What kind of interest is there in a Ziggy substitute.

[ravishingrick]

What about Vaccum? Is he still offering services on other rep fora?

[Sir-Lancelot]

Everyone is unique individual. You cant substitute people.

Well put.

[archibald]

We need a new smith five times over. I'm assuming the guy you're going to ask is a watchsmith you've used who owns or works for a bricvk and mortar shop. He should be aware that a lot of things he's not accustomed to are going to happen:

1) He's going to get a lot of demands, half of them impossible, from a lot of anal retentive, OCD freaks like me. This is not changing a few batteries and cleaning nicely QC'd gen movements for non-WIS's. The easiest going RWGer might just be worse than the most demanding customer he's had so far. Is the extra income worth the headaches?

2)he's going to be baptized by fire by his new customer base: his work is going to be put up to public scrutiny. Few of his triumphs will be posted. All of his mistakes will. Some of the criticism will be out of context, exaggerated, or unfair. If he's going to become a member here is he tempermentally prepared for that?

3)He's taking a professional risk. Sooner a later a [censored] off customer is going to contact whatever companies/organizations a brick and mortar watchsmith might deal with/be a member of--maybe because he scratched a $30 rep dial. Is that risk worth the money?

How do I knoiw this? Well, all I'll say publicly is I carefully and quietly reccommended and privately offered the services of my smith to less than 10 RWGers & I wound up having to promise never to give out his name again in order for him to keep working on my reps. .

[cornerstone]

There is no substitute for Ziggy. However having another trusted watchsmith would be a good thing. Ziggy is one of very few people in the world who are a combination of skilled and caring watchsmith, true artist and honest. And yes, I believe there is no one who is better qualified for the wide variety of services which folks here are looking for. He is the only person I have come upon who I trust to work on very valuable gen vintage pieces never mind the reps. He is a wonderful friend and does all of my work. But Ziggy cannot do it all for everyone and acknowledges it.

Needless to say, the toughest part is finding someone who is really skilled at a wide variety of services or only does what he is good at. I have no problem with someone who is good at movement repair or overhaul only, knows it and only offers those services. I also respect the artisan who is good at aesthetically modding a watch - but the person doing the work has to be able to assemble or disassemble the watch as well. That way people know they are getting good work done.

Most traditional watchsmiths who are very competent with movements have little interest in aesthetics like lume or case mods. Lume and dial work is usually a freestanding skill. Further many watchsmiths are not willing to work with many of the movements that come in reps. So I would start with the question of work he has done for you in the past. What has he done? Have you been happy, etc. On pricing, Ziggy is more than fair and his prices are readily available so you might compare them to what the watchsmith normally charges.

No one is looking for a substitute for Ziggy as there isn't one. But there certainly is room for another valued watchsmith. What I don't want to see is a lot of folks rushing in until there is a broader comfort with any provider here. Historically, most people offering watch work here have either been incompetent or self-destructed. That doesn't mean that someone else can't be successful. But you would need to proceed slowly.

And lastly, I think would change the title. There is no substitute for Ziggy.

Couldn't have said it better. My thoughts exactly

These guys have modded more of their watches than most of us have had hot dinners, so I think it pays to listen to them!

The answer to the riddle is not to look for a person that can both service and mod a watch, forget that. Let's work to find people that are at least good at one of them, let alone two.

For the ETA movements - that's the easy bit. If it's an asian 7750, less easy.

On the modding side, time for folk to practice. Just don't go charging other people for blowing dust off the dial until you have a proven track record of knowing what you're doing!! (Hint: Deep breath!)

Ziggy is doing us a massive favour in the long run; he can't be everybody's hero - it's time for other folk to step up to the challenge (and the scrutiny that comes with it).

[Nanuq]

The aspect of CONUS service is important too... I once sent a vintage piece to Zig and waited ... and waited ... and waited for it to arrive. You guys think it's stressful waiting for TTK to send a rep? That's nothing. This was a vintage Sub and it had disappeared into the morasse of the postal service.

Anyway, WEEKS later the package came back from Customs, opened, with a note describing how they're unable to pass replica watches. I was out the money I had spent for maximum insurance, expedited delivery, special handling, warm towels, a cabin on the weather deck, roadside assistance, OnStar coverage, and Geico's miserable little lizard's retirement package. Plus I'd lost my slot in Zig's schedule. That's what really hurt.

So long story short, CONUS watch repairmen would be great... if they have the mad skillz.

[Guest avitt]

The answer to the riddle is not to look for a person that can both service and mod a watch, forget that. Let's work to find people that are at least good at one of them, let alone two.

Totally agree with this...Can't expect to find someone who can do it all out of the box (even The Zigmeister's skills have evolved over the past few years, in response to the services demanded by the forum).

So part of the qualification process should be identifying what type of work the individual is willing to do. Ask your guy if he does full movement servicing on ETA, on Asian, chronographs, case work, luming, dial and hand work, parts sourcing, water resistance testing, etc.

Most of these skills should be in the arsenal of any longtime and competent watchmaker...But you can't assume that they'll do everything, so it would be helpful to ask.

[FasTTaP]

A Eu watchsmith would also be cool

[surpur]

A Eu watchsmith would also be cool

Could only be a hobby watchsmith - with the strict controls of members of the watch guild nobody in their right mind would risk losing their business fixing reps.

A friend of mine has a small custom made jewelry store in Germany, no watches at all and he said how recently more and more people come in and ask if he can shorten a bracelet on their Rolex or Omega. When he asks why they don't go to a Watch Store they just shrug and smile..

He says 'ah its that kind of watch' and he is helping them and puts a piggy bank there for a donation to his kids. That is one way of dealing with it.

Recently he even made a screw in pin for a Rolex rep bracelet that the guy lost from scratch. That took him several hours and he got a generous 5 Euro donation. People just don't know how long stuff like that takes and don't want to pay. I mean really - it s cheaper to buy another rep in most cases.