Yep. Here's a couple preliminary shots taken in 'some' sun, to try to show dial condition. I did not do all the IG magic on this...just brightness and contrast a bit to try to give you a sense of colors and condition. I get where this is off from a textbook example but there is a lot going right for me with the piece that I felt it was my chance to pick one up.

 

Yeah... I'd be curious to hear this. I've been to ABC WatchWerks too. When LAWW was backed up, I took 3 pieces into ABC. In the end they did decent work...and when there were issues with a job, they took a piece back to make it right. But, I wouldn't be thrilled taking this piece to them so I'd be real curious to hear the LAWW experience with a vintage Zenith. And, yes, I'm on the same page re: them vs. Zenith...if LAWW was a reliable option, I'd prefer to go that route.

 

The color of the subdials is better than I expected from the sales photos.

 

Having played with a lot of photos from IG and other crap, the last owner's photos weren't great. I think he had the contrast turned way up to try to eliminate scuffs and scratches, which is less important to me (us?) than coloration, which it didn't represent faithfully at all.

 

Congrats on the purchase. Looks so much better in your photos. I'd be thrilled if that showed up after examining those RF photos. Glad to hear it'll be worn proudly.

 

Congrats that's a decent pickup

 

Congratulations on your purchase.

 

Very nice! I too inquired about this one and never pulled the trigger. It looked pretty decent in the Hodinkee photos. Always felt there had to be something wrong with it that I couldn't figure out. Thought it was the caseback, but wasn't sure.

Congrats on the awesome watch!

 

So, it appears someone was bedazzled by the Hdinky Effect.

Remember, do not look at the shiny baubles, or succumb to the Siren's waxing poetic.

 

Very nice watch.
As for laww or zenith it depends on what you expect as a final product. I’d inquire with zenith to see how they proceed, and have the movement done from scratch and leave the dial and hands untouched, as well as the case.
zenith will be expensive for sure, but reliable.

 

I actually sent a vintage El Primero to Zenith once and it went to Switzerland. It was more expensive than my local watchmaker, but not outrageous. It was extremely slow, however, nearly a year.

 

We’re you happy with the result ?

 

I live in Canada and I have been told that our LVMH service centre sends all EP watches to Switzerland. I believe that the pricing is standardized around the globe as the price in Canada aligns with the service prices on the Zenith website.

 

I had a modern EP serviced by LVMH a few years ago, and it did not go to Switzerland. This was in the US, not Canada. Unfortunately, I don't recall exactly where I sent it, and the watch is no longer with me.

Edit: I found a photo of the service invoice. It was done in Springfield NJ. But I also realized that it was longer ago than I remembered, 2013.

 

There’s a guy in Port Credit who will service the EP. He’s a certified Omega watchmaker but does everything. When I lived there, I always went to him. He quoted me $800 for EP service but I haven’t been able to get there as the border is closed. Little Shop of Horology.

http://littleshoppeofhorology.ca/about-us/

 

Because the new revivals are much better?

 

Jason at Little Shoppe of Horology has my 2254.50 along with my wife's ladies SMP in for service right now.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if LVMH does EP service in the USA since your market is much larger than the Canadian market. I have had a couple of TAG Heuer watches for a long time and over the years LVMH has done a fair bit of work on them - the repair centre is in the north end of Toronto and they service all of their brands there. I didn't hear it from them directly but have heard from 2 different sources over the past couple of years that LVMH has very few fully-qualified watch makers at this facility now, and that much of the major work goes back to Switzerland.

I actually have your old, Zenith Surf EP 3019 and just had it serviced by Ashton Tracy, an independent watchmaker near Ottawa, Canada earlier this year.

 

That one actually went to Switzerland. This was a while back; unfortunately, I wasn't keeping very good records of my watches at that time. It had a Movado crown and a damaged pusher IIRC when I bought it, and really needed a full service. I sent it to LVMH and they sent it to Switzerland. I think it was there for at least a year. I wouldn't do it again.

 

OK, my memory is extremely poor. I just went and emptied out my crate of boxes, and I found the Zenith service box that came back from Switzerland with that watch. The crown was inside, and it is a Zenith crown, not Movado. Apparently I didn't keep the paperwork. If you want the crown and the box, I will ship them to you gratis. Or I can just send you the crown, which will obviously be cheaper to ship.