afternoon all

A few weeks back I sent a rather poorly 1045 off to my watch maker STS in the UK, the case had really seen better days and it was desperately in need of some serious TLC

As a lot of you know STS have invested a great deal of money in their facilities over the last few years and this is felt in no better place than the quality of the work then can now do on cases

They have gone to town on the kit, new polishing machines, laser welding equipment, sand blasting equipment and lapping machines galore

Anyway, this has just arrived back so I wanted to share it with you, it was a real mess before it went and as you can see other than the odd mark on the back of the lugs you would be troubled to think on first glance that it wasn't a new watch

Anyone who gets a chance really must try and check them out! Most of the community know their service manager Simon (who really is one of the shining stars of the business) but seeing their museum collection and their facilities is a must in our community if you ever get the opportunity

 

Looks great i have not had the pleasure to use STS but have visited them as i am working locally and i have spoken to Simon on a number of occasions regarding possible purchases and he really is the most helpful person i have come across in a long time .

 

What did it look like before?! Sure looks new now! Thanks for posting!

 

Wow! It looks factory-fresh! Amazing work.

 

It was a real mess previously! There were quite a few dinks in it!

Back in the day companies with lapping machines used to just lap back until the dinks were out but the resits looked amazing but caused irreparable damage! I saw a big blue once were it was so heavily lapped the bezel wouldn't stay on

STS laser weld all the damage first and then lap the case so as to retain all of the case material then can and no loose the original dimensions

 

Needs the before pics - sounds like it'll be quite the eye-opener!

 

It's a new watch! More amazing work from Simon and his colleagues. Why would you want to use anyone else?

 

Looks amazing. STS are the best IMO. Not just Simon but the whole team are never anything but super helpful.

 

Wish they wee stateside...

 

Hi chaps, sadly I don't think I have a before shot, normally STS do one for me but appears I forgot to ask on this one!

They really are amazing, I just put 20-30 omegas through STS a year! They are simply the best, their customer service is second to none and with resources like Simon on hand to support the community they are beyond excellent!

With the addition of their new polishing equipment their work IMHO exceed bienne and anyone else and that mixed with them actually doing exactly what collectors ask them to do (and not like bienne: what they think is best) makes them leagues ahead of the rest

 

Got to agree wholeheartedly.

I've had several watches to STS and their work, comms, everything is excellent. One of the watches was a dog of a speedy-worn out case, algal plots, loose bracelet, wrong hands. It was returned to me in just over three weeks looking amazing. No visible loss of material, yet the case looked almost pristine.

If you can get your watch to them. Do it.

 

Do they work on gold plated or capped cases too? I was thinking of sending my gold plated Mark 2 to replateit.com, but maybe I should send to them if they do gold.

 

Amazing. That settles it for me: I'm contacting them.

 

there are usa options for vintage omegas, like Nesbits:

 

Agree, STS has my 74 speedy and is getting a movement only clean and service. Got the impression Simon knows exactly what collectors want.

 

pic? before and after?

 

Wow is it the angle or does that watch (mark IV? ) sit like a good 4 or 5 cm high?

 

No, that's what it is.

You may notice that @2ar2c1 is holding the watch totally upright in a balanced position.

This is due to the fact that these watches, unless kept in perfect vertical balance, can fall to either side which has caused a number of bad wrist burns, and in a few documented cases, total breakage of the wrist joint.

It takes a brave man to wear them.

 

Think I'll give them a try,as live in Essex where they are based Expensive but great quality /work, will they let you just 'pop in' or is that for special repeat customers?

 

I think I posted some before pics a while ago, but possibly not the 'after' ones. I'll add some when I get chance.

Incidentally, I don't believe mine was laser welded, just expertly polished.