Service & Repair Options in NYC?

[jaygo]

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Can anyone recommend a place in NYC other than RSC to have some older (mid eighties) Rolex watches serviced?

Thanks!

Jason

[janice&fred]

Originally Posted by jaygo

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Can anyone recommend a place in NYC other than RSC to have some older (mid eighties) Rolex watches serviced?

Thanks!

Jason

loads of qualified techs in the 47th st diamond district. maybe contact john buckley (do a google search i believe he goes by tuscanyrose) as he can point you to whoever he uses lately. i won't be back stateside for a few months so i can't suggest anyone specific but the 47th st guys would be the best and most economical. it's a busy place and they do loads of them every day.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by jaygo

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Can anyone recommend a place in NYC other than RSC to have some older (mid eighties) Rolex watches serviced?

Thanks!

Jason

This is a frequently asked question, and as a longtime New Yorker and hobbyist I'll give the same answer I always do .... Send your watch to one of the recommended watchmakers mentioned on this forum and forget New York City, unless you have an excellent recommendation from someone who has firsthand and repeated good experiences.

Through the decades, I have tried several places on West 47th Street and elsewhere in NYC for service on vintage and classic Rolexes, and my experiences have ranged from nightmare to mediocre at best. Now, I send my watches to LAWW or Bob Ridley, although there are other good choices mentioned on the forum.

My hard-earned 2 cents.

[jaygo]

Thanks for the replies, I do appreciate it. Taking my chances on 47th steet was nothing I would consider at this point. I have been told about LAWW by a friend, I guess that must be a good option. I was just hoping there was a comparable option here in NY where I could hand it over and pick it up in person, maybe not though? I don't know about Bob Ridley, do you have any contact info you can share with me for him? Thanks again!

[SunTzu]

Originally Posted by swish77

This is a frequently asked question, and as a longtime New Yorker and hobbyist I'll give the same answer I always do .... Send your watch to one of the recommended watchmakers mentioned on this forum and forget New York City, unless you have an excellent recommendation from someone who has firsthand and repeated good experiences.

Through the decades, I have tried several places on West 47th Street and elsewhere in NYC for service on vintage and classic Rolexes, and my experiences have ranged from nightmare to mediocre at best. Now, I send my watches to LAWW or Bob Ridley, although there are other good choices mentioned on the forum.

My hard-earned 2 cents.

Wise advice. The cost of mailing insured is worth it than worrying if you'll get a good service.

I live in NJ 30 minutes from NYC and have an amazing guy I send everything to. Has a Rolex parts account, does amazing movement service and adjustment, and will not polish anything unless you tell him to. He's very meticulous and a perfectionist and every watch has to pass through his hands before it's returned to the customer. He's called me personally on occasion because he wants to keep it another week to monitor. I have a 1984 Oyster Perpetual that is +1 second a day. It's dialed in better than a GPS guided JDAM He's worked on my 5513, DJ, 6694, and OP; all vintage. Zero worries with him. He accepts deliveries too of watches obviously.

For excellent service and a good price, check out RolliWorks in CA if you want to mail it. He has an account with FedEx and can send you a prepaid overnight shipping label which costs like $22 insured up to $9,999

[swish77]

Originally Posted by jaygo

Thanks for the replies, I do appreciate it. Taking my chances on 47th steet was nothing I would consider at this point. I have been told about LAWW by a friend, I guess that must be a good option. I was just hoping there was a comparable option here in NY where I could hand it over and pick it up in person, maybe not though? I don't know about Bob Ridley, do you have any contact info you can share with me for him? Thanks again!

A little on the higher side price-wise, but worth it. I learned long ago not to go bargain hunting on service/repairs needed on expensive vintage watches:

http://www.watchmakers.com/www/index.html

[crash_c]

Just to rehash here I am in similar need. Just had a fantastic service done by classic watch repair. Watch came back after 8 weeks and it looks amazing. The movement winds beautifully. Just gorgeous.

BUT...

Something definitely happened in transit from Hong Kong back to NYC and the watch is gaining 1 HOUR per day.

I’d ship back to HK to have it fixed but who knows if it will happen again enroute back to NYC... not to mention the shipping prices and the loss risk.

I am told that there are two possibilities why this may have happened to the watch: one is the hairspring got magenetized going through various scanners in transit; second is the hairspring is overlapping itself now because of shock during the handling of the package.

“Both are easy to be rectified by a watchmaker.”

Do we trust anyone in NYC to resolve this?

[SunTzu]

Originally Posted by crash_c

Just to rehash here I am in similar need. Just had a fantastic service done by classic watch repair. Watch came back after 8 weeks and it looks amazing. The movement winds beautifully. Just gorgeous.

BUT...

Something definitely happened in transit from Hong Kong back to NYC and the watch is gaining 1 HOUR per day.

I’d ship back to HK to have it fixed but who knows if it will happen again enroute back to NYC... not to mention the shipping prices and the loss risk.

I am told that there are two possibilities why this may have happened to the watch: one is the hairspring got magenetized going through various scanners in transit; second is the hairspring is overlapping itself now because of shock during the handling of the package.

“Both are easy to be rectified by a watchmaker.”

Do we trust anyone in NYC to resolve this?

You can check the magnetic field with a compass to see if it's magnetized.

What you can do is buy a $6 demagnetizer online from WalMart and do it yourself. That's what mine cost from them. Loads of videos on YouTube how to do it. It's so easy it's practically mindless! You can try that first. May save you time, energy and money. Plus you'll have it for future use.

I bought the Tbest Professional Mechanical Wristwatch Demagnetizer

One minute explanation and instruction... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwZbNGmRA8g

Hope this helps and post pictures of your watch! Michael Young does wonderful work. He did a bracelet for me. I didn't send him the watch based on his recommendation for the exact reasons you mentioned. Apparently it seems to be an issue with his customers, enough so that he issued me that caveat, so I didn't want to chance it.

He should patent a cheap Faraday cage to ship his watches back in

[crash_c]

Thanks for the recommendation. If only I had a compass!! :) Man, does Michael do fantastic work. I just wish I could use my watch as... a watch!

Edit:

Here’s a neat app to show you whether or no your watch is magnetized. Turns out that mine doesn’t appear to be. Useful!

LEPSI - Watch MAGNETISM by Davy Pillet https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/leps...080183882?mt=8

(And grammar)

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by crash_c

Thanks for the recommendation... if only I had a compass!! :) man, does Michael do fantastic work. I just wish I could use my watch as... a watch!

I would have definitely checked it for magnetization before sending it back. We ship most of our watches thru USPS and this has happened a few times.

[crash_c]

I just checked it using the app that I edited into my prior post. Looks like there’s no magnetism. Handy app nonetheless. But now it looks like I need a watch maker :(

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by crash_c

I just checked it using the app that I edited into my prior post. Looks like there’s no magnetism. Handy app nonetheless. But now it looks like I need a watch maker :(

I've got a feeling this will be a quick fix. Just something minor that happened during transport. Hang in there.

[crash_c]

The conclusion of the story. Shipped back to them and they had it for two weeks. They claimed they did nothing to the watch and that the problems I had observed they simply did not. Received the watch back yesterday morning, took a dip in the pool this afternoon, and there’s condensation under the crystal. Now, in my original service I had them swap the sapphire with domed plexi - which looks phenomenal - and understood that waterproofness would be maintained.... but apparently not.

Off to LA Watchworks to figure out what to do next. No more with this overseas stuff.

Happy MDW!

Edit: added photo. The crown is open intentionally to allow the condensation out more easily. I can assure you it wasn’t that way in the pool

[swish77]

Originally Posted by crash_c

Now, in my original service I had them swap the sapphire with domed plexi - which looks phenomenal - and understood that waterproofness would be maintained.... but apparently not.

This is likely your problem. An aftermarket crystal that isn't even the correct type. I'd suggest going back to the correct, Rolex-made sapphire crystal. Sure, domed plexi crystals can look great, but they need to be on the right watch.

[crash_c]

Originally Posted by swish77

This is likely your problem. An aftermarket crystal that isn't even the correct type. I'd suggest going back to the correct, Rolex-made sapphire crystal. Sure, domed plexi crystals can look great, but they need to be on the right watch.

That's fair feedback. Having said that, the watch was supposed to have been tested with a Rolex fathometer and the repair shop has advertised on social media that with such a crystal change the depth rating remains unchanged. We might speculate the accuracy of this, but given they're advertising this online, I assumed (perhaps foolishly) that they were being truthful.

Nonetheless, I will have the piece repaired and keep my fingers crossed that these issues don't come back to haunt me!

[sillo]

Is that a 14060 with a plastic crystal?

[crash_c]

Yes, it is. I understand a number of the recommended watch makers will perform this crystal swapping service. Looks great, right????

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t water tight. As a prior response noted, this could be on me, but I was under the impression that the QA process ensured water proofness....