Restoring an Iconic American Watch. I Had to Go to Switzerland to Sort This One Out.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 เม.ย. 2024
- If it's good enough for Frank Sinatra, it's good enough for me. This vintage watch restoration turned out to be so tough I had to go to Switzerland to finish it. Join me and expert dial restorer Lindsay Stämpfli (arcstampfli.com/) as we try and put this rusty 1950s vintage Bulova together.
You can find Lindsay here
arcstampfli.com/
/ arcstampfli
Big Thanks to Chris from CLM Watchmaking for the movement
/ clm_watchmaking
My second channel launched; please do go have a look!
/ @wasting-time-oc7jl
#vintagewatch #vintagewatches #watchrestoration #restoration
The history of Bulova
When Josef Bulova (1851-1935) departed his native Bohemia in 1870 he was part of a wave of Czech immigrants who sailed across the ocean in search of the American dream during the second half of the 19th century. At the time, there were 20,000 Czechs living in the United States and Bulova settled in Manhattan along with many others which became a hub for the community where you could buy not only Czech food but also newspapers and magazines. As a certified watch maker, Bulova soon found a job with the growing jeweller Tiffany & Co. America was in the midst of an industrial and technological revolution which inspired the young Bulova to start his own company in lower Manhattan 1875 under the name of J. Bulova & Co. It became the starting point for this iconic brand.
During the first three decades, the company sold mainly clocks, jewlery, and pocket watches and was so successful that in 1912 it opened a factory in Biel, Switzerland for production of parts and assembly. With the onset of the first world war a lot changed, including the concept of watches, and Josef and his son Arde, who now worked for the company as vice president, moved from producing pocket watches to wrist watches.
In the 1920s, Josefs grandson, who was not only a splendid entrepreneur but also a huge talent in marketing, led the company forward. He offered a $1000 reward to the pilot who would become the first to cross the Atlantic ocean without a stopover, an achievement acomplished by the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927 who went from New York to Paris in 33,5 hours. He did not only collect the prize money but also became the face of the Lone Eagle wristwatch, which commemorated the record flight. When it came out in 1927, it was produced in 5,000 pieces and sold together with a photo of Lindbergh. Within three days, the first collection had sold out. Bulova continued to produce the watch during the following years in 14k white gold and it went on to become one of the company’s bestselling watches of all times.
Bulova moved into the new field of radio advertising in the 1920s, and reached millions of Americans with what was probably the first radio commercial for a watch that aired at exactly eight o’clock and announced that “At the tone, it’s eight o’clock, Bulova watch time,” which let the listeners adjust their watches to the correct time. During the 1940s, Bulova also became a leader in television advertising where they declared that “America runs on Bulova time.” This ten second ad from July 1941 became the first television commercial to legally air in the country. For this Bulova paid $9, equivalent to rougly $190 in today’s money.
In the 1950s Bulova became the sponsor for the televized Frank Sinatra Show .
Precision and technological research were central tenets for Bulova from the early days. When the company moved from lower Manhattan to Fifth Avenue in 1927, it set up an observatory on the roof, the first observatory ever built on top of a skyscraper, to determine universal time precisely. During the second world war, the board of directors adopted a resolution to sell products for national defense and cooporated with the US government to produce military watches, specialized timekeeping, aircraft instruments, and critical torpedo mechanisms and detonators. Today, retro watches such as the Bulova Hack 98A255 are based on this tradition.
After the war, Bulova set up the Josef Bulova School of Watchmaking to help handicapped veterans aquire watch skills. The school, which stayed open until 1993, allowed for barrier-free access with automatic doors and extra wide elevators and graduates found good jobs in the watchmaking industry.
In 1960, the company’s most iconic watch - the Accutron - which paved the way for the modern quartz watch came. The Accutron was incredibly accurate with a deviation of only one minute per month . It became the official state gift to world leaders and other dignitaries from the White House under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Bulova also made it to the moon as NASA asked the company to build the Accutron into its space program computers as part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiements Package,
There is more to say about Bulova, but i'll save it for another video! - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thank you so much for trusting me with this. I had a blast, it was super fun to try to make it look good again! My dad's arms are probably still sore from all the brushing though 😂 thanks again and I apologize for the terrible videos I sent and voice over!
It was great! Thanks again for all the work you put in.
Thank you so much for showcasing the process of restoring this beautiful dial. The tools and the craftsmanship required to operate on such tiny and delicate objects are mesmerizing to watch in action!
Turned out killer!!!
Great work on the dial, which looked like it was ready for the dial place in the sky! 😂
@@christophersprake2302 I like to call it 'my junk drawer' personally 😂 thank you very much!
Excellent job giving the Bulova brand a wonderful tribute and story. Any Bulova or vintage American watches are appreciated here. Cheers.
Easy to do with Bulova really was an amazing company back in the day!
Thank you Mrs. Saving-Time! we appreciate your diligent research
I will let her know you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know
Bulova is one of my favorites... I've got 4 of them, ranging from the 50's to the 2000's. Would love to see you do another, and really enjoyed the history. Thanks to Mrs. Saving Time for her research! Keep up the great content.
Thank you. i will let her know. I'll do another one for sure, I'm a big bulova fan
First and foremost; it is astonishing that men can create such minuscule marvels of timekeeping engineering. Secondly: I am truly bewildered by your ability to restore said machines with such love of artistic ingenuity! A sight to behold!!!!
Thank you I appreciate the kind words. Glad you liked it
I'd be getting that watch in an Evapo-Rust or white vinegar bath ASAP 😆 🤣 😂
I usually skip the videos that look like someone has vandalised a perfectly good watch, there's really no need for that especially when there are genuine folks on here like yourself guiding people through honest and real/genuine repairs 👍 👌
I just started my journey in watchmaking, I have a tent 2m X 2m X1m to help limit the distance parts can fly away lol
Damn you guys make the screws etc look huge 😮
First of all, good luck with the watchmaking It gets easier I still send parts to join the Swiss space Program from time to time. If i'd have put this in Evapo-Rust, it would have disappeared :D I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
@@Saving-Time oh I'm going to need more than just good luck, a right arm preferably, do you get toe cots? 😆 🤣 😂
I've had a spring and a screw ping of but luckily my face got in their way lol
Much respect for the folks on TH-cam doing this hobby, they make it look so damn easy 🙌
I didn't have to work with mobile indices in this case, but trust me when I say that I've sent indices flying into oblivion, never to be seen again! I think I've now developed some sort of echolocation where I can hear where the parts fly by the sound they make when hitting the floor lol
Fantastic work by everyone involved. Loved hearing about the realities of watch restoration when they are that far gone. The pragmatic approach really appealed to me. Thank you!
Thank you, Glad you enjoyed coming along for the ride on this one
Wow! Bravo! Yes, please do another Bulova with additional history of company.
A true labor of love for a watch that has minimal value in comparison to the labor and time. Nice to see a complete restoration. This has to be the most complete dial restore explained on TH-cam.
Aww thanks! And I wish I had shown more / filmed better! David has to send me another one now 😋
Thank you nice of you to let us know.
@@LindsayStampfli I take on a lot of vintage watches, radium and all, and find ways to make them decent and unfortunately destroy some. Its a learning process and unfortunately until your addition to the video there was little to no guidance.
Lovely work as always mate! Lindsay’s work was remarkable as well! Thanks for the shout out, I’m very happy I could play a part in this fantastic restoration. 🧡
Cheers mate, I really was getting sick of buying Bulova movements lol
Thank you very much for the kind words! And thanks for making the restoration possible! I can't wait to wear the watch!!
@@LindsayStampfliit was definitely a team effort! Wear it with pride. 🧡
*I doubt any Americans were bothered by the mistake of printing "Swiss".* *_SUPERB JOB all around, dial, case & movement._*
Thank you I think Lindsay will probably own the only 100% american Bulova with Swiss on the front lol Easy enough for her to put right or maybe keep as a reminder that mistakes happen :D
I'm half American and half Swiss, I just wanted the watch to look like me ok? 😅lol I'll erase it as soon as I get it!
This video is pure joy to watch. The effort put by all the envolved is unbeliavable. This is a true restorarion video. The historical research is beautifully descripted. Amazing work!
I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I'm glad you liked it
You British sense of humor is awesome
Glad you enjoyed it, it's only watches you can't be to serious :)
Another impressive result. Dial is gorgeous and classic. Would enjoy more Bulova videos. Dial restoration was fascinating. Thanks.
Thank you I will let Lindsay know you liked it. I will be for sure doing another Bulova
Thank you so much, I'm happy you liked it!
You did a ton of work. All three of you. What a beauty!
Thank you i'll let everyone know you enjoyed it
Nice looking watch. Good Luck everybody!
Thank you :)
Fantastic resto. As usual you go above par to deliver a lot more than the average watch restorer. Beautiful watch. Jealous.👍
Thank you :) very nice of you to let me know.
@@Saving-Time you're welcome
Another vintage Bulova fan here (it's Endy btw, on a different account now). I have a love for their 40s and 50s pieces. In fact, it was being gifted a '47 Bulova Franklin that got me into vintage watches. In addition to that I have a couple more in various states of repair 😂 It's a fascinating, groundbreaking company, who made the "other moon watch". Add me to the list of people who'd like to see a revival of American watchmaking.
Oh, and maybe next time, just chuck something in a puddle and rub it with a piece of 400 grit, you're making the other guys look bad 😂
Hey Endy you giving the old TH-cam a go, mate? If so, good luck. The moon watch we can afford ;)
@@Saving-Time thinking about it. My camera setup is pretty poor (alongside my skills, ha!) so I'm easing into it with progress shots on Instagram to gauge interest.
Feel free to drop an IG link here, mate so people can have a look. Of course, if your ever in Prague, you're welcome to come look at my setup, that is, if your buying the beer lol
@@Saving-Time that is a deal! :) (insta is the same as the TH-cam). Ofc if you're ever round these parts, the black pudding is on me too.
I've always wondered about this process. I've seen so many beautiful vintage watch dials that I would love to see restored properly. Own a few right now. Thank you for the video. More to ponder and more to scheme. 🤔
Lindsay does great work. She makes it look easy I can tell you it is not :)
Aww thank you! I'd love to have a look at them!
Really great job.
Bravo from Greece.
Thank you very much! Hello from Prague!
Great work David, Lindsay and Dad (Christian). It’s great to peer into an artisans workshop to see how the magic happens.
Thank you. Full credit goes to Lindsay and her old man, who I'm not sure likes me that much after I made him scrub a rusty dial. Team effort on this one, for sure.
My dad had a lot of fun coming out of retirement to... Brush... And then brush... And brush some more 😂
Love this ! Dial work is superb ! Great work !
Cheers! i'll be sure to let Lindsay know you liked it.
Thank you very much! Cheers!
Breaking watches for views is not your thing! 😂. I agree! By the way, thank you for a very realistic and honest restoration. I would've been shocked if the parts looked that shiny after cleaning and scrubbing.
Thanks Jimmy I want that Hamilton 992 you have ;) For anyone reading this, go watch this guy's amazing pocket watch restorations and great footage.
@@Saving-Timethank you for your kind words. Like you, I find YT to be a very aggravating beast. I also struggle with the editing, having to remove lots of good footage for the sake of keeping video length manageable and engagement high. It's a terrible system.
TH-cam, what can you do. Your stuff is fantastic, btw, some of the best I've seen-camera work, lighting, narration, and the skill on display are all top notch.
@@Saving-Time Thanks for your kindness. I try and just hope poeple wlll enjoy the work - even non-watchmaker hobbyists. Cheers.
Incredible talent they have restoring these ! Amazing video ! Thank you for the insights !
Our pleasure! Glad you liked it
Always a pleasure to watch real artist at work.
Thank you very nice of you for letting us know
Wonderful video! Yes, please do use your missus’s notes to produce a Part 2. And kudos to Lindsay!
I will be doing another Bulova for sure at some point. I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Never seen a dial refinish before! Wow, fantastic work, thank you, and for the rest of the video.
I'll be sure to let Lindsay know I'm sure she will be pleased you liked it. Thank you for the kind words
@@Saving-Time please do, and her video part was great! so much enthusiasm and a true expert!!
@@garyquartley1084 Wow, thank you so much!!
That brushing sound made me feel squeaky clean.
Very ASMR 👌
Really nice work!!!👏👏👏
Cheers Dario appreciate the support mate
Outstanding work.! Thank you for showing this craftmanship!
My pleasure!
Throughly enjoyed the video presentation. Enjoy the commentary as well. Thank you so much.
I too prefer manual wind watches, something nostalgic as well as theraputic to me. I carry only pocket watches primarily RR grade.
I hope to try cleaning and oiling one in the near future with the aid of videos such as yours. Thanks again for an enjoyable video.
Thank you If you are going to try pocket watches, check out this guy: www.youtube.com/@WatchRestorationCottage Good luck with the watchmaking
I would love that!!!! Best channel on you tube!!!
Thank you very much. That is really nice of you to say.
Awesome work. Dial looks amazing. What a great restoration by Lindsay. I really enjoyed this video. The history was a nice bonus. I started working on watches last year. I gotta say I will never be able to restore something in this condition. Thank you 🙏🏼
I'll let Lindsay know you like it; i'm sure she will be pleased. Thank you for the kind words, and good luck with your channel.
@@Saving-Time Thank you.
Thank you very much!
Thank you for sharing this brilliant and most informative video on TH-cam: 👍👌👏! And hats off to Lindsey Stampfli for her incredible work on dials: 👍👌👏!
P.S. I would recommend watches that are both thin and automatic: Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Ultra Thin series. Beautiful watches at a very good price for what you are getting.
I have a JLC RDM master ultra thin, so yes, good call ;) Glad you enjoyed this one. It's nice to see you back.
Thank you so much! Piaget also has some nice ultra-thin but JLCs are my favorite. Working on their dials is super complicated by the way, they don't have feet and are so thin that they're flimsy!
Glorious work and video David, loved it. And Lindsay's bit was great too. Funnily enough I'm half way through filming the same movement on a 50's Bulova. A walk in the park compared to yours. Cheers mate.
Thanks Alec its a nice movement pretty sure it will be easy enough for you, sir. Hope everything is well with you mate
I loved watching the dial being restored and the way the print was applied. At least you had the dial, rotor and case from the original watch and Lindsay can have the pleasure of owning it now. Cheers Saving-Time.
Thank you, Lindsay is just great. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Yes I can't wait to receive it! And thank you, I wish I had filmed the printing in more details, I learned a lot about filming doing this video so if David ever needs me again I promise I won't ever hold my phone in portrait mode 😂
@@LindsayStampfliwhat is the name of your company? Wonderful job!
You can find all Lindsays info here arcstampfli.com/
@@Saving-Time Thank you
Great video. I’d love to hear more about this company’s history!
Thanks for letting me know. I'll do another video on Bulova for sure
Great restoration my friend appreciate all that hard work 👍👍
Glad you liked it. Thanks for the pith wood trick, it always turned into a right dog breakfast for me.
dial work awesome
I'll be sure to let Lindsay know I'm sure she will be pleased you liked it. Cheers
Thank you very much!
thanks for content and restoration
Our pleasure! Glad you liked it
I love your videos, man! Great stuff, keep it up. 👍🏻
Hey, mate, right back at you, I loved the lathe work in your Tobacco and Timekeeping video. Very nicely done.
Amazing job David, absolutely amazing!
Thank you sir credit goes to Lindsay on this one. I'd never have been able to fix that dial. Glad you liked it.
@@Saving-Time yes, the dial restoration was unbelievable, but I do love your modesty also. Your attention to detail and humble nature is why I love watching you work.
@@richardtomlinson2063 thank you! And yes, he's way too modest, David did an amazing job and I'll wear the watch with pride and brag about him to compensate 😂
wonderful topic. loved Lindsay.,
Thank you. I will be sure to let her know.
Awww I love you too stranger!
Stunning video!!! Quality, honest, entertaining, and i love the history. ps. if Lindsay started a channel, I'd watch it.
Thank you so much! Unfortunately my filming skills are below zero and as I'm usually working alone (dad came out of retirement to help here) I wouldn't have time to create good content! I'd gladly participate in other videos though!
So would I :)
Great job by both of you!
Thank you!
Great job 👏🏼
Thank you!! 😁
Really great video. I too am not a fan of the staged restoration videos. I try to keep mine thorough and honest, and I very much appreciate how you do as well. Great work on this watch. Great channel! I wish I could make thumbnails as amazing as yours!
Your stuff is great! Congrats on passing 10k I know how hard that is to do. To anyone reading this, go check out this chap if you have not already. His channel is the real deal.
@@Saving-Time Very kind, thank you.
Very nice, thanks
Most welcome
As always. Absolutely amazing video. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for watching :) I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Please do another Bulova.
I will be doing another, hopefully one from an earlier period.
Your videos are just on another level, and on a level that makes me intrigued and wanting to learn more at the same time. I'd love to ask you what Bulova you would recommend for me to buy, but then I guess you would answer it all comes down to personal preference.
Thank you for the kind words. As for a recommendation, all i'd say is to look for something from the 1940s or 1950s This is my favourite time for Bulova; there are lots to choose from.
wow this was so much more than expected. GREAT content!
Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it
Parabéns pelo serviço muito bom 👏
I genuinely love the look of the dial with the patina. It's amazing how uniform the discoloration was!
Hey Brody hope you are doing well mate always nice to see you back 😊
@@Saving-Time Same to you, man! I’ll have to send you a message soon, I’ve been thinking about commissioning a strap or two from you.
Happy to do it for you mate :)
For any future rusted parts, have a look at the DIY EDTA based evaporust clone posted on the Elemental Maker youtube channel. I've found that works extremely well, and it does not affect the base metal at all, on anything I've tried it with.
(My uses do far have been on rusted keyless works parts and rusty staking tools etc. from ebay, all coming up well).
I will, sir. Thank you very much for the tip. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Interesting to see the dial restoration bit which actually did look like restoration. Channels like @kirkrichdial call their work restoration even though it usually involves grinding the dial down to a simple metal disk and then reconstructing the whole thing creating a reproduction dial in my view - no need for them to use the original dial at all.
Sometimes that's the only thing you can do unfortunately. Lindsay in a lot of cases has the original inks and the original printing plates and uses the same techniques and equipment that would have been used originally. I'll let Lindsay know you enjoyed it.
Hey thank you very much for the kind words!
There are not many dial restorers in the world and we all have a different idea of how to do our craft and that's a good thing, some customers want their dials to look brand new and fully redone, some want to keep the vintage aspect and have their dials touched to the minimum, there's enough work for all of us anyway! I try to cater to the latter type of customers but I've had to fully grind dials down to the brass base many times too.
Excellent and interesting video. Thanks!
I'd love to see more on the history of Bulover, and other watch brands. There are a myriad of brands, and without a knowledge of their histories they can be all a bit much of muchness, and interchangeable.
Regarding the stainless steel case: it's a common misconception that stainless steel doesn't rust. It does, but it rusts less (just a few microns on the surface). It's not "stainfree steel", after all.
Thanks for the information:) Glad you enjoyed the video. You might like my Gruen video; I cover the history of that company there.
@@Saving-Time I've seen the Gruen vid. Really good!
The dial printing by Lindsay looks like compound precision offset lithography, hence the blanket transfering the ink. That first movement was more like archaeology. What did they do to it?!
I have no idea. Looks like they stored it in a bucket of water for a couple of years.
Pad printing does share similarities with lithography! Some of my printing plates were made using photolithography as well. Though if I remember correctly, litho is based on a water-repelling and retaining process, and I don't want water to be anywhere near my plates or dials for obvious reasons 😂
Try using some evaporust to get the crunchy rust off
I will give it a go on the next one. Thank you.
EXCELENTE SERVIÇO 🤓👍👍
Thank you sir!
I usually install the set lever with its screw at the beginning. I've made that mistake too many times to admit.
Yes so do I! I'd like to blame it on the stress of having to film everything. However, I've forgotten off camera as well, so... Nice to know i'm not the only one
Nice….👏👏👏💪💪💪💪
Thanks ✌
this very cool, the only Bulova I have us my 97A110, Accutron II spaceview Alpha, I bought it from a friend in non working condition, it got wrecked during postage, I bought a random Bulova Precisionist which had effectively the same movement as the 97A110, BA101 is basically a special P102 movement, I used the movement I bought as donor movement but using the unique accutron parts, took me a while to do this, I also had to re-lume the chapter ring and unfortionately as a result some of the markers printed came off, the faceplate also got stained and corroded, I sanded it down to a level but yeah, the watch isnt finished but is in working order, I paid £5 for this watch and £100 for the donor movement... i think I won in the end.
Yes i'd say you won! Great watch. I found out while doing the research for this video that the spaceview was never supposed to be a thing; it was a watch they gave to salesmen to show the movement. Everyone kept trying to buy the salesman's watch and not the ones they were selling. In the end, they just started selling the salesman's one and called it the Spaceview. I want one :)
Great video mate she did really good job on that dial and your strap making is defo pro now 🕙10 out of 10
Thanks 👍Lindsay did great, glad you enjoyed it
Thanks! David's straps are just absolutely beautiful!
Love it, inspirational as usual. Did you find out how the scratches on the barrel lid came about?
I did not :( I hope you are doing well, sir. Nice to see you back here.
17:19 Sad to hear that the only valuable part on that watch is going to be buffed off LOL
Well thank you. At least now the Americans are not going to come after me! ;)
@@Saving-Time Hahaha ;)
What would be your dream Bulova model?
For me i'd like an original Accutron Spaceview, or one of the first 5000 watches made to celebrate Charles Lindbergh's flight. All of the vintage Bulovas from the 1940s or 1950s are nice though
Estava vendo o restauro depois mudou tudo.
To be honest, when you first showed the watch i thought it was from the game "Machinarium" by the state of it, goddam..
It would have fit right into the art style for sure.
I have a vintage manual wind omega seamaster 1960's that needs maintenance. Anyone knows where to send it for service, please let me know. Live in USA.
Give Chris from CLM watchmaking a shout on Instagram instagram.com/clm_watchmaking/ He does really good vintage work. Nice bloke to.
In a severe case like this, after decasing and removing the dial, why not submerge the movement in evaporust for 24 hours before attempting disassembly?
Honestly, i left the penetrating oil on it for a few hours My plan was to get it somewhat disassembled using penetrating oil and the ultrasonic cleaner, then soak it in a rust remover. However, as it started to come apart, i started to notice basically every pivot from every wheel was gone, so even if everything was cleaned and rust-free, all the parts were pretty much dead. It might have been a better idea to use evaporust first. If I ever do this again, I'll be trying it for sure.
@@Saving-Time Just an additional side note. Evapo Rust is not an acid and will not harm small parts or plating. Nicholas Hacko Master watchmaker channel restored a rusty GMT Master and while my experince is no where close to his, had he soaked the movement 24 - 48 hours in Evapor Rust or a similar chelating agent prior to attempting disasembly, he'd likley have saved a screw driver tip or two and maybe few less broken screws. He also imdediatly applied a metal brush pen to the rusted areas which of course introduced deep scratch in the brass plates removing more Rhodium plating than necessary. Of course the rusted areas would also damage the rhodium plating but the goal should of course as always is to minimize the need for manual rust removal to avoid introducing more mechanical damage than necessary. I am just a hobbiest watchmaker but of the few I've done with Evapo Rust, it removed a great majority of the rust making much less leg work IMO and also easied in identifying what could be saved.
I'll check out that video, thank you. I will probably try this a different way if I try it again.
🤓👍👍 🇧🇷
Very true. So many fake videos on the tube..most of them so amatuer and silly.
Yup most of them are very crude. I hope you enjoyed a look at this real one.
Who sold you this? What was the seller selling pitch? " Gently used Bulova. Complete movement needs a little TLC "
One careful owner belonged to a vicar who only ever took it out on Sundays lol
"All case repairs are fake."
Case magically is repaired in perfect condition.
Lol jk
Drop it in vinegar for a week.
I'll try a few different ways next time thanks for the suggestion.
Make sure you don't wear gloves while working on the dial. Collectors want to see copious finger grease under magnification.
Let's turn this comment into an educational moment!
Grease marks that can be seen on dials from time to time are from the acid in the sweat slowly chipping away the zapon (clear protective lacquer). Zapon on old dials is often already damaged, so touching it with greasy fingers will leave marks pretty fast. Zapon on this dial was brand new and I obviously clean the dial thoroughly before shipping it, and David used gloves to case it.
A real collector would be more bothered by the Swiss I added by mistake on an American watch lol
I assume you are trolling, and as such, I would not normally bother to replay, but this one I found quite funny. Did you really just tell one of Switzerland's foremost experts on dial restoration how to do there job? Here is the channel of a small British watchmaker called Roger Smith: www.youtube.com/@rwsmithwatches Maybe you'd like to nip over there and tell him how to do his job. I'm sure he would appreciate the feedback. Lindsay might be nice enough to turn this into a teachable moment. I'm not. I'm actually tempted to pin this comment so everyone can point and laugh at it.
Evaporust.
I will be sure to try it next time i do this.
Lovely job, but had to wince when I saw you take the hands off without putting a plastic slip under them, I know the dial was well shagged, but you might have added to it. Plus monkey see - monkey do!
Trust me, it felt all manner of wrong lol I'll be honest, the dial was for the bin. I thought I'd have to replace it, but then Lindsay agreed to do it because she is just as nuts as me, and the deed was already done by then. But yes, even with a dial i expected to throw away, it still made me wince to