JLC vintage Watch restoration

[Shmoopy]

Hi All,

I am having JLC restore a watch that I inherited. Truth be told, the restoration is probably costing more than the watch is worth. (I’m totally ok with that, this watch’s sentimental value makes it worth more to me than any other watch I own.)

Anyone have experience with this and JLC? Everything just seems so vague. The work order mentions “refreshing of the dial.” What does that even mean? Lol. The work order also says that they cannot service straps from protected species, as I took it to a boutique in CA. Does this mean they are going to give me the watch back on the same old strap? (Boutique was vague regarding the strap situation.)


The watch is a Master Ultra Thin from the early 50s. One thing I found cool: the dial has “Kirby” printed on it. A few minutes of google searching turned up that it was an English department store in Paris. I found a Hodinkee article mentioning the store as well. Funny, because most Parisians I know have never heard of the store, even the old timers…

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/kirby-beard-co-cool


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[sski]

very cool!
let us know how the restoration turns out. this one looks like a classic beauty- i'm sure it will be worthwhile to have it done. why not just get a new JLC strap rather than service it? (bit lost there.)

i'm in a similar predicament myself....got a vintage VC, likely from 50's or 60's with the 1003 ultra slim movt. (JLC derived lol.) mine is double signed as yours too ('Turler' dial.)
i'm pretty sure the service would very likely be higher than the watch's worth too.....only reason i'm holding off is because it's keeping great time.

[Shmoopy]

Thanks for the reply, sski. I guess I did not word it correctly regarding the strap. I know I will need to purchase some sort of replacement, I just wasn't sure about how the process would go, as the boutique never told me that "You will need to buy a new strap, here are the options..."

I will definitely post some photos afterwards, excited to see the results.

[GradyPhilpott]

Personally, I'd get the movement serviced and leave the rest of the watch as is.

I have an Tissot from the early 60s being evaluated right now.

I don't know what it will cost to get the movement fixed (the rotor came loose and there may be other damage) and I only paid a few hundred dollars for the watch over a decade ago, but I love it.

If the movement can be put in tip-top shape, though, I'd gladly pay $500 or so for the service.