A hook for a fusee chain
An unusually small lever fusee watch came to me missing its fusee hook. This shows the new hook filed from a piece of blued steel. There is a beard hair for scale in the photo (a dime is way too big.)
More photos inside!
The Time Guy
Professional restoration and maintenance for your vintage timepieces
About Me
I'm Chris Radek. I live in Lincoln, NE, USA. I've loved watches since I was a kid.
I have been a member of the
National Association of Watch and Clock
Collectors (NAWCC) since 1991. They are a terrific
organization, and I especially recommend their message boards for meeting and collaborating with other watch collectors
and repair people.
I have been repairing
watches professionally since 1998. I am a member of the American Watchmakers/Clockmakers
Institute (AWCI) and I mark all work with pride using
the case mark assigned to me by them. This gives you protections you can
read about here.
Recent Work
A Seiko ship's chronometer
This is the old broken staff, and the new replacement I made, for the flywheel in a Seiko QC-951. This is a very early and high quality Quartz clock.
More photos inside!
Slava coils rewound
The Slava Transistor, the Russian clone of the Accutron 214, is almost never found with good coils.
I rewound two sets for a fellow repairer. One required both sides and the other required just one. One also had a bad transistor, which I replaced.
Rewinding a JLC Master Quartz stepper motor
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Quartz is the most famous watch that used the Girard Perregaux 350 series of movements, a neat and very early Quartz.
This one came to me with a parts movement, but sadly both stepper motors had failed with open windings. So I'll rewind one of them.
More photos inside!
A dirty Beta21 indexing mechanism
Is it any wonder this Beta21 wasn't keeping time? This is before and after cleaning.
Repairing a Girard-Perregaux 350 stepper motor
The GP 350 has teflon bearings instead of traditional hard watch jewels.
Making a new Slava index wheel
Someone had broken off this Slava's pawl jewel, and then tried to make it run without. They destroyed the index wheel, so we'll have to improvise a new one.
More photos inside!
Tian Jin Dian Zi Biao
This is a rare clone of the Accutron 214 that was made in China. I restored this one to running condition.
More photos inside!
What I do
I can restore, repair, and maintain your vintage watches, whether you have one
watch passed down through your family, or a whole collection.
I enjoy working on the quality American pocket watches of the railroad era, vintage mechanical wristwatches, chronograph wrist and pocket watches, anything that winds, ticks, or hums.
I can do everything from the periodic maintenance that vintage watches require to extensive mechanical and cosmetic restorations.
I have a large stock of parts, and if I don't have what your watch needs I have access to a wide array of suppliers. Failing that, I can make many kinds of parts to custom fit your watch.
I specialize in Accutron tuning fork watches, and have developed skills and machinery to do important sustaining repairs to them, including replacing the broken wire on the coils that drive the tuning fork (rewinding). This had been a problem for many years, as more of these original coils failed, but now they can keep running for the years to come.
Estimates, Prices, Shipping
First of all, please contact me and read this page with shipping information before mailing your watch.
For each watch you send, please pay a deposit of $50 (either by paypal, using this button, or by sending a check made out to Chris Radek with the watch.) This covers my time to partially disassemble and examine the watch, and if parts or work beyond what is covered in the basic service cost are needed, to make a detailed estimate. Taking the time in this situation to do a detailed estimate protects both of us, and is required by the NAWCC Code of Ethics:Please note: I have temporarily stopped taking new work because my backlog has grown unreasonably long. You may still use this Paypal button to pay an invoice, but please don't send a deposit for new work right now.
If you have already sent your watch or paid a deposit, don't worry, I am working through everything in order. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
When entrusted to repair horological items, members shall make a good faith effort to notify the owner of all work to be performed or parts requiring repair or replacement prior to starting work on the item.
If your watch needs any work above and beyond what is included in basic service (prices below), I will take microscopic photos of any trouble
areas. I will annotate each photo,
describing the current condition, and any parts and work necessary to put the
situation right. I will email you a PDF containing this full estimate.
If you accept, the final invoice will describe the work done, and the total will normally be the estimate cost, plus return shipping and whatever insurance you'd like, minus deposit.
If you decline, I will reassemble, pack, and send back your watch Priority Mail, and the estimate is yours to keep. Your deposit does not cover insurance for return shipping; if you would like to pay the extra for insurance in this situation, let me know.
Many of my customers are very well informed collectors, with extensive and
detailed knowledge about the watches they have, and a keen interest in their
condition and workings. I fully respect this and I will always
communicate frankly with you about your watch, what I am doing to it, and why.
I want to team up with you to help you have the best and most useful collection possible.
Cost for basic service of undamaged watches starts at $175, not including return shipping and insurance:
| Watch Type | Basic Service Cost |
|---|---|
| Accutron, any but dual time zone | $175 |
| Accutron, dual time zone (Astronaut, RR Mk4 etc) | $200 |
| Accutron, 214 ship's chronometer (3 movements) | $480 |
| ESA 9162, 9164 | $190 |
| Beta 21 | $225 |
| Longines Ultra-Quartz 6512 | $330 |
| Manual wind, time only (most pocket watches) | $190 |
| Manual wind, time and date | $205 |
| Automatic wind, time only | $210 |
| Automatic wind, time and date | $220 |
| Chronograph, manual wind, without 12h recorder | $290 |
| Chronograph, manual wind, with 12h recorder | $340 |
| Chronograph, more complicated | $375 |
| Repeaters, Fusees | By estimate only |