Vintage Rolex repair/ service SF Bay Area?

[S52]

Greetings,

Went to the safety deposit box today and checked on my Vintage Red Submariner which has been stored away for 5 years.

Tried to wind it up and unfortunately it seems like something mechanically is wrong with it. Winding the crown felt very stiff and the automatic rotor inside was spinning as the crown was spun.

Does anyone know of a good independent watch repair place that they would trust with a Vintage Red Sub? I'd prefer one local to me within 100 mile drive of the San Francisco Bay Area as I am a bit paranoid about shipping the watch out.

Thank you!

-Christian

[acesguerra]

Hey christen

U can take it to mike @ Rolliworks. They are the best. And local as In Campbell. They have service a handful of mine..

Thanks
Ace


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[coelacanthus]

Giovanni at Independent Watch Service Center (used to be Rolex service center) is your guy!

[S52]

Originally Posted by acesguerra

Hey christen

U can take it to mike @ Rolliworks. They are the best. And local as In Campbell. They have service a handful of mine..

Thanks
Ace


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Originally Posted by coelacanthus

Giovanni at Independent Watch Service Center (used to be Rolex service center) is your guy!

Awesome Gents! Thank you for the recommendations. They both seem to have excellent reviews... Will be a tough decision :D

[chocopeluche]

Originally Posted by coelacanthus

Giovanni at Independent Watch Service Center (used to be Rolex service center) is your guy!

+1, used many time with excellent service ! Rolliworks is great too but further away (San Jose)

[btinl]

Originally Posted by coelacanthus

Giovanni at Independent Watch Service Center (used to be Rolex service center) is your guy!

Yes, another vote for Giovanni. He has serviced several of my vintage pieces including my Mk2 red sub.

[Stan Cooper]

Originally Posted by coelacanthus

Giovanni at Independent Watch Service Center (used to be Rolex service center) is your guy!

I second Giovanni.

[Aceldama]

Another vouch for Giovanni.


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[BrazenC5]

I've had my red sub serviced at Rolliworks, along with my DRSD.



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[R.W.T.]

Giovanni. This is the problem of storing watches and not wearing them. 5 years is too long. Don't wind it by hand you will sheer the teeth off of the crown wheel if the rotor is spinning. You have a sticking reversing wheel.

[JellyBelly]

Giovanni had just serviced my GMT Master Pepsi, 1675. He is very professional!!!

I vote for Gio👍👍👍

[bob78h]

Rolliworks serviced my 1675 and did a good job. Only been to Giovanni for minor work but he is also well recommended (used to be an independent RSC).

[S52]

Update:

Just got back from dropping my Red Sub off at Giovannis in SF. Went with him mostly cause its much closer to where I live.

He was very helpful and friendly. Opened up the watch in front of me and showed me what he was going to be doing. He said its definitely "dried" up and needs a cleaning and lube job. Will also replace a screw that was broken which was allowing the movement to wiggle in the case and make the manual winding bind up. Also discovered a rivet on the bracelet that is close to breaking so that will be replaced as well.

Will be ready for pickup in 6-8 weeks! I'll update again once I get it.

Thanks again for the suggestions fellas!

[coelacanthus]

Good choice, S52.

If you are a local and the watch is running OK (i.e. using the watch wouldn't harm the movement), you could get on his service queue, wait and wear the watch till it's your turn. They'll call you and you can drop it off then. This will drastically reduce the "down time" but remember this is only possible if 1) watch is running OK and 2) you are local and can drop off quick as soon as they call otherwise you'll be messing up their queue.

I just got my 14060 back Giovanni today. The watch was never serviced, unpolished, and has a huge sentimental value (my father's watch). He did exactly what I requested: OH, all sealing change, no polish, pressure test to the spec and return all parts back. Try that with an RSC...

I'll be diving with mine this weekend. :) I hope you'll get your watch back in tip-top shape soon.

[S52]

Update 2:

Just got home from picking up my 1680 at Giovanni's. Very pleased. Runs great once again.

Thank you for the earlier suggestions.

[mrarchiegoodwin]

Excellent result! Glad you are pleased. Cool that it's a red sub.

I too am a Giovanni fan. He knew to put (not sure how) a lighter grade of oil in my sluggish SD43 and it was an instant fix. He didn't even want to charge me, but I insisted. I have three old Subs that have not been touched in several years. Wondering if I should bring them to Giovanni on a rotation basis even though they are never worn. Wondering it that goes for all my other watches. Dried out? That's daunting.

[S52]

Originally Posted by mrarchiegoodwin

Excellent result! Glad you are pleased. Cool that it's a red sub.

I too am a Giovanni fan. He knew to put (not sure how) a lighter grade of oil in my sluggish SD43 and it was an instant fix. He didn't even want to charge me, but I insisted. I have three old Subs that have not been touched in several years. Wondering if I should bring them to Giovanni on a rotation basis even though they are never worn. Wondering it that goes for all my other watches. Dried out? That's daunting.

He did a great job getting my Red Sub back to life. It has spent the past 5 years in a bank safety deposit box and when I pulled it out a couple of months ago it was not running at all-

He said the lubrication had dried out and gotten gummy and advised me to run it every so often versus letting it sit un used for such long periods of time.

This is my second watch I've had him work on and would not hesitate to take another one in whether vintage or modern. He is my go to guy now for sure.

[hnl-kiki]

Will a watch winder help?