Watch Repair - Old clockwork watch

[hammered]

I hope this is the best forum for this subject.

 

I have an old Rodana watch that was my fathers, so it has emotional value. It is over 80 years old. Right now it needs to be refurbished - not working and the band and crystal could do with a change too. I spoke with Rodania in Switzerland and they advised me to find a quality local shop as there are no longer parts made and nobody could guarantee what would be expensive work. So I wonder if anyone has experience of something similar or could recommend someone. I am not too bothered where in Thailand although Central Thailand is most convenient. I am also not looking for the cheapest, but for good workmanship. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[CharlieH]

Whilst I appreciate you are not bothered where, I think the Bangkok forum may produce better response.

 

MOVED

[Liverpool Lou]

23 minutes ago, hammered said:

I am not too bothered where in Thailand although Central Thailand is most convenient.

Do you mean central Thailand or "Central" (the department store), Thailand?  Central, Bangkok, has a watch repair service on the same floor as their watch department.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[xylophone]

I know this is a little out of your way, however courier post is always an option, and if you were able to contact the guy, then you could get a better idea as to whether he could fix it or not.

 

I have an old (40 years plus) Eterna watch which had stopped working and nobody here in Phuket could fix it, until I was given the name of a watch repairer in Phuket town by a friend of mine who had his Rolex repaired and completely rebuilt by this guy, who seems to be a bit of a whizz.

 

So I took my watch along and sure enough, within a week he had it fixed and I was pleased and amazed, so here are his details, and good luck: –

 

Ratsada Optical. Email address is:  [email protected]   or telephone: 076 218292 or 089 7488060

All the best.

[007 RED]

I have a Rolex Air King which was given to me by my father for my 21st birthday which was some 55 years ago.  The watch has been a permanent feature on my left wrist since my father gave it to me.  The only time it is taken off is when I take it for service, I intend to do some heavy work in the house/garden involving hammering or I needed an operation. 

 

Whilst I was living in the UK, I would have it periodically serviced by a Rolex approved agent.  So when I moved to Thailand I decided to have it serviced by the Rolex service center in Bangkok.  It cost me 35K THB and came with the standard Rolex 2 year warranty. 

 

Unfortunately after a year (almost to the day) the watch stopped for no apparent reason, so I took it back to the service center who agreed to service it again at no cost.  Blow me down a few days after the original service warranty expired the watch stopped working again, but this time the service center advised that the warranty was out of time and I would have to pay to have it serviced.

 

After some research on the internet, I discovered a company called Expert Watch based in Bangkok.  They have several small shops located in various shopping large malls and their main base which undertakes the repairs is is in Ladprao.

 

I took my Rolex to the shop based in the basement of Central World in Bangkok and asked them to give me quote for the repair/service.  A week later they contacted me and advised what the fault was (sorry I can't remember the exact details now) and that the repair/service cost would be 15K THB.  They guarantee their work for 1 year.

 

The repair/service took about 3 weeks and I collected my watch from the shop in the basement of Central World.  That was 3 years plus ago and the watch has been keeping perfect time - loosing only a few second per month, which is well withing the Rolex spec.

 

I would have no hesitation in using them again, or recommending them.  Their website link is https://www.expert-watch.com/  Obviously I would phone them first to inquire if they can deal with your watch.  FYI... the guy at the Central World branch speaks good English his mobile number is on the contact page.

[hammered]

53 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Do you mean central Thailand or "Central" (the department store), Thailand?  Central, Bangkok, has a watch repair service on the same floor as their watch department.

I do not mean Central Group but Central Thailand the location is more convenient. Thanks for the reply

[SuperSilverHaze]

Take it to the guy in Fortune Town, 3rd fl. He replaced a band on my 72 Omega Seamaster. For Thai watchmaker looks legit and can vouch been there forever. Not had work done there /yet

[SuperSilverHaze]

On 2/12/2023 at 1:54 PM, 007 RED said:

I have a Rolex Air King which was given to me by my father for my 21st birthday which was some 55 years ago.  The watch has been a permanent feature on my left wrist since my father gave it to me.  The only time it is taken off is when I take it for service, I intend to do some heavy work in the house/garden involving hammering or I needed an operation. 

 

Whilst I was living in the UK, I would have it periodically serviced by a Rolex approved agent.  So when I moved to Thailand I decided to have it serviced by the Rolex service center in Bangkok.  It cost me 35K THB and came with the standard Rolex 2 year warranty. 

 

Unfortunately after a year (almost to the day) the watch stopped for no apparent reason, so I took it back to the service center who agreed to service it again at no cost.  Blow me down a few days after the original service warranty expired the watch stopped working again, but this time the service center advised that the warranty was out of time and I would have to pay to have it serviced.

 

After some research on the internet, I discovered a company called Expert Watch based in Bangkok.  They have several small shops located in various shopping large malls and their main base which undertakes the repairs is is in Ladprao.

 

I took my Rolex to the shop based in the basement of Central World in Bangkok and asked them to give me quote for the repair/service.  A week later they contacted me and advised what the fault was (sorry I can't remember the exact details now) and that the repair/service cost would be 15K THB.  They guarantee their work for 1 year.

 

The repair/service took about 3 weeks and I collected my watch from the shop in the basement of Central World.  That was 3 years plus ago and the watch has been keeping perfect time - loosing only a few second per month, which is well withing the Rolex spec.

 

I would have no hesitation in using them again, or recommending them.  Their website link is https://www.expert-watch.com/  Obviously I would phone them first to inquire if they can deal with your watch.  FYI... the guy at the Central World branch speaks good English his mobile number is on the contact page.

I believe this is a kiosk in a basement. I think I went there to try and get my Omega overhauled inexpensively. They wanted 8k and two months. 2 months is normal for working on a watch I just didn't want to leave it there for that. I ended up taking it to Swatch and having a full overhaul done.

 

But I needed a strap and looked everywhere and that guy in Fortune town was the only place that had proper straps for proper prices. He had a few older Swiss watches lying about and he looked like he was quite an experienced watchmaker. Established.

Edited February 18, 2023 by SuperSilverHaze