I was told to ask you, Archer, about restoring a vintage Ladymatic that I inherited from my mother, who passed away in Feb. at age 96. I know that cocktail watches are not in fashion and it isn't valuable. However, it has sentimental value for me and I'd like to restore it if possible so that I can wear it occasionally. I've always worn Tissots for everyday- sorry!

I took it to the local Omega store. They said that it's the original generation of Ladymatic. The mechanism is beautiful, tiny gold cogwheels and so on. It's about the size of my thumbnail, and still running. I have to admit I fell in love with it. The watchmaker there spent about an hour testing it and showed me the results of tests. It boils down to this: the watch is losing about a second a day and it's beating irregularly. A couple of days ago I sent it off to Biele to be restored if that can be done for the base price for watches its age, $1280. If it has to be rebuilt with specially made parts, I'm not going to get it restored.

Then I discovered this forum, posted a question about restoring it, and was told Don't send it to Biele! Ask Archer instead.

I can tell Omega to ship it back without working on it for a $75 shipping fee if that's the best thing to do. My question is this: how can I find a watchmaker around the Boston area who can restore it to the extent possible without rebuilding it? I don't know anything about vintage clocks and watches. This watch is so tiny I feel that working on it would be a challenge, so I wanted to take it or send it to someone who specializes in vintage watches and clocks.
My other question is where i can find a wristband to match it. The one that's on it has a broken clasp and is too big for me in any case. I'd like to find one that matches it in style, if i can't find a wristband for that generation of Ladymatic, which i'd prefer. But I have no idea where to find vintage wristbands for cocktail size Ladymatics.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

That calls for Archer

Quick, the Archer Signal!

 

Is there theme music, too?

 

Hi Chris - why don't you send me a PM and we can discuss the service of this watch in more detail - I will warn you I have a waiting list though...

Cheers, Al

 

Can't possibly be any longer then the wait list at Omega.

 

A whole hell of a lot cheaper though! And Al actually listens to our requests....

 

AND Al will actually communicate with you. (No offense Omega Gods)

 

The Ladymatic is on its way to Archer. Thanks!