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- Feb 11, 2007
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Nice. Looking forward to some before and after pics. Just throw away those polishing pads before it areives
Do you feel a little disappointed that Patek as a brand wouldn’t undertake the restoration in the end? You own four Patek watches now I think. And Patek claims to be able to restore any watch ever made. But they wouldn’t do what this California outfit did. Just curious about the end result of the roller coaster ride you’ve been through in get it back to factory.
Speaking of the thinness of the Aquanaut, have you tried the Octo Finissimo? I agree about the thinness of the Aquanaut. Although I far prefer the 5065. Nice kop though.
I’m not really disappointed, per se.
Patek can and will restore any watch they’ve made, but there are differing standards for what is considered a proper restoration. Rebuilding softened edges with laser welding and re-cutting them to original profile is simply not considered appropriate restorative work by Patek—and many others, including collectors, agree. This seems to reflect the notion that doing so is akin to “faking” a watch’s history and condition. I’m not saying I agree with that perspective, but the point is that a lot of people commonly share it.
Also, there is perhaps more risk in this kind of work than Patek considers acceptable. The specialist flat-out told me that there was some small, but real, chance he might irreparably ruin my case: the welding might damage adjacent areas, the diamond cutting might go into the lugs, the welded gold might be porous and require repeated re-welding that weakens structural integrity, etc. The risk was great enough that he would not start the job until back-channeling with connections at Patek to secure availability of a replacement case should the worst come to fruition.
Anyway, I don’t really blame Patek for not wanting to restore my watch the exact way I wanted it restored. I respect the philosophical disagreement on the matter, particularly since we are ultimately talking about immaterial and completely superficial damage. The important thing to me is that they will always keep my watch running and guarantee that they can restore it back to an extremely high standard. Most high-end watch companies cannot even guarantee parts availability after 10 years and don’t have the ability to fabricate replacements. That is not a worry with Patek.
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