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  1. sjg22 Aug 13, 2018

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    The last two Speedies I’ve picked up, both ‘63s as it were, have had the same issue and I’m curious if it’s just absurdly bad luck on my part, or a common problem.

    Both have had the hour subdial hand come off of its post within the first week of ownership. I’ve had other Speedmasters I owned for years without any hands leaping out of place but twice in a row is odd...

    The first, a 105.012-63 had this happen seemingly at random as I hadn’t been running the chrono. I looked down while out for dinner and the hand was migrating around the dial. It was sent to Simon Freese and fully serviced and repaired.

    The second one, a 105.003-63 just happened today - I was running the chrono, stopped it, hit the reset button and the hand flew off.
    C71F6994-AF29-4FCF-844B-1DF9A54D8278.jpeg

    Anyone else have this issue? Unfortunate coincidence that it’s happened twice in a row for me?

    In terms of fixing it, the watch had been running well within specs so it doesn’t seem like it currently needs a full service - is it something I should send off to someone top notch like Simon (which is a pain the ass as I’m in Canada) or Archer, or is this something that can be handled by a reasonably skilled local watchmaker?
     
    Marty McDawg likes this.
  2. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Aug 14, 2018

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    If all you need is the hand put back on, then anyone can do this. But that's not likely all you need - these hands come off for a reason, and it's likely loose on the post. So if you don't want a new hand installed, you need to find someone who can tighten the old hand, then install it again.

    Cheers, Al
     
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  3. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Aug 14, 2018

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    I've had hands tightened as Al mentions by less renowned watch makers. I may be off my rocker, but I think this type of repair is fairly common in watch making, so I don't think it warrants sending off to repair.

    ...with the caveat that - as Al also mentions - there might be more to the story under the covers.

    I'm also not clear on the impact to any sort of warranty if a different watchmaker opens it up. Eg, if Simon did the service, would he uphold his warranty if someone else opened it up to put the hand back on? I don't know...
     
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  4. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Aug 14, 2018

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    Would you warrant a watch if some unknown to you watchmaker was poking around inside, and something went wrong after that? I think the answer is pretty obvious and you can expect that if someone other than the watchmaker who did the last service opens the watch, it would void the warranty. On the flip side, the last person to touch the watch is "it" so the game of tag begins...

    I know it's frustrating for people that some watchmakers won't do small jobs, but there's a reason for it...

    Cheers, Al
     
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  5. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Aug 14, 2018

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    Exactly why I mentioned it. :D
     
  6. sjg22 Aug 14, 2018

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    Just for clarity, this is a different watch than the one Simon worked on, but the same issue. The other watch needed a service regardless (and one hand had some wonky lume) so it made sense to send off.

    Thanks for the advice guys - getting this sorted locally would be nice. Unfortunately these old Speedies are getting to a value level that it’s scary to let anyone but pros like @Archer and a small handful of others, touch them.
     
    drummerboy1210 likes this.