- Posts
- 6,619
- Likes
- 21,396
M'Bob
·Bringing an old watch back to its former glory can be one of the most gratifying, and frustrating parts of the hobby. Don’t get me wrong: I do appreciate a nice patina, but there’s something just irresistible to me about spiffing, polishing, cleaning, replacing - it’s like a drug.
The Speedmaster 125 pictured is hardly a basket case. There was gentle wear on the case and bracelet, but the mineral glass was scratched up, and that started to bug me. Plus, it had never been serviced in the 15 years I’ve owned it, although I wore it rarely. It kept accurate time, but always wound down after a few hours use. It had to go in.
So I sent it to the very kind folks at Nesbit’s Fine Watch Service in Seattle, Washington, They overhauled the movement, replaced the crystal, and asked me if I wanted a new case as well. I figured, why not...make the thing look new. They couldn’t have been nicer, more attentive, or more professional.
When I got the watch head back from service, I was ready to re-attach the bracelet, and be on my way. But I hadn’t figured on one little problem: the finish on the new case did not correspond to the original case or bracelet. Mind you, the issue was not from wear; the satin finish was just not the same, it was much finer. The original case and bracelet had about a 400 grit finish, but I wasn’t sure what the new one had.
So I took one half of the bracelet to experiment on. I started at 320 grit to remove the larger scratches, and then incrementally progressed to 400, 600, 800, and then 1000, which ultimately seemed pretty close to matching the finish on the case. You can see the new case and refinished bracelet half on the left, and the old case and other side of the bracelet, untouched, on the right:
Here’s a side by side comparison showing the difference in finish in more detail. Original finish on the right:
Now, here’s the same side by side shot with both sides restored:
Here are a few shots with the fully restored bracelet attached to the watch:
At certain angles, you can still make out some of the faint scratches from the old bracelet when compared to the new case, but someone once told me, “Perfection is the enemy of good enough.” Thanks for looking.
The Speedmaster 125 pictured is hardly a basket case. There was gentle wear on the case and bracelet, but the mineral glass was scratched up, and that started to bug me. Plus, it had never been serviced in the 15 years I’ve owned it, although I wore it rarely. It kept accurate time, but always wound down after a few hours use. It had to go in.
So I sent it to the very kind folks at Nesbit’s Fine Watch Service in Seattle, Washington, They overhauled the movement, replaced the crystal, and asked me if I wanted a new case as well. I figured, why not...make the thing look new. They couldn’t have been nicer, more attentive, or more professional.
When I got the watch head back from service, I was ready to re-attach the bracelet, and be on my way. But I hadn’t figured on one little problem: the finish on the new case did not correspond to the original case or bracelet. Mind you, the issue was not from wear; the satin finish was just not the same, it was much finer. The original case and bracelet had about a 400 grit finish, but I wasn’t sure what the new one had.
So I took one half of the bracelet to experiment on. I started at 320 grit to remove the larger scratches, and then incrementally progressed to 400, 600, 800, and then 1000, which ultimately seemed pretty close to matching the finish on the case. You can see the new case and refinished bracelet half on the left, and the old case and other side of the bracelet, untouched, on the right:
Here’s a side by side comparison showing the difference in finish in more detail. Original finish on the right:
Now, here’s the same side by side shot with both sides restored:
Here are a few shots with the fully restored bracelet attached to the watch:
At certain angles, you can still make out some of the faint scratches from the old bracelet when compared to the new case, but someone once told me, “Perfection is the enemy of good enough.” Thanks for looking.
