Best Los Angeles vintage service?

[bobafett]

Hey all,

Looking to find the current best local Los Angeles area place to have my 1967 5513 serviced. Not going to take it to Rolex HQ in Beverly Hills as they want to replace a ton of the watch to service it.

I am not able/willing to ship the watch and need to handle it locally.

Thanks for you input!!!

[MrLemon]

I am pretty sure, Many pp will recommend LAWW
But be careful! I had my SD case repaired by them two years ago
originally quoted $300， one month later they called for "updated" price of $500
At pick up, they charged additional $50, for pressure test....
Now they charge about over $1000 for basic movement service without cost for parts
they call it "collector level" movement lubricate

[tekno]

I would pay a little more for someone that won’t accidentally ruin my dial.


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[CTech]

Try Shant in Holly Street, Pasadena. He has worked on several watches for me and has always been professional and knowledgeable.

[TuRo]

Some might suggest a Co/Chap rhymes with - bill it, rid me !

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by TuRo

Some might suggest a Co/Chap rhymes with - bill it, rid me !

Isn’t he in Arizona?

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by Kingface66

Isn’t he in Arizona?

That's an easy enough drive from SoCal for someone who isn't willing to ship. ;-)

[Eric88]

LA Watchworks (LAWW) in Pasadena is a great shop...I've used them for numerous jobs and have always been happy with the quality and timeliness of their work.

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by Dan S

That's an easy enough drive from SoCal for someone who isn't willing to ship. ;-)

True!
Then, I’ll beg the question to TuRo:
Why not just type Phillip Ridley?

[jedione65]

LA watchworks.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by bobafett

Hey all,

Looking to find the current best local Los Angeles area place to have my 1967 5513 serviced. Not going to take it to Rolex HQ in Beverly Hills as they want to replace a ton of the watch to service it.

Are you assuming this about the RSC, or did you take the watch in to get an estimate and they said you must replace X, Y and Z in order to have the movement serviced?

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by Kingface66

True!
Then, I’ll beg the question to TuRo:
Why not just type Phillip Ridley?

Just thinking Ridley's get a somewhat disproportionate amount of 'propers' on here compared to many other fine indie watchmakers, that's all ! .... Hence slightly cryptic response ;-)

[TimeLord2]

I'm definitely one of the choir TuRo! I was going to use LAWW but went with bill it, rid me when LAWW was unable to source a good period correct bezel ring but realistically they only tried for about a week before they had me pick it up. Gave me the impression no effort was taken. I shipped it to Arizona, insured of course. Easy to ship from FedEx shop and easy pick up at FedEx shop too. No home deliveries for added security, and I would open the package at the facility so that too is filmed.

[bobafett]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful

[Tools]

Originally Posted by TuRo

Just thinking Ridley's get a somewhat disproportionate amount of 'propers' on here compared to many other fine indie watchmakers, that's all ! .... Hence slightly cryptic response ;-)

They do because they participate and show their work. That, along with customer feedback, is how you develop your reputation.

Likely if other watchmakers participated and showed their skills they would also get more than the occasional nod.

[shangster12]

I've had my watch worked on by LA Watch Work and Phillip Ridley. LA takes way too long for a service and overhaul. Whereas Phillip finishes the work in < 3weeks.
When he sources parts he also gives you options. The only downside is that you have to ship your watch to him which is always a risk.

[studioal]

Obviously there's risk involved with shipping, but ~$145 for FedEx overnight is probably a pretty reliable option if you were going to ship. Definitely not a crapshoot like USPS is. I'd take that risk versus dropping off to a shop that would take months to finish my watch.

Can't comment on any west coast service shops. Suppose you could always reach out to some reputable dealers (Fog City, Jacek, Angel City Time) and ask for a rec.

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by studioal

Obviously there's risk involved with shipping, but ~$145 for FedEx overnight is probably a pretty reliable option if you were going to ship. Definitely not a crapshoot like USPS is. I'd take that risk versus dropping off to a shop that would take months to finish my watch.

Can't comment on any west coast service shops. Suppose you could always reach out to some reputable dealers (Fog City, Jacek, Angel City Time) and ask for a rec.

Granted, it’s just one person, but I’ve had three huge screw-ups involving FedEx (one was a Japanese shipment that turned into a complete nightmare for all involved), and none with USPS Registered Mail, of which I’ve used many times.

[Dan S]

I'm pretty sure I have shipped or received watches well over 100 times with USPS, and I've only had one snafu, where the watch went missing for a while. Even in that case, it was eventually returned to the sender, and everything was ok in the end.

[studioal]

That's fair, and I have had numerous positive USPS experiences, but I've had some negatives. My point is that if you ship overnight you'll probably be just fine. Those services tend to have a much higher degree of care than say UPS Ground or USPS first class something like that. Just trying to help OP shift their opinion on shipping in order to open up more service possibilities.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by studioal

My point is that if you ship overnight you'll probably be just fine. Those services tend to have a much higher degree of care than say UPS Ground or USPS first class something like that.

My point is that everyone has their anecdotal stories, but honestly, I don't share the general opinion that private couriers are better than USPS, apples to apples. I don't think anyone is talking about regular first class or UPS ground, but I have had great experiences with USPS Priority/Registered and also with overnight shipping from various couriers, but I've shipped many more using USPS. In fact, given the massive numbers of packages shipped by USPS, I have heard of relatively few problems. IIRC, we just heard two stories about thefts from couriers. I tend to think that USPS gets a bad rap because some people like to criticize anything with a connection to the government.

And unless you have a commercial account, you are extremely limited with respect to insurance from the private couriers. USPS Priority can be insured to $5k and registered to $50k. Of course, you can't insure sentimental value.

[studioal]

Yep yep. Hopefully OP updates this thread on who they select to work on their watch. Would like to see pics of it too!

[hutch300]

I looked on his site and didn't see a price list. Wonder what he's charging these days for a service.

[springer]

Originally Posted by Dan S

My point is that everyone has their anecdotal stories, but honestly, I don't share the general opinion that private couriers are better than USPS, apples to apples. I don't think anyone is talking about regular first class or UPS ground, but I have had great experiences with USPS Priority/Registered and also with overnight shipping from various couriers, but I've shipped many more using USPS. In fact, given the massive numbers of packages shipped by USPS, I have heard of relatively few problems. IIRC, we just heard two stories about thefts from couriers. I tend to think that USPS gets a bad rap because some people like to criticize anything with a connection to the government.

And unless you have a commercial account, you are extremely limited with respect to insurance from the private couriers. USPS Priority can be insured to $5k and registered to $50k. Of course, you can't insure sentimental value.

Some good points Dan, but I tend to lean toward FedEx myself.

I prefer FedEx shipped to a FedEx location for a hold. If you want to ship via registered insured through USPS, then that is an option also but it is not a guarantee that it won't go missing or be stolen. I found that out about 10 years ago when I had a watch stolen at a mail facility in Chicago. I did get paid but took about three months.

For me, an insured watch with Inforsure and shipped to a FedEx location is the best, quickest route for shipping. Ridley is able to send any customer a shipping label for a delivery to a FedEx location where he is located.

The longer anything shipped remains in a carrier's possession increases the likelihood for it to go missing or end up stolen. Overnight shipping works best for most occasions.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by springer

The longer anything shipped remains in a carrier's possession increases the likelihood for it to go missing or end up stolen. Overnight shipping works best for most occasions.

Agree 100%

[Dan S]

I do like the idea of shipping to a FedEx location, and obviously you can't do something like that with USPS.

[MrLemon]

Originally Posted by Dan S

I do like the idea of shipping to a FedEx location, and obviously you can't do something like that with USPS.

Have a PO BOX ٩(๑•̀ω•́๑)۶

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by MrLemon

Have a PO BOX ٩(๑•̀ω•́๑)۶

Yeah, we have a home in a town without home delivery, so a PO Box is actually the only option there. And strangely, we have to pay for it. In other words, there's no way to receive USPS mail without paying for a PO Box. Anyway, when a parcel is too big to fit, it can sometimes involve a long search, sometimes a multi-day search. They always find it eventually, though.

But more to Springer's point, I realized that my previous post was actually wrong. The sender does have the option to have a parcel held at the recipient's post office for pickup.

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by Tools

They do because they participate and show their work. That, along with customer feedback, is how you develop your reputation.

Likely if other watchmakers participated and showed their skills they would also get more than the occasional nod.

Fair point, they do stuff that has redounded to their credit, and that others could learn from