Vintage Waltham Pocket Watch Repair.

gholian · 29-04-2018 05:06PM #1

Hi,
Wonder could someone recommend a Jeweler/watch maker in Ireland or abroad to repair a Vintage Pocket watch. I got a name of Michael Swift UK from a previous post but When I called him He said it could not be repaired if there is a problem with the balance. Which isn't true. The problem is with the balance shaft being broken. I don't have the equipment to change this myself. From searches I can find a few places in the UK who all claim to be the best with outstanding customer service. I also see from forums all these scare stories. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of getting a vintage pocket watch repaired and if they could recommend someone.

Thanks.

saccades · 29-04-2018 09:37PM

Watching with interest.

Wibbs · 29-04-2018 10:09PM

So the balance staff is broken? So the Michael lad was right as far as he was concerned? I can understand why TBH. Finding a balance staff that fits might be an issue for him and how he runs his business. Making a new balance from scratch takes time so is costly and outside the remit of a basic service.

Though a Waltham should be easier than most. Have you looked on eBay for a staff or better yet a balance assembly for your watch? It might be a common enough one. The American makers pretty much invented standardisation of watch parts in the 19th century. A Swiss brand would usually be a harder find.

Trigger Happy · 30-04-2018 08:52AM

I would agree. While it is not impossible for him to get that watch working it would be a lot of effort and potential cost that you would not want to incur. Add in to that the fact that Swift already has an 8 week lead time to get around to servicing watches (ie - he already has more business than he can handle) and you see where he is coming from.
I would take Wibb's advice or look for a donor movement.

gholian · 05-05-2018 10:23PM

Thanks for your replys. I have gotten two donor watch off ebay already, on had a broken balance shaft. The other looks fine, checked under a microscope but will not run. There is something else wrong with it. I contacted a watch repair guy in the US who says it can be repaired no problem. Balance shafts are available. The problem is I don't have equipment to replace the shaft. Need to use a K&Dstaking set. A big investment for just one watch. The guy in the US can repair the watch for me but the approximate cost is $135 to strip, clean, oil etc. Replace balance shaft and possibly Jewels is $110. To ship to Ireland with tracking and insured to a value of $500 is $69. The total cost is $314. Thia is a lot of money for a low grade pocket watch. Plus I will probably get caught for customs when it arrives in Ireland.

Michael Swift told me over the phone if there is a problem with the balance it cannot be repaired. He just should have told me he didn't want to repair it. He told me he had 8 or 9 weeks work ahead of him which is fine. If someone doesn't want to do something just say it instead of saying it can't be repaired.

HDMI · 05-05-2018 10:50PM

Shoot at email off to webwatchmaker and find out what he quotes for the job. He is very active on the tz-uk forum and has a loyal following. Never had a watch repaired by him myself but he seems to specialise in making hard to obtain parts

https://webwatchmaker.com

gholian · 07-05-2018 07:53PM

Cool, Thanks. Will see if I can get quote.

Vintage Waltham Pocket Watch Repair.

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