fight and when to settle. This one is a settlin' event.
I had Nesbit's overhaul my MkII Racing which I've had since 1973 a couple of years ago, they did a fine job saving the crystal which was last replaced in 1980, and the original hands. Casework was really done professionally, very happy with that. Fortunately I didn't send them the original bracelet on the watch as it was really stretched out and I wasn't going to use it again. Had it on a leather strap for awhile but now switching to an Uncle Seiko, good quality at a good price.
That's part of the problem...
When I had my ‘73 BMW 3.0cs, I would drive to the dealership to buy parts (this is back when Mobile Traditions was a thing for BMW and they kept deep stock of parts for their vintage cars- it was (note the emphasis on the past tense) a point of pride for them.
One day when I came out, several young mechanics were standing around my car. They asked me to pop the hood (the fact that it opened backwards was a marvel to them) and one pointed at the dual Weber carbs and said “what’s that?”.
Just because they are “authorized” to work on something doesn’t mean they know how to handle it. That said, my independent mechanic specializes in vintage BMW’s and he has a staff of 3-4 guys ranging in age from 30-50, all know how to tune carbs by ear, all know how to use feeler gauges, all know how to trouble shoot a vacuum leak without a computer and all of them know to keep parts removed from a car until the customer is shown the parts upon pickup and signs off.
Nesbitt's generally does good work I believe, but my impression is that being a former Omega service center, it's taken them some time once they were no longer an official service center, to get out of "service center mode" when doing the work. I've had a number of people approach me with vintage watches, after not getting what they wanted when talking to Nesbitt's about doing a service. They still wanted to treat the watch as if it was a recent model, and replace all kinds of parts that the customer wanted to keep.
I think they are getting better in that regard over time, as they learn that vintage collectors don't want the same things that modern collectors want. But yes this instance was certainly not handled the way one would hope...
Over the years as more collectors started using him privately and he moved away from spec work- he became more accustomed to how “collectors” wanted things done rather than jewelers.
When I first started out, a kind watchmaker was giving me some advice, and encouraged me to stay away from trade work (what it's called when you get business from stores as you describe). It was good advice and I'm glad I didn't go that route - it has many drawbacks, not least the fact that the store marks your price up by 100%, so you are only making a fraction of what you should be...
