Gil_M / Retrodecals and something a little different...

[Muddy paw]

Well quite right you can't take all the credit but your team work pays amazing results and that's just priceless ..

 

[Si_33]

A great combination of craftsmanship - great work chaps

 

[twain]

amazing - i've often wondered what goes into restoring watches - they've always seemed to require a level of skill that comes only from an almost limitless reserve of patients and a very very very steady hand (no pun intended).
what are your go to tools for this type of work? (obviously the scalpel is in there) but like working on bikes, we all have 'the standard/magic set' that seem to do the bulk of the jobs...
so whats yours for this type of work??

 

[02gf74]

Re: Re:

I think I am as much in awe of your ability to strip down and restore the watches, as I am Gil's skill at reproducing the details needed.

Amazing.

.... forgive my ignorance, but isn't that just placing the piece on a scanner, scanning and then printing the item - or is there more to it than that?

 

[twain]

Re: Re:

I think I am as much in awe of your ability to strip down and restore the watches, as I am Gil's skill at reproducing the details needed.

Amazing.

.... forgive my ignorance, but isn't that just placing the piece on a scanner, scanning and then printing the item - or is there more to it than that?

definitely more to it.
artwork files need creating, colours need matching, dimensions matching, details aligning....reproducing decals in digital means you need accurate measurements and guides.
scanning (and i am assuming here) will only give you the outline - so spacing and some form of mask can be created from it. even more difficult when 3 dimensional features are involved.

the rest (and i'm still guessing here) is down to Gil_M to get as close as possible to match up to the original (bearing in mind some of the original features are damaged).

im currently getting decal artwork setup myself for my Diamondback resto to give to Gil_M (taking me ages though) as the fonts dont seem to exist anywhere, so im working of traced outlined taken from my frame.
im enlisting a computer and designer at work in our free time to create the files. its not difficult - but thats just because the detail for my decals is so easy to work with. it is time consuming though.
with a watch face - your are working with small scale details and dimensions. a MM or even a half MM out can ruin the look/alignment of these things.
im no expert - but even if im out on my description of work involved above, i'm betting that its definitely more than just scanning and printing

 

[Fudd]

Re:

amazing - i've often wondered what goes into restoring watches - they've always seemed to require a level of skill that comes only from an almost limitless reserve of patients and a very very very steady hand (no pun intended).
what are your go to tools for this type of work? (obviously the scalpel is in there) but like working on bikes, we all have 'the standard/magic set' that seem to do the bulk of the jobs...
so whats yours for this type of work??

For this job all I needed was a couple of screwdrivers, a case back opening tool and a hand removing tool, plus the scalpel of course.

I got into this when I got the Seiko modifying bug and bought a watchmakers tool kit off ebay for £20 plus a few other cheap tools that enabled me to swap dials and hands. I then started to take an interest into repairing and servicing movements and I soon discovered the cheapo screwdrivers were only fit for single use and binned them and that's when I started to buy Bergeon tools. Bergeon are like the Snap On or Park Tools of the watchmaking world and the prices are similar. £70 for a starter set of 5 screwdrivers and £30 for a hand removing tool vs £2 for the chinese copy for example. Then you have the case back opening tool and my £5 Chinese job is good for 90% of the watches I work on and the other 10% need a different type £30 tool to open, but these are hand held tools and if they slip they'll mark the case. Not good if the watch doesn't belong to you.. If money was no object I'd spend £400 on a Bergeon or Horotec case tool but I get by as it is. A crystal press is essential if you need to change a crystal or fit a bezel and I'm still using a £30 chinese one, but want to buy a £300 one. I have a £40 ultrasonic cleaner from Maplins but want to spend at least 1k on an Elma one. I have a £150 electronic timing machine from China and the Swiss equivalent is over £2k. You get the idea... I put together a wish list for tools on Cousinsuk.com and it was over 6k when I added it up. One thing I don't scrimp on is oils for servicing and two of the types i use on mechanical movements cost over £20 for 2ml. Thats over 10k per litre :shock: .

Omega are stopping the supply of parts to the public on 31/12/15 and to set up a workshop to their standards and attain Omega certified status would cost around 70k to 80k in tooling and then you'll need a workshop with a clean air area for assembly, a separate area for cleaning and polishing etc, plus the rent, rates and insurance to consider.

I'll continue working from my spare bedroom in the foreseeable future but its slightly ironic that the last two watches I worked on were both Omegas as the owner wanted to get them sorted at a reasonable price before the spares dried up.

 

[k-rod]

Re: Re:

[
Omega are stopping the supply of parts to the public on 31/12/15 and to set up a workshop to their standards and attain Omega certified status would cost around 70k to 80k in tooling and then you'll need a workshop with a clean air area for assembly, a separate area for cleaning and polishing etc, plus the rent, rates and insurance to consider. .

Interesting. I wonder if the corporate wonks see this as stemming business losses in some way, or at least creating a new stream of profits for themselves ... ?

 

[Rampage]

Re: Re:

[
Omega are stopping the supply of parts to the public on 31/12/15 and to set up a workshop to their standards and attain Omega certified status would cost around 70k to 80k in tooling and then you'll need a workshop with a clean air area for assembly, a separate area for cleaning and polishing etc, plus the rent, rates and insurance to consider. .

Interesting. I wonder if the corporate wonks see this as stemming business losses in some way, or at least creating a new stream of profits for themselves ... ?

I'm sure there's people buying up stock while they can to sell on.
I expect a lot of replica parts will turn up on eBay as well.

 

[Fudd]

Re: Re:

Interesting. I wonder if the corporate wonks see this as stemming business losses in some way, or at least creating a new stream of profits for themselves ... ?

I think they see it as maximizing their revenue streams; Stop the supply to independents and the watches either get sent back to the factory or to a certified repairer who has to buy overpriced tools from the factory. Its not just Omega watches that are being restricted, its happening to all the brands belonging to the parent company Swatch group including Tissot, Longines and Hamilton to name a few. Swatch are also stopping the supply of ETA movements which are found in the vast majority of Swiss watches under £3k.

I'm sure there's people buying up stock while they can to sell on.
I expect a lot of replica parts will turn up on eBay as well.

Some of the usual suppliers have bumped their prices up for one last payday before the parts dry up. As for replica parts, Rolex have always restricted supply and there's no shortage of generic movement parts for them but with varying levels of quality. Its only a matter of time before generic options appear for Omega and ETA movements and they'll probably be cheaper, so it's not all bad.

 

[k-rod]

Re: Re:

Its only a matter of time before generic options appear for Omega and ETA movements and they'll probably be cheaper, so it's not all bad.[/quote]

pun intended, or accidentally/wonderfully apropos?