Patek - Laser Welding?

[WatchEater666]

Anyone know if Patek does laser welding like Lange does now?

[Ichiran]

Weld what?

[yoast]

I have heard that they do, when a case is fubar

[Rushne]

I have heard they do but it depends on the service centre and if they have the equipment. Lange is apparently amazing at their refurbs and the watches leave looking exactly like new, no rounding from polishing or any nonsense like that.

[jfriedkin]

Yes.

[mbalmz]

Originally Posted by jfriedkin

Yes.

do you have any detail on this? I’ve got a relatively new (~1 year old) patek that I sadly dropped. movement working fine but there’s one really annoying little chip on the case. not crazy but too deep to polish down and it’s driving me crazy.

was told by HSWA in nyc that they don’t do laser welding (though granted this was just a phone call and they didn’t see the watch).

[jfriedkin]

Deep scratches or gouges can be laser-filled. I have had several vintage pieces in for service/restoration and they come back perfect.

[WatchEater666]

Originally Posted by Rushne

I have heard they do but it depends on the service centre and if they have the equipment. Lange is apparently amazing at their refurbs and the watches leave looking exactly like new, no rounding from polishing or any nonsense like that.

Interesting. I’m in Canada and assume that gets routed to the US. Do you know if they offer it stateside?

[BarnabyP416]

They do, but will refuse to do often.
I inherited a white gold aquanaut that had several large dents garnered over 7 years of my mother’s ownership. She wore it daily, including while gardening! Left it to me when she died. It was well loved (beat up)
Took it to Patek Boutique in London - who sent to Geneva for refurbishment.
London can service and light polish, but this piece needed more.
Geneva laser injected white gold in several places and it came back 4 months later looking brand new.
I’ve dailied it since ~ and it shows! No dings but some pretty big marks. I enquired about another polish 2 years later and they said no! They will do it again over the watches lifetime ~ just not necessarily over the current owners lifetime.
I respect that.

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by BarnabyP416

They do, but will refuse to do often.
I inherited a white gold aquanaut that had several large dents garnered over 7 years of my mother’s ownership. She wore it daily, including while gardening! Left it to me when she died. It was well loved (beat up)
Took it to Patek Boutique in London - who sent to Geneva for refurbishment.
London can service and light polish, but this piece needed more.
Geneva laser injected white gold in several places and it came back 4 months later looking brand new.
I’ve dailied it since ~ and it shows! No dings but some pretty big marks. I enquired about another polish 2 years later and they said no! They will do it again over the watches lifetime ~ just not necessarily over the current owners lifetime.
I respect that.

I think it also relates to Patek wanting to it at service and their maximum polish limit which you can reach too quickly, if done every couple of years.