The importance of knowing a watchmaker
Yesterday my SKX began fogging up after washing dishes with hot water. I had bought this watch off eBay awhile ago but never actually got it wet. Turned out the gasket on the crown was non-existent and needed new gaskets on the case back and bezel.
I was stressed about the whole ordeal because it is one of my favorite watches. I quickly got a bag of rice and dumped the watch in there while searching Google for a watchmaker/watch repair shop. Luckily for me, I found this guy in the next town over. He did an amazing job cleaning up and repairing my SKX same day.
Besides the stellar job repairing my watch, what I most appreciated was his customer service and conversations about watches afterwards. I told him I’ve been dabbling in modding cheaper watches (Casios, Timex, etc) and he suggested I keep going and even try my hand at some entry level Seikos (swapping bezels, hands, etc).
Although this ordeal made me realize how delicate and stressful it may be at times to maintain a mechanical watch, it was nice to meet another watch enthusiast and genuinely geek out over watches.
Have you guys had any similar experiences? Do you guys have a go to watchmaker/repair guy?
Bay Area based watch enthusiast, excited to share my collecting journey!
I have had "a guy for that" for many years. Swiss trained and tons of experience. In business a long time and has no problem sourceing OEM parts for most Swiss brands. I don't need him often, but when I do I know I'm in good hands.
I have had "a guy for that" for many years. Swiss trained and tons of experience. In business a long time and has no problem sourceing OEM parts for most Swiss brands. I don't need him often, but when I do I know I'm in good hands.
Exactly! It’s always nice to know “a guy for that” when a situation presents itself. As a watch noobie, my biggest fear is getting a watch improperly fixed or being ripped off in terms of prices. But once you find someone fair and that you trust, it’s one less thing to worry about.
Glad it turned out OK! For future reference, the rice thing is a myth. Better to set it so it has airspace all around and then point a fan at it.
Glad it turned out OK! For future reference, the rice thing is a myth. Better to set it so it has airspace all around and then point a fan at it.
Thanks for the tip! Luckily I got it into the shop same day. My biggest fear was their being internal damage if letting it sit too long.
I carelessly took one of my Seikos into a 28' pool during a dive class. Breached the case and flooded the mechanism. It sat for years unloved but I found a local guy who gave it a complete service and we're back in action again. Indeed it is great to know a competent watchmaker. I've had several other pieces restored and serviced since then. Now I buy with confidence!
I carelessly took one of my Seikos into a 28' pool during a dive class. Breached the case and flooded the mechanism. It sat for years unloved but I found a local guy who gave it a complete service and we're back in action again. Indeed it is great to know a competent watchmaker. I've had several other pieces restored and serviced since then. Now I buy with confidence!
That’s awesome! I’m glad it got fixed and is shown love again. Yeah besides the SKX, I’ve also had to repair a Zodiac Super Sea Wolf this year. The movement keeps giving me issues and it’s constant back and fourth with the jeweler for service under warranty 😪
There’s a watchmaker near where I live that’s older than sand, knocking on death’s doorstep, and still tinkering away. Wealth of knowledge. Must have been doing this 50 years.
I ran into a similar issue on one of my earlier builds, but it turned out that it was just because the outside temperature was so much higher than inside my house, so when I watered my lawn, the lens fogged. I placed it with the crown unscrewed inside a bag of silica packets from dog treat packages for a couple days and it cleared up.
Very fortunate that you found out just doing the dishes, just think if you went swimming with it, but happy you got it repaired, if my watch goes down I have to mail it out that’s if I find someone in Canada with a good reputation & trust worthy, or maybe it’s time for me to start tinkering with watches & go from there eh
Very fortunate that you found out just doing the dishes, just think if you went swimming with it, but happy you got it repaired, if my watch goes down I have to mail it out that’s if I find someone in Canada with a good reputation & trust worthy, or maybe it’s time for me to start tinkering with watches & go from there eh
Exactly what I was thinking, salt water inside the case would have been HORRIBLE.