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Old 14 June 2018, 04:58 AM   #1
tryptobphan
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Can dents on gold cases be repaired?

I have a general question for people who have owned watches with gold cases. I'm sure we've all had situations where we accidentally hit a watch against a door way, table, or other hard surfaces and caused scratches or even dents on our watches. For gold watches, if there is a dent, can this be repaired? I know scratches can be fixed by laser technology, but what about dents?

Just last night, I hit my watch, an A. Lange & Sohne Saxnia Thin on a table while putting my hand down and there is now a small flat dent on the corner of my lug. Since gold cases are much softer than steel cases, there's a flat dent that's about 1mm flat. It's barely noticeable, but when the time comes for maintenance, can such a small dent be repaired/reshaped?

It's my first time owning a watch made with precious metal, so I'm not sure. It's been annoying me since last night. Thank you for everyone's help!
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Old 14 June 2018, 07:30 AM   #2
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Ouch, sorry to hear that. I guess that’s going to be inevitable on any PM piece you wear even semi regularly. Hopefully it starts bothering you less and you learn to see it as part of the watch’s personal character.
I’ve heard about laser welding options. Not sure if Lange itself would do that, or if you would need a specialty shop. I’m sure some others here can refer you to a reputable watchmaker who can do this.
I would just leave it as is u til it’s tome for service.
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Old 14 June 2018, 08:02 AM   #3
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Yeah, I'll have to live with it until I send it in for maintenance or tune up, however, it would make me feel better knowing that A. Lange & Sohne can somehow reshape or correct it when it does go to their workshop in Glashutte.

I don't know, I don't mind my sport watches from Omega or Rolex being scratched, dinged, or scraped since they're sport watches meant to survive the daily harsh activities of office work in a cubicle. However, an elegant gold watch hurts more since it's supposed to be an elegant watch.
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Old 15 June 2018, 03:01 AM   #4
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No one here has experienced with dented gold Rolexes or other watches?
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Old 15 June 2018, 03:10 AM   #5
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Lange will restore your watch to its original form and the case can be fully restored.
Check this report by Peter Chong on Deployant:
https://deployant.com/return-perfect...ed-watch-case/
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Old 15 June 2018, 03:25 AM   #6
tryptobphan
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Lange will restore your watch to its original form and the case can be fully restored.
Check this report by Peter Chong on Deployant:
https://deployant.com/return-perfect...ed-watch-case/
That's a really helpful article. Thank you for sharing. My dent is small and hard to find, but once you know it's there then it's always there. Hopefully my dent isn't as bad as that gash in the article and can be restored at some point. That's reassuring.

I actually remember reading your review before I bought this watch, so thank you for writing such a nice review about it.
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Old 15 June 2018, 03:29 AM   #7
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Yes, they can fix it.
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Old 15 June 2018, 02:21 PM   #8
MJaber
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That's a really helpful article. Thank you for sharing. My dent is small and hard to find, but once you know it's there then it's always there. Hopefully my dent isn't as bad as that gash in the article and can be restored at some point. That's reassuring.

I actually remember reading your review before I bought this watch, so thank you for writing such a nice review about it.
Speaking from personal experience you will forget any and all dents and scratches. If its not too bad id even consider keeping it even after service as its part of the experience.

In all cases, rest assured that Lange will fully restore your watch with no loss of material.

Also, glad you enjoyed my review!
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Old 16 June 2018, 03:28 AM   #9
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Thank you for everyone's input. A. Lange & Sohne got back to me and said they can fix the damage to my watch and almost any damages to their watch cases like mentioned in the above posts. I hope this topic helps alleviate any worries that first time owners of precious metal watches will have when they damage their watches in daily wear and tear.
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Old 16 June 2018, 11:28 AM   #10
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Any ballpark estimate in how much a repair like that would cost from Lange?
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Old 16 June 2018, 04:35 PM   #11
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Any ballpark estimate in how much a repair like that would cost from Lange?
I actually couldn't take a picture of the dent since it was too small and my phone and cameras couldn't focus on it. I didn't provide them specific pictures, only very specific descriptions, so I didn't request for a specific price.
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Old 17 June 2018, 06:33 AM   #12
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I happened to stop by the Lange boutique in NYC today. I asked about the gold repair service. They fill in any material with the same material and do laser polishing. From what the SA said, it’s a fixed price regardless of how deep the scratches are. For the Saxonia thin, it is $580.
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Old 17 June 2018, 09:26 AM   #13
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Wow, perfect. Thank you for asking about it. $580 isn't bad. That's more than a strap for the Saxonia Thin, which is like $475 or something.

I mean, it'd be better if it was free for me, then I can get an extra strap or put that $580 towards a new Lange...
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Old 17 June 2018, 04:47 PM   #14
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I have two dents in my 116613LB since last week. Waitress dropped knife on it. Small dent in steel, very small dent in golden bezel (only seen in close up picture). I had a quote for laser welding of both by Rolex SC. Appears it can be done and was even cheaper as I expected (about $700). The restaurant handled things very well and paid me based on the quote. I decided to wait with repair. Dents are very small and I can see me sending it in, having it repaired and than have e new dent by myself a week later.... Just call it character ;-)
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Old 17 June 2018, 05:43 PM   #15
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I have two dents in my 116613LB since last week. Waitress dropped knife on it. Small dent in steel, very small dent in golden bezel (only seen in close up picture). I had a quote for laser welding of both by Rolex SC. Appears it can be done and was even cheaper as I expected (about $700). The restaurant handled things very well and paid me based on the quote. I decided to wait with repair. Dents are very small and I can see me sending it in, having it repaired and than have e new dent by myself a week later.... Just call it character ;-)
That's awesome. I'm actually really glad I started this thread. I went out to dinner tonight and took off my watch in the middle of the meal to take a picture of the watch. Things happened and suddenly my watch got knocked off the table and the Saxonia Thin fell nearly 4 feet onto the ground face first. The exact area of the dent mentioned earlier in the thread is now accompanied by a jagged edge and several different parts of the bezel are now totally scraped.

On one hand, I should probably baby my watches more, but at the same time, I think it's really awesome that the watch still works. I mean, I expect a Submariner and Seamaster to be tanks, but seeing an elegant and artsy watch survive such punishment by me is quite impressive. I'll probably have the case restored when I send it to Glashutte in the future, however, for now, I'll live with everything. I'm loving the watch even with the scratches, dents, and all.
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Old 17 June 2018, 08:16 PM   #16
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I've seen work from Lange, before and after in the flesh, they are magicians. I think I'm pretty decent at polishing/refinishing but what they do is amazing and I hope to be that good some day. Definitely worth the high price.
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Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
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Old 17 June 2018, 09:52 PM   #17
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You're lucky--ALS can repair the case using laser welding. To my best knowledge, they are one of the few manufacturers, if not the only one, that are willing to do so as a part of service. They also advertise this type of service on their site. That's why I will buy only Lange in precious metals. Check out this link: https://www.alange-soehne.com/en/cus...case-overhall/
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Old 18 June 2018, 03:01 AM   #18
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I've seen work from Lange, before and after in the flesh, they are magicians. I think I'm pretty decent at polishing/refinishing but what they do is amazing and I hope to be that good some day. Definitely worth the high price.
I'm really glad to hear this from everyone. I knew they had the case restoration techniques mentioned above, but I didn't know how extensive damages can be repaired. You do polishing and refinishing on your own watches?

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You're lucky--ALS can repair the case using laser welding. To my best knowledge, they are one of the few manufacturers, if not the only one, that are willing to do so as a part of service. They also advertise this type of service on their site. That's why I will buy only Lange in precious metals. Check out this link: https://www.alange-soehne.com/en/cus...case-overhall/
Thank you for sharing. I am indeed lucky. I new Lange had this service, however, I didn't know it was one of the few watchmakers who offer these restoration techniques. I'll have to be way more careful and even baby watches if/when I buy precious metal watches from other brands... I didn't know this until I made this topic and looked into it more...
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Old 18 June 2018, 04:15 AM   #19
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I'm really glad to hear this from everyone. I knew they had the case restoration techniques mentioned above, but I didn't know how extensive damages can be repaired. You do polishing and refinishing on your own watches?
No, I'm a RSC watchmaker.
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Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
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Old 3 July 2018, 01:45 PM   #20
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Waking up the old thread--do you know if Glashutte Original can do case restoration like Lange? Thinking of a PM GO, but the lack of restoration capabilities may turn me off. And I am not sure if independents can match the tone of the gold well.
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Old 6 July 2018, 05:27 AM   #21
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Waking up the old thread--do you know if Glashutte Original can do case restoration like Lange? Thinking of a PM GO, but the lack of restoration capabilities may turn me off. And I am not sure if independents can match the tone of the gold well.
I'm not exactly sure of their exact methodologies, but I e-mailed them just because I was curious a few days ago and here's part of their response referring to the case restoration:

"I assure you that there is no need to worry. We offer different ways of refurbishment for precious metal cases depending on the kind of damage. The vast majority of the precious metal cases we receive in our customer service can be refurbished and our customers are very happy with the perfect results."

Hopefully that helps! I'm thinking of some models, too.
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Old 7 July 2018, 11:31 AM   #22
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^ Ha, I did the same. They used the same sentence ;-) What happens if your case falls outside of the "vast majority" referenced above? What happens if the only solution is to buy a new case (at MSRP, I presume).
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Old 7 July 2018, 12:14 PM   #23
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Haha, I figured as much. I thought about what "vast majority" meant, too. But it's OK. I now know the limits of the gold cases vs. steel cases. I just need to be more careful. Do you have any GO already? Any recommendations?
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Old 7 July 2018, 12:54 PM   #24
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I have one GO and I love it. Don't post it outside of this sub-forum, but GO, Lange, and other less-known brands are a bargain now. The level of service I received from GO and Lange is second to none. I wish I could say the same about other brands.

The most underappreciated watches from GO line are the ones that speak to the few. GO 70s is my absolute favorite, followed by the stuff from their Pano collection. The new Excellence models do little for me--too sterile--but I admire the movements. My recommendation would be to stick with a PanoMaticLunar or Reserve. But buy what you like--resell sucks (but I don't really care).
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Old 8 July 2018, 09:35 AM   #25
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The exact area of the dent mentioned earlier in the thread is now accompanied by a jagged edge and several different parts of the bezel are now totally scraped.
Pic of the damage?
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Old 8 July 2018, 10:58 AM   #26
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Pic of the damage?
I wish I can take a picture, but my iPhone can't focus on the area of the damage. It's just super blurry.
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