Hey everyone,

I just received my watch back from Al at Archer Watches. Thought I would leave a few comments. Archer is the Man!!!

This spring I bought my first Omega watch on eBay from a very positive feedback watch seller in Toronto. It was advertised as being Mint Condition 2531.80 SMP.
I know, I know, another Bond watch..... But its something Ive wanted since I was 12 years old.
The watch arrived and what I received was a watch in Good used condition. Had normal use marks, normal wear, some scratches on the bezel & the brushed bracelet was looking rather polished in places. Definitely not the watch pictured in 12 photos. Used but not abused. I paid a premium for this item expecting a like new watch. But it wasn't worth my time or fuss trying to return the item ..... Thats a whole other story i'm not going to get into. At the time I said it is what it is and what do I expect for a watch over 10 years old. I bought a Genuine replacement bezel and took the watch to a local jeweler who does watch repair. Hoping he could change the bezel, clasp spring and re-brush/polish it. The jeweler looked at it and said shouldn't be a problem. He later informed me that he was not comfortable working on such a high valve item and has not done such repairs for some time. So he asked if he could send it out to a watchmaker that he uses for watch work. "Good on him, I appreciate his honestly" I said sure, no problem.
A week later I got a call telling me that he was unable to remove the bezel and has to be sent to Omega. I received the watch back a few days later and I was sick to my stomach with what I saw!!!
The So called watchmaker butchered the snot out of the case trying to pry the bezel off. He damaged 2 of the lugs with gouges, damaged the end link from prying and drove the a case knife in so deep that is damaged the surface that the bezel rides on. The bezel was jammed up, bent and would not turn. At this point I wanted to cry and freak out at the same time.

I soon after joined this forum and read for several days when I discovered Archer. (Archer Watches) I read so many great things about him and his service that I contacted him and arranged to have my watch worked on.
"He didn't disappoint"!!!

Archer kept in contact with me throughout the entire service and refurbishment. He corrected a number of issues with the movement. The previous service preformed by another watchmaker was a hack job.
Al refinished the case & bracelet, fixed the damage done previously and installed a new bezel, click spring, end link Etc....

The watch looks like NEW!! I am so very pleased with Al's work and how I was treated. I can't say enough great things about this man. Pricing is also great for the caliber of work he does.
As always he provides a DVD with a step by step slide show and documentation of the entire job.

All I can say is Thank You Al!!!
We really appreciate what you do for us here!

Here are some pics of the finished watch


Thanks for looking
Cheers
Brandon

 

Looks great!
Do you have any before pics to compare it to?

 

The bad bits of the story: a true-life Horror Story!

The finished item: Stunning!

The Man: Archer!

 

A serious question for Archer: if I needed some work done similar to what you did on this particular job, is it feasible to ship a watch back and forth across the U.S./Canada border without undue Customs hassles?

 

Good looking watch! Consider yourself lucky to have access to a watchmaker like Al!

 

What as story, it isn't my watch and I was getting angry reading about the butchery from so called watchmakers. The work done by Al on the other hand is exemplary, thank you for posting the final result.

 

Your a very fortunate person to have Al work on your watch. Wish I was so fortunate.

 

I've had the pleasure to have Al work on one of my watches truly fantastic.

Wonderful turnout on that seamaster!

 

Stories like this scare me enough that I just pay the price and send my Omegas to Omega or one of the nationally known high end repair shops. I see Al advising folks sometimes that any decent watchmaker should have no problems doing (insert repair job here). Then I see him showing the results of some hack trying to pry off a bezel (not yours, but looks just like your description). So how to determine if a watchmaker is "decent?" There's Archer and several other well regarded repair facilities discussed on these forums, and I'd have no problems sending them my watches. But a local guy I never heard of before? Not in this lifetime. For me, the risk is too high.

 

Incredible result! Almost unbelievable after reading the story.

 

Big lesson learned. As a newbie, I didn't know any different. But thats why forums like this exist, to educate. I've learned so much from here in just a few months. I deffinately don't mind paying the price to have something done right.

 

Brandon - very happy that you are pleased with the work, and thanks for your kind words.

To show some of the damage done by whoever was prying on this bezel, here is a photo of the main damage to one lug that I took before I refinished the case:



This is why prying is never a good idea on these twisted lug cases - the sharp point is very easily damaged by the back edge of the knife that is used to pry the bezel up...I wasn't able to remove all of this obviously, but the damage is greatly reduced.

And of course since you are prying blind, you don't realize how far in you have the blade, and you are prying on the case instead of the bezel, resulting in this damage:



The case had these pry marks and deformed metal in various spots around the watch, and these were causing the bezel to jam in place since it rides on this surface. I had to use a small Arkansas stone to carefully stone away all the high spots...it seems instead of rethinking what he was doing, this person's solution was to "pry harder!" which makes the damage worse of course.

For those who have expressed concern about finding a watchmaker, I think the best thing I can offer is when you are considering one, research them on-line before handing over a watch. And I'm not talking about phony reviews that companies can pay to have written about them, but feedback on watch forums. Or ask them for a list of references that they can communicate with or something. And remember, anyone can buy some tools, take money for repairs, and call themselves a professional. Watchmaking is completely unregulated in most countries - used to be state certified in the US until that was overturned, and here in Ontario it used to be a skilled trade with apprentiships, license, etc., but those days are long gone.

Cheers, Al

 

Sounds about like trying to find a qualified dog trainer. BTW, Brandon's watch damage pales in comparison to that mangled mess of a 2254.50 you showed us back in early April.You were really a magician with that one.

 

Another masterpiece job from Al !!!!

 

It is great to see the meticulous work of Archer, I will be in touch with him for my 3570 Moon watch.
Thanks you for sharing your experience.
Great looking Seamaster you got!

 

Mine is with Archer right now and almost done!!!!

 

Congratulations! It is nice to know that you are a privileged customer, you must have spent some coin with him, and I am sure its worth every penny.
I have begged him to work on my speedy professional on several occasions for the past 18 months, each time he simply brushed me off for being too busy to accept, I understand my bill is small and he has no time for it, I'll be grateful to tip him extra.
Thank you for sharing.

 

What work needs to be done on your SpeedMaster It took me about a month to get a reservation with him and its about another 6 weeks since I sent the watch which should be done in a couple days. I have an old SpeedMaster 3592.50 that I love and would hope he would fix it if need be. His prices are very reasonable compared to Omega and his turn around time is equally fast compared to Omega. Thank your lucky Stars you dont own a Rolex, Parts and service are outrageous compared to Omega which I think is a superior watch anyway you look at it!

 

Great work

 

Roland,

I'm sorry that you feel I have brushed you off, but as I have explained in my emails to you, I get far more requests than I could ever possibly complete. I also explained that I don't keep a waiting list because everyone asks to be put on it, so it would quickly become a nightmare to manage such a list, and I would be booked years in advance.

I don't accept jobs based on how much people have spent with me, and I certainly don't let people buy their way to the front of the line with "tips" even though I do get that offer on occasion. I base my decisions on what I have in the shop and what I already know is coming in - I end up turning away several people a day.

I did suggest an alternate watchmaker when you asked me, so short of taking your watch in for service, I'm not sure what else I could have done to assist you...

Cheers, Al