April 2012 Blog

More Rolex watch repairs came in this month for servicing than ever before!!!

 We visited the Basel world watch fair in March and we saw some interesting watches on display. We always take a trip every couple of years to keep update with latest watches hitting the jewellery shops. The Basel watch fair trip isn’t just about the new watches being released it’s also about visiting the tool halls. We can spend just as much time in those halls looking at all the latest tooling and equipment. You could spend a fortune if you’re not careful. We do have our eye on a couple of tools that we will purchase at some point this year.

 We had a record April this year, we received in more watches for repair this April than any other April in our history. Let’s hope May is a busy month!  Quite a few classic Rolex watches came in and lots of Tag Heuer quartz chronograph watches too.

 

 April Watch News

 Basel world is the main talking point so here is a few of our favourites.

Blackjack 21

 The 21 Blackjack watch that the lucky roulette tournement winner will take home is a technical and aesthetic masterpiece all wrapped up in a single package, a small tour de force of mechanical watchmaking at the forefront of innovation. It is an exceptional piece for an exceptional event, to equal the prestige of the famous Casino de Monte-Carlo.

 

 Richard Mille RM 037

Richard Mille is pleased to present today a landmark new timepiece, the RM 037 and the new automatic caliber CRMA1. It represents an original in-house construction by the Richard Mille movement designers in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. This automatic winding caliber created from skeletonized grade 5 titanium sports an oversize date at 12 o'clock and a function window at 4 o' clock. Two subtly shaped pushers are located at 4 and 10 o’clock. The pusher at 4 o'clock allows one to select the winding (W), neutral (N) and hand setting (H) functions with a simple push. An aperture located at 4 o'clock shows the function selected.

 

Rolex Daytona Rainbow 

The timepiece sports the classic Daytona case shape and face layout, however, what makes this particular model unique, is that its case is constructed of White Gold and the bezel is encrusted with baguette-cut sapphires that creates a rainbow frame around the timepiece’s face. While many watches on the market feature diamonds, sapphires and other jewels, no other production timepiece on the market offers this extraordinary colour burst! The Daytona Rainbow won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, however, those watch lovers out there that love a bit of bling on their wrist will love this piece!

 

 March 2012 Blog

February turned out to be busy month for watches booked in for repair.   The start of the month was unusually quiet but it soon picked up.  Nothing unusual was booked in, in fact a lot of the watches were within ten years old having their first or second service.   Watches have to be services every three to five years to keep them running accurately.

 Our latest Rolex tooling arrived this month from Rolex in Switzerland.  It is Monitor CST3 moisture detector.  A machine for detecting condensation inside the case of a Rolex watch.

This machine tests the water resistance of a watch case by detecting the presence of water inside the case.  The case is heated to a predetermined temperature for a length of time that is programmed for each model and type of watch.  The glass is then cooled to generate a heat shock that will cause condensation to form on the inside of the inside of the crystal if there is any water inside the case.   Any watch repair company servicing and repairing Rolex watches has to have this machine.

 Basel watch fair starts this month so we will have lots of info on the latest models of watches from the big Swiss brands.

 

 March Watch News

 James Bond 007 50th Anniversary Collector’s Piece

To celebrate fifty years of James Bond films, Omega is releasing a special update of the popular Seamaster Diver 300m James Bond watch which has been worn by 007 in every adventure since GoldenEye.  The James Bond 007 50th Anniversary Collector’s Piece has been created in two sizes, 41 mm and 36.25 mm.

 Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic Ceramica

New at SIHH, PAM00441 is a 44mm auto-winding GMT in an attractive black ceramic case.  The display back is smoked sapphire, though the P.9001 caliber and rear-mounted power reserve display remain clearly visible.  Twin barrels provide 3 days of autonomy.  The second time zone is displayed via the pointer hand.  Water resistance is 100 meters.

 

February 2012 Blog

 January has ended and it was a very busy month.  Lots of watches finished that were awaiting parts from the manufacturers from over the Christmas period, so we had lots of happy customers receiving their watches back.  Now it's time to start on the watch repairs we booked in for repair in January.  A mixed verity of watches were booked in.   A lot of vintage Omega watches have come in and many are having the watch dial restored.  Two Heuer quartz watches came in for service, always good to see these old Heuer watches still in good working order.  Quite a few water damaged watches came in throughout January, so a lot of de-rusting and large parts orders are predicted for February.  The usual amount of Rolex watches and Tag Heuer watches have been booked in so we will be making our way through servicing and repairing these.

 

The new Rolex case construction tooling has arrived!

 

February Watch News

 Heights of Timekeeping 

 The Rolex HTE 42mm is inspired by the original Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer II and has a carefully chosen patina that recreates the vintage look and feel on the original and legendary Explorer model. Both Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing Norgay wore an Explorer II while climbing Everest in the 1990s, and in recognition "Sons of the Everest summiteers" will be engraved on the case back of these pieces.  The watch makes the Hillary Tenzing Edition trilogy complete, joining the HTE 36mm and HTE 39mm, each with their own theme engraved on the case back.  The watch comes with several custom-made items commemorating the 1953 Everest expedition such as unique silver mountaineering pin and a special HTE edition of the book Everest by the late George Band.   HTE buyers will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to join Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing Norgay on their trek to Everest Basecamp in May 2012, following in their father's footsteps.

 

 January 2012 Blog

 2011 had been a very interesting year.  We had some interesting watches in for service and repair.  In January/February we had around five Tag Heuer Monaco watches come in and they all needed the plexi glass replacing.  This was really unusual to have that many come in to have the glass replaced in just eight weeks.   We saw a large increase in Zenith watches come in for service, especially the El Primero models, these are always nice to work on.  Rolex repairs have been as busy as ever and we are always pleased to have in these in for service. 

We serviced a large amount of watches last year but a couple of watches stood out. 

We had a vintage Heuer Carrera chronograph in for repair, which had a worn damaged base plate.  We had to do various work on the base plate; like fitting new posts, turning collets, closing holes and re- jeweling as well as resetting all the chronograph mechanism which had been damaged.

 We had a vintage Zenith pocket watch in for service.  It was in good condition but we had to drill the barrel wall and fit and shape a new hook in the barrel wall to allow us to fit a new modern mainspring as the original one had broken.  It was a fiddly and a precise job, we had only one chance to get it right!

 In November we moved in to a bigger workshop in Wilmslow in Cheshire near Manchester.  This extra room enabled us to fit more tooling and equipment.   We now have a satin bead blasting chamber which enables us to put a satin finish back on to watch cases.  The original Tag Heuer F1 watches for example have a satin finish and we have already refinished a couple of cases and bracelets and the results are amazing.

 In December our head watchmaker attended the new Rolex case/glass construction course at Rolex in central London.  With the new Rolex case tooling and equipment which will arrive shortly.   This will allow us to service and repair the new Rolex models which came on to the market a few years ago.  As we are Rolex accredited we are always purchasing the latest tools and we are looking forward to having the new Rolex condensation and pressure testing equipment which will be arriving later this year.

 Prestige Time Services launched www.Clockworldonline.com which is an online store specialising in high quality clocks for the home.  Please take a look at our new site, we have huge range of traditional and contemporary clocks for sale.

 We are all looking forward to a having busy year and increasing our Tag Heuer and Rolex servicing and who knows what unusual and exciting watches we will see.

 

January Watch News

 Frontrunner 

 Breitling’s Colt has been re-designed in steel. It retains its solid construction and its water resistance to 300 or 500m.  The dials are adorned with new rounded numerals exclusively designed for this model, with rhythmical motifs and with a play on colours.  Available in three versions, including a chronograph and a ladies’ watch, the new Colt is equipped with Super Quartz™ movements that are chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), like all Breitling movements.

 

Ladies First 

 The case of the new Maurice Lacroix Fiaba is a gently curved rectangle and is available in three versions, black, silver-plated and mother-of-pearl.  The corners of the dial are emphasised by either baton indexes or diamond-studded markers, while two Roman numerals mark 12 and 6 o’clock.  The watch is available with either a triple-row metal bracelet or a crocodile-skin strap in white, black or brown.