Vintage Watch Repairs & Servicing
Sympathetic specialists in Heirloom Timepieces. Using period-correct techniques and New Old Stock (NOS) parts to preserve the history and value of your vintage watch.
Lancashire’s Premier Vintage Watch Restorers
Vintage watches are not just timekeepers; they can be priceless sentimental pieces that give you joy or a connection to a loved one. I’m very lucky to have worked on vintage watches from quite a young age and so that does put me at quite an advantage to still be young as a watchmaker in my 40’s and be experienced in such repairs. Unfortunately as times go on parts are becoming more and more scarce so we do tend to be a bit more picky in repairs that we take on. If we can’t help you with a certain piece we have many connections in the trade to point you in the right direction.
Qualified Staff
Trained watchmakers handling your timepiece
Parts Sourcing
We have a large amount of contacts in the trade and parts suppliers to find those hard to get parts from all over the world.
Realistic Turnaround
With vintage watches repairs do take longer than a modern watch where all parts are available and less parts tend to wear.
2 Year
Warranty
Comprehensive cover on all workmanship.
Vintage Watch Service
Here at Prime Time, we specialise in the sympathetic restoration and servicing of vintage mechanical watches. All work is carried out on-site in our workshop, where we balance modern lubrication technology with traditional watchmaking skills. We offer a 2-year warranty on our vintage work.
A full service includes:
- Diagnostic Assessment: Detailed inspection of pivots, jewels, and hairspring condition. Between us and the client we decide how far you want to go on a repair, polishing is up to you, replacing outer parts is also optional like the crown or crystal (These are usually included with a vintage repair). Dial restoration is also another option.
- Careful Disassembly: Stripping the movement while cataloguing wear on components.
- Cleaning Machine: Gentle cleaning cycles to protect delicate plating on vintage bridges. We have a separate cleaning machine we use for vintage repairs.
- Part Sourcing Sourcing NOS parts needed can be half the job, hours of scrolling the internet behind the scenes to find the correct parts.
- Mainspring Replacement: Fitting a modern alloy mainspring to provide consistent torque and protect the gear train.
- Re-assembly & Oiling: Using modern synthetic oils to reduce friction on aged pivots.
- Case Cleaning: Ultrasonic cleaning of the case to remove dirt (Polishing is only performed upon explicit request to preserve case geometry).
- Crystal Restoration: Polishing the original acrylic/plexiglass to remove scratches, or fitting a period-correct replacement.
- Gasket Replacement: Fitting new seals where possible (though water resistance is rarely guaranteed on vintage pieces).
- Extended Testing: A prolonged testing period on the winder to ensure the aged hairspring keeps time within acceptable vintage tolerances.
Specialist Vintage Services
Parts Sourcing
Sometimes half the battle with vintage watches is sourcing the correct parts. A lot of repairs have been through so many hands so also it depends how good the workmanship from the previous watchmaker has been. Sometimes this makes the job a lot harder, we do see a lot of bad workmanship unfortunately.
Polishing
Polishing for vintage watches as a bit more technical, usually we perform a sympathetic polish, this leaves most scratches by just lighhtly polishing the case and bracelet and thus keeping the history of the marks on the watch. Every scratch tells a story.
Outside components
When we quote for a service most components are included. We regularly change the crown for instance as with mechanical watches if the crown is worn then winding can be difficult. If it has a branded crown we then will advise on the best move forward. Also plexi glass replacements we stock most sizes of low dome, high dome and tension ring plexis. We also usually include a complimentary leather strap if we feel its needed and would improve the look of the watch.
What do we specialise in?
Most vintage watches post 1970’s. From Omega vintage watches with the classic 550 movement in to all the classic AS movements, Seiko Bellmatics etc…feel free to email us a picture of your watch or pop it into us to assess and see if we can help you all quotations are free of charge.
Specialist Care for Vintage Watches
Restoring a watch that is 50+ years old requires a deep understanding of historical watchmaking failures and fixes.
For examples of watches that we have fixed please follow our socials and see some examples of watches we have restored.
See why hundreds of customers trust us with their vintage watches
Frequently asked questions
Only if you ask us to. In the vintage world, an unpolished case with sharp edges is often worth more than a shiny, rounded one. We can polish to a high standard using a lapping machine and laser welder (For steel and gold cases). We can achieve starburst finishes and also sharpen up edges that haven’t been too over polished.
We never warranty water resistance on a vintage watch and always advise keeping it away from wet areas such as the bathroom etc. Whilst we will endeavour to change back gaskets and replace crowns cases can wear down over time and therefore we would never give a warranty for water resistance.
From a value perspective, usually no. A spotted, tropical, or faded original dial is often more valuable to collectors than a freshly painted one. However, if the dial is illegible or water damaged and flaking, we can arrange a professional restoration.
It takes longer than modern servicing, typically 6 to 8 weeks. This is because we may need to hunt down rare parts from suppliers around the world or test the watch for longer periods to ensure the aged springs are settling correctly.
We have a good track record of finding watch parts! I have worked in watch workshops that were previously parts suppliers back in the day so I have a good few contacts for parts when needed. Plus we usually only take on jobs we are confident we can repair, we know workshops who specialise solely in vintage repairs and can pass on their details should we mot be able to help.
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