Zodiac: The original crown on this 1990's ladies Zodiac quartz watch had 3 issues: the spring inside had gotten worn and weak and did not allow the owner to properly set the hands and quickset the date, the lower portion of the crown had split over the stem which made it wobbly, and the threads on the tube had gotten worn and the seal was questionable. We entirelyremoved the old tube, and installed a new tube and crown. The style and fit are very similar, and they now have a perfectly functioning crown with a solid seal to the case. Best of all, we have many of these in stock and if anything ever happens to this crown we can replace it (which is not the case with the original). Many watch manufacturers no longer have original crowns (Zodiac, Tag Heuer, Movado, and others) for older watches, and most repair people tell customers that it either cannot be fixed or they want to put an improper style of crown in its place that does not look correct or function properly.

Gruen: This 1960's Gruen 1500ft Precision uses the same Ervin Piquerez made case as the Zodiac Super Seawolf. This watch was purchased from the original owner, who said that the original crown had stopped functioning and he was no longer able to wind the watch. When he took it to his watchmaker for repair he was told that the only solution was to remove the old tube and just install a plain tube and non-screwdown crown. Once the watchmaker used a pair of pliers on the tube for a while in an effort to remove it he discovered what I had already learned from experience: the original tubes on these cases were welded in and are nearly impossible to get out. We have worked on quite a few of these cases and know how to properly replace the tubes. As you can see in the after pictures, the new tube is made in nearly the exact same style and the crown is identical to the one that originally went on this watch. The last picture shows the same watch after the total restoration has been completed, including: a full mechanical service, light case/bezel refinish, the case/tube replacement, and finished off with one of our new custom made crystals.