Hello OF friends,

My first vintage purchase was a 5408 Heuer (my guess at model) years ago. The rookie mistake I made was the watch was a bad dial restore. Since then I sent it to my watch maker to restore the dial. He sent it to International Dial in Ohio where they did an even worse job and LOST THE HANDS to be relumed. Since then my watch maker sent it to another dial restorer where the dial is somewhat better and added the new hands which are not correct. I just got the watch back after 2 years and am disappointed. Not with my watchmaker but with the third party quality.

Please help. Can anyone recommend a dial restorer who is responsible and knows what they are doing? Below are shots of real dial versus what I have.

Thank you - Steve

 

I hate hearing(and especially seeing!) stories like this.

Throwing more good money chasing an acceptable outcome might be futile.

But good luck

 

Nice article about Abel Court (Heuertime).
Someone who cares .
https://wornandwound.com/heuertimes-abel-court-looking-after-jacks-kids/

 

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run"

Time to listen to Kenny Rogers, move on, you'll never be happy with this watch.

Most collectors have been in your position at one time or another, lesson learned.

 

I also encountered disappointing work like that, know how you feel!!

 

Thank you @TexOmega. By the way love your collection of Connies I’ve seen on the forum.

 

Good you started that topic just now. I will have the same "problem" soon.
Two names I allways hear are Bethge and Causemann in Germany. But results can be one day perfect and the other laughable.

Nico

 

I'd be lookinng into factory service at this point since it's now worth about nothing.

 

Sorry to hear, have the Ohio company provided compensation for the loss of the hands?

The refinished dial doesn’t look so bad IMHO— you certainly cannot count on getting so much better. and I concur with the people who advise to stop spending on what will remain an imperfect watch.

I would say it’s worth keeping if you like it enough while you search for a new set of hands. No idea how difficult it might be to find, you might ask on OF’s twin Heuer forum called “Caliber 11”— and on Chronocentric/ On the dash.

Otherwise you might consider selling it with its certificate of service. You’ll have to eat the loss, but at least you will regain some cash, I have no idea how much that would be though.

 

I agree with the second part of what @Syrte said - sell it and move on. Having been down this road before myself with watches and cars, you will always know it’s not right, you will always remember the frustration and disappointment that is this watch, you will never love it.
Sell it with full disclosure at a fire-sale price (sum of the parts which is all it is worth at this point) and someone will snatch it up and love it. Then buy yourself one that you really want.

 

Bummer about the hands. They jump out as the worst part to me.
First glance at the dial, it looked somewhat ok UNTIL I checked against an original. Ouch.

I agree. Sell it and look for something you will love rather than 'have to live with'.

 

Agreed.

 

Hm, since TAG doesn't appear to offer the same restoration services as Omega, I might agree with the people who say dump and run... though take a year to find parts on eBay if you can....

 

I've had a few experiences with a couple dial restoration companies:
Kirk Rich Dial in California, USA
Lou is a great guy and works hard to get your project right. If he has the original cliches he does a great job. If the project requires new cliches I've found he's not always perfect. My Wittnauer came out splendidly with him: https://omegaforums.net/threads/realizing-goals-with-my-wittnauer.122373/#post-1643409
Bill and Sons, Ltd in Essex, UK
I'm currently working with Chris and Alannah there on a project. While they haven't finished, the preliminary work in progress looks very promising (since they're not done, I don't have pics to share yet). Coupled with the great work they show off on IG, I would highly recommend them.
Both charge very reasonable fees. Since you're all ready in it with your redials, I vote try one more. Contact both companies with pics of your watch, what you want it to look like, and ask if they have the cliches to do the work without producing new ones. You could also ask if they've refinished this dial previously and if they'd share the results with you.

 

Thought I’d follow up with the result on my Tudor dial with Bill and Sons. I think it turned out splendid. I do still need to lume it to match the hands.

 

Got any “before” shots?

 

Sure do.

Severely damaged might be an understatement:



Tried a different dial maker for the first restoration. Not satisfied with this. You can see misalignment and mis-proportioned plots. I then moved on to have it redone a second time by Bill and Sons (see above post).

 

@mzinski : Which surface is correct, mirror or matte?

@1972Steve : Yeah, I agree with the consensus: sell the watch and move on. In your position (where I too have been with other watches), the piece would haunt me if I kept it.

 

Matte dial is correct. I meant to point that out as another error in the first restoration attempt.

 

@1972Steve Also learned my lesson re: International Dial. Never again.