Where to send vintage Rolex for repair?

[eri00073]

Hi Folks,

I'm brand new to the forum here. I have a vintage Rolex oyster chronometer (bubble back) from my grandfather that was made in the mid 1940s. It's made from rose gold and the bracelet is pretty badly stretched and worn and the movement has some evidence of corrosion on the watch hands. The watch keeps good time, so I suspect it's mechanically sound. Any advice on where I could have work done on it to repair the inside and bracelet?

Thanks, in advance, for any help!

Best regards,

John

[greekbum]

If it were my watch I would send the band to the guy in Hong Kong for repair and the watch to an ethical watchmaker who has a Rolex parts account (doesn't charge 3-100 times the cost of the parts and will be fair with you.) Rolex will not service your watch and parts are sometimes very hard to find for it.There are some watchmakers active on the forum I would start there.

[azguy]

Search the names Michael Young and Bob Ridley on this forum

[GMTGuy1675]

Not sure if anyone on the forum is familiar with Ira Mish of Mishtime in the bay area, but he came recommended to me by a family friend when my dad's watch was handed on to me. I just got it back about a month ago, and am very pleased. Nice guy who seems to know what he's doing. If that's a direction that you might be interested in, drop me a message.

Oh, and welcome to the forum from one new guy to another.

[brian8121]

Bob Ridley in TX. Great people, top notch service.

[KarlFr]

If you ship anything to Michael Young / Hong Kong you´d kiss your stuff goodbye forever, my bad experience

[SkyKing31]

Originally Posted by brian8121

Bob Ridley in TX. Great people, top notch service.

x2 .. Bob Ridley is top notch in my humble opinion

[eri00073]

Thanks very much, everyone. I really appreciate it. I contacted Bob Ridley and looks like he can take care of the movement.

I'm struggling with the bracelet. It's badly worn. Either needs repair or replacement. Seems like we've got some mixed reviews, so far, on how to handle this part of the job. I'll continue to search and explore within our forum and would welcome any more feedback. Thanks again, folks. I really appreciate it!

[tucsonrick]

Tell us what Bod Ridley suggested for the bracelet, if anything. There have been very mixed results from Michael Yound from excellent to terrible (with a probability distribution more to the good than the bad; but if its your one of a kind, I would be very concerned). For what its worth, RSC can usually put a modern bracelt on it for an expensive to very expensive (depending on your viewpoint) price. Might be worth considering, and keep your existing braclet for later.

[eri00073]

Hi Tuscon Rick, Bob Ridley's shop said that they can take care of the movement. For the bracelet, his office asked if I would be interested in a leather watch band. That's not for me, though.

I guess that RSC means Rolex Service Center? I'm not sure if they still sell bracelets for a watch made in 1943. The bracelet has loop links that are made out of rose gold. I'm worried about sending my grandpa's watch bracelet to our friend in Hong Kong. I'm open for advice on the bracelt.

[azguy]

Originally Posted by KarlFr

If you ship anything to Michael Young / Hong Kong you´d kiss your stuff goodbye forever, my bad experience

what happened......many people have sent their watches there without an issue. I'd like to hear more.........

[eri00073]

I sent pictures of my watch to Bob Ridley's shop. They said that he can repair the bracelt, too. Looks like this style bracelt needs to be re-pinned, as they said. It's not cheap to get the work done, but they indicated they can do the entire job for me. I'm thinking it's a worthwhile investment in my grandpa's watch so I'll likely go for it.

[DRSD2tone]

Bob Ridley did my DRSD. Awesome job. Very nice, took great pictures, explained everything. Highly recommended.

[eri00073]

Thanks for the feedback. I spoke with Bob Ridley today and his staff. I'm moving forward with the work. I'm very impressed with the time he took with me on the phone to explain everything and to work with me on repair solutions. I can tell he's top notch. I'm excited about this one. He's going to have a guy do the bracelet that he's very confident in. I'd like to have this thing done solidly and that's just what they're going to do. Will take a while, but it's worth the wait.

[azguy]

Originally Posted by eri00073

Will take a while, but it's worth the wait.

It'll be worth it

[SennaFan]

Originally Posted by greekbum

If it were my watch I would send the band to the guy in Hong Kong for repair and the watch to an ethical watchmaker who has a Rolex parts account (doesn't charge 3-100 times the cost of the parts and will be fair with you.) Rolex will not service your watch and parts are sometimes very hard to find for it.There are some watchmakers active on the forum I would start there.

Amen

I would use ABC Watchwerks