Speedmaster Mark II advice

I think they've done a great job... suddenly feel the urge to have one...

hi Paul I guess I was being more pessimistic so as not to open myself up to the forum critics pointing out the flaws.
after all this piece has been used and has not been a safe queen for the past 45 years.

I love the case refinishing and it's much better than STS had prepared me for... as it had been heavily polished before.
sure its not as sharp as an unpolished lightly worn piece would be - but then again it never was going to be...

I just need to wait till my new bracelet arrives before I can wear it!

I really wanted a mark II exotic dial and surprised myself by jumping on one of the 1st ones I found mainly cause it didn't involve ebay or US imports etc and it was an original racing dial.. it is as you say not nearly NOS condition and of course if I find another better one within a justifiable budget I may well buy it and sell this one on.. but i'm more than happy knowing that considering what this has cost me to get to this state and knowing that it's fully usable and just had a complete service that it will be a lovely addition to my collection.

The only small issue that i'm not entirely happy with after coming back from STS is that when the sweeping hand is returned/reset it's not sitting 100% lined up between the twin marks of the 12 on the dial (seems to sit fine on the tachy ring - it's as if the dial is a fraction off centre/about 1/2 a degree clockwise... in the square on pic above it's been started and stopped about 1/2 a second simply to satisfy my OCD!
(I'll speak to STS on Monday and have a chat about if it can be resolved) or am I being too picky to expect a 40+ year old chrono to perform like a modern piece even after a service?

As an aside - I do like the new version as well and may well buy that in the future.. just waiting for funds to become available.

yes certainly looking at the before and after pics - its very impressive...
It gives me a bit more confidence in just how a service like this can bring life back into a very tired piece.

Hi D4uk, i don't think you are being too picky, all at the 12 o/c position doesnt look aligned, and it seemed to be aligned in the "before" pictures, so maybe the dial hasnt been put back properly?

I,m sure most of us on here couldnt live with that either !

Cheers, paul

You are not wrong to expect the second hand to reset to zero. If you look at my Mk II project thread (that I have just updated following receipt of my case, back from STS) you will see a post from @Archer about this.

hi Stewart read that thread - very interesting and yes certainly a great project...

I've tried running and resetting the sweeping hand - but it still resets back slightly off... but in truth its lining up with the 60 on the tachy ring and the hour hand on the sub dial.
from what i can see everything is fine - it's just that the dial is slightly off...
will try and upload a close up pic in a min....

here are a few pics to show you want i mean... I'm thinking the dial is about 1 degree off clockwise (ie: it needs to come 0.5-1 degree counter clockwise...) might be less as the min sub dial hand looks off too... but it will naturally look more off at the tip of the Sweeping hand as it's furthest from the centre.

thoughts? I only got it back yesterday so not had a chance to speak to STS yet...

I would actually say that all of the chronograph parts are not properly installed. The only immovable part is the dial itself.

The hour counter is the furthest out and if you look at the base of the second hand, that is out by half its width comparing it against the "12" marker on the hour counter. The minute counter is also slightly out and the crystal (the tachy ring is stuck onto the bottom of the crystal) is also out of alignment.

If I had to guess, I would say that someone put the hands on badly, cased the movement without looking at it properly and then they lined the tachy ring up with the sweep hand when they put in the crystal.

thanks Stewart I wasn't aware that the dial was immovable - if that is the case then yes there are quite a few other issues..
I'll send an email to Simon at STS and try and speak to him tomorrow.

Once the stem/crown are replaced, they effectively lock the movement into position. With my case, they must have removed the case tube to lap the case. When they replaced the tube (possibly a new one but not on the invoice) they trapped a piece of swarf between the tube and case. When the stem wouldn't fit, I initially panicked but then saw what the problem was and cleaned it out with a piece of peg wood.

I'm very happy with what they did for me, other than the additional cost of having the case refinished, not as part of a service - £40.83 + VAT and the Next Day postage taking two days, but at the end of the day, £124 wasn't bad for the end result.

Hi

Firstly the Watch looks great...what a turnaround !

I'm 100% sure that STS will resolve everything to your satisfaction....they always have for me 😀

Perhaps let us know how you got on today with them....?

Best - Neil

Hi Neil - so far despite the minor hiccup - I've been very impressed with Simon at STS - I emailed them yesterday evening with a few pics and got a response within an hour from Simon who promised to call me this morning which he duly did.

I've sent them the watch back and hoping to hear from them tomorrow when they get it and have been told to expect it back sorted within say a week.
Obviously I would have hoped to have not had to send it back but really pleased the way my issues are being dealt with.

I've had a great many watches serviced at STS and Swisstec, although corrections are on occasion needed in my experience (and the reason I always return to them) is that their customer service is outstanding

Hope it's a quick resolution

Cheers Tom

well i must say i'm very happy wit the service from STS - emailed them and advised o the issues, posted the watch back to them at my expense and had another in-depth call once they received the watch.

They then undertook all the revisions and sent pics in advance of returning it to make sure I was happy..
needless to say I was and to top it all when I got the watch back - attached was a cheque to refund my expenses for returning the watch to them.

Hope you agree that it now looks spot on.. I'm waiting to collect my new (1162/173) steel bracelet from my AD so in the meantime have put it on a leather strap - which I really like (recommended by Tony on Turf)

Looks great. I'm pleased for you that it is all sorted.

Thats more like it - complete and utter magic!

I have a black face version which I just got back from being worked on by a shop in Hong Kong. I would recommend them for having the bracelet rebuilt if you want to keep the original bracelet.

Here are some before and after photos of mine. The bracelet was gross to begin with and came back close to new and very functional. The finish looks great on the watch to my eye as well.

Here is the pricing:
1.Movement service USD 250

2.Bracelet rebuild USD 150

3.Hands and hour markers relumed USD 30

4.Detailing USD200

5.New crystal USD80

There are a few details that still need to be taken care of so the watch is going back to HK at their expenses. The Lume wasn't done (for one). Some will likely think up nuts for wanting that.

Before Photos:








After Photos:

Very nice! Case looks stellar!

Thanks, it's gaining time though; four seconds over the past three days (not bad for a 45 y/o watch). 😉 I hate to send it on another trip.

-Lee