Dear Readers, we haven’t posted a lot lately, as you can always see what we are working on by going to https://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/library?action=current – that makes it a bit obsolete to write posts about individual watches, as you can follow the repairs as we are carrying them out.
We’re now on Instagram!
We’ve just joined the cool kids on Instagram! We hope to post content over there for you when we have the time between servicing your watches.
If you guys could head over there and make us feel welcome by liking, following and sharing our posts that would be much appreciated. https://www.instagram.com/watchguy.co.uk/
Interesting reading …
… at least I thought so!
https://www.fratellowatches.com/why-dont-some-watchmakers-like-to-service-vintage-watches/
Business as Usual
Dear Customers,
Firstly, I hope you are all well, and that you are still able to earn a living in the current circumstances. If you are running into financial trouble and have a watch with us, please don’t worry – we can put that to the side until you feel that you are in safer financial waters.
As for the workshop, all three of us are working, our benches are over 2 metres apart, and we are all healthy at the moment, so work here will continue as usual as far as we can predict the future.
We wish all our customers and readers continued health and well-being.
Christian, Johannes and Ray
Fake Rolex Submariner 114060
We do see the odd fake here at the workshop, but as we don’t accept them knowingly, it doesn’t happen too often.
This Submariner came in, and on first sight, nothing was wrong with it…. Continue reading
Our best wishes for the New Year
Dear Customers and Readers,
The team at Watchguy wishes you a happy festive season, a merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and all the best for a happy, healthy and successful 2020.
Christian, Johannes & Ray
Repair: Lemania 2220 Nuclear Submarine Chronograph
We’ve had one of these before, and quite some time ago… These are quite rare, and were used in the British nuclear submarine fleet. As you can’t have luminous compound there (it would set off all sorts of radiation alarms), they have no luminous compound, but a while dial with black markings and hands, so that the watch can be read nicely in the low light conditions in a submarine.
BestFit Catalogues scanned and available for download, lots of other technical manuals …
It’s always been a thorn in my side that old BestFit catalogues go for a lot of money (I paid £60 for mine), and that they are hard to get.
Finally, I got around to cut mine up and scan them in. I also ran some ocr software over them, so they are searchable.
Update – there is a US company that holds the copyright for the Bestfit catalogues, and they have asked me kindly to remove the download link – no problem, and I wasn’t aware of the fact that someone had acquired the copyright to the catalogues. Please go to https://mccawcompany.com/featured-products/bestfit-encyclopedia-books-111-111a-digital-download-pdf-version.html of you want to buy their copy at a reasonable price.
Prototype: Omega Speedmaster Reduced Quartz / ETA 205.111 with Dubois Depraz chronograph module
On first sight, this looks like a normal Omega Speedmaster Reduced. The only give-away is the second hands that ticks twice per second – very odd for a mechanical movement! Continue reading
The tricky repair and service of a Rolex Submariner 1680
Peter recently sent his watch in for a service and a new crystal. I’m a big fan of Rolex Submariners and this nice example from 1977 also happens to be my birth year!
It was running when it came in so it was thought that just a routine service was needed so I proceeded to disassemble the movement. Continue reading