Independent watch repair workshop on the 9th floor of the Shreve Building in downtown San Francisco, servicing many brands on site and accepting watches by mail.
Waltham
Curated service providers experienced with Waltham.
Family-run mail-in watch repair service in Woodland Hills, California, offering free estimates and in-house repairs for a wide range of Swiss and Japanese brands.
Waltham
A new Swiss-made Waltham goes back to the brand under its warranty. A vintage American Waltham pocket watch or wristwatch is a job for an independent watchmaker, because the original Waltham, Massachusetts company went out of business in 1957.
Waltham factory service
Today's Waltham is Waltham Watch Company SA of Mendrisio, Switzerland. It gives its watches a 5-year international warranty against manufacturing defects from the date of purchase, excluding the strap, crystal and battery, and proof of purchase is required. Claims go to info@waltham.ch with your order number and a photo of the issue. Warranty repairs are done only by Waltham or its approved service centers, and the warranty page names no US service center. The brand's FAQ says it does not restore vintage Waltham pocket watches or watches and refers owners to vintage watch restorers. The original company's records from 1854 to 1941 are held at Harvard Business School's Baker Library.
Independent Waltham service
Waltham built its movements by machine from interchangeable parts, and parts for American pocket watches, Waltham included, are still readily available. Crystals, mainsprings and balance staffs are the parts most often needed; when no new or new old stock part exists, a donor movement may be required. Date the watch from the serial number stamped on the movement, never the case: both the NAWCC Waltham database and Pocket Watch Database work from the movement number. Grades such as Vanguard and Crescent Street were sold for railroad service, and each railroad set its own rules, such as lever setting and adjustment to 5 positions.
Before you ship, ask
- Will you identify the grade and date the movement from its serial number before quoting?
- If a mainspring, balance staff or other part is needed, will it be new, new old stock, or taken from a donor movement?
- For a railroad grade such as Vanguard, will the lever setting and position adjustment be checked and kept original?
- Will the work be done at your bench, or sent to another watchmaker?
Providers on this page were researched against our Standard at the time they were listed and are rechecked periodically. Details can change between checks, so confirm terms, pricing and turnaround directly with the provider before sending your watch.
Sources: Waltham warranty, Waltham FAQ, Waltham contact, Waltham history, Europa Star, Smithsonian NMAH, Pocket Watch Database parts, Pocket Watch Database lookup guide, NAWCC Waltham serial database, Pocket Watch Database Vanguard example, Waltham Model 1892 Crescent St, NAWCC Railroad Watch.