Hi, Where is good place to let a beaten up 145.022 case refinish. i dont need a like new case, but a soft go over. I prefer someone in the EU. There are some good adresses? Br Marcel
The only one I know is Classic Watch Repair (Michael Young). They have a fairly good reputation but are located in HK.
Robin Israel in Oppenheim GER. Has all the tooling for case refinishing, he's also a very talented watchmaker and certified by omega. You can find his email address here : www.uhrenkunde.de under "Kontakt". But maybe post a picture of your watch first? What you may think of "worn" other may find attractive patina to the case. If it's not completely scratched and dinged I wouldn't advise a refinishing. Cheers, Max
You might like to contact Swiss Time Services http://swisstimeservices.co.uk/ Not the cheapest, but generally have a reputation for doing good work.
Out of interest, does anyone have any experience of having a Speedmaster (Moonwatch) case refinished by STS or any other facility? I know that STS (and others with lapping machines) can refinish the MKii, Mkiv Speedmasters and similar designs to a very high, OEM-like finish. This can be achieved due to the essentially flat plane of the radial grained finish on these cases, but the Moonwatch, with its twisted lugs is a wholly different proposition. I would like to see examples of what can be achieved on badly worn or damaged cases.
145.022-69 case, lightly refinished by STS. The before picture makes it look better than it actually was. It had lots of dings and dents and had lost definition in various places, such as the end of the lugs, which were in a bit of a mess. Before After
Rocco at Watchworks (UK) is meant to be a bit of a jedi when it comes to case refinishing. Not used him personally but I've seen some amazing before & after pics. I gather he can micro-weld to fill in any particularly deep knocks too. Worth bearing in mind though that as I understand it neither he nor STS will do a case refurb only, but only as part of a full service - presumably because it's not financially viable for them otherwise, due to the time taken to strip down and rebuild again afterwards.
I have sent items to STS for case or bracelet refurbishment only. They seem happy to do part repairs like this in my experience. Call and speak with Simon Freese direct and he will confirm it or otherwise. This is particularly useful for pieces which need to go elsewhere for movement work like hummers or v old calibres.
Adam Lewis is the man. http://www.lewiswatchco.com/Home/Welcome.html His work is excellent, there is an article on Hodinkee illustrating his abilities.
Not all that local to the EU though, and I could envisage some customs and duty issues in shipping to and from him.
I"ve not found a WM down the road from me, yet, but you'll need to cultivate a good one, at a location of your preference.
thank you for the comments, i will have it done here in vienna. i found a good watchmaker who will reshape the case.