The Breitling Watch Source Forums

It is probably not a secret that I am not a fan of restoring watches. Normally I feel that watches should show their life and history through their patina and wear.

But sometimes a watch has just been maimed and mangled beyond wearable , or mistreated / neglected to a point that you have to make a decision , let a capable watchmaker restore it or keep it as it is and find little joy in wearing or owning the watch

In this case I asked for a 'gentle restoration ' as I didnt see myself wearing the watch as it was and as work had already been done to it I saw little harm in trying to have it corrected by a capable watchmaker , i also asked to please not fill the tubes of the hands and even said that if repainting the hands was not possible without filling the middle tubes please not repaint the hands, this kinda shows you how much i dislike badly repainted hands !

Here are some before and after shots , I think it turned out fantastic and I dont see how it could have been done better without original replacement parts available










After

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

Lovely job Dracha, what are the hands filled in with? they look great

I really dont know , and I doubt the rejuvenation Master will share all his secrets

But he has suggested that he will post a 'how hands are refilled' step by step tutorial , so next time I can do it myself (not)

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

excellent, truly excellent. Craig is a master.

Nice job! Because the rest of the watch is so nice I think I would have repainted the numbers on the bezel too though.

I like that suggestion Paul, dont you think the watch will look too new ?

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

Not really if you don't use a gloss paint. I had my Jardur chrono's bezel numbers redone and it really gave it a little lift I thought.

Spectacular - wonderful piece and wonderful job.

I'm not a big fan of restore but this is something I could get behind.
Wonderful restore and perfection.

I agree on the bezel front. Beautiful watch Rene.

I could wear this all the time, it's lovely !!!

Graham

Beautiful Another great job by Craig!!!

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"A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure."

Paul, thanks for the suggestion
It does look better and more "finished"

Master rejuvenator , thank you for being very patient and understanding

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

Makes all the difference to me.

Rene gave me the OK to post a story on painting and luming these hands before I got started. This set was one of the more complicated ones to redo but turned out rather nice. I will try to get the story posted with pics by the end of tomorrow. Craig

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S. Craig Bergsma