Regulating a Patek Philippe Ellipse

[rosetwig]

I've just inherited a Patek Philippe Ellipse (bought in Zurich c.1967) and the only issue is that it runs about a minute/day slow. I took it to my local authorized Patek rep, Govberg (in Philadelphia) and they tried to sell me a complete overhaul for $1500, whereas all it needs (IMO) is a regulation. Can anyone suggest a alternate trusted source for this service that won't try to upsell me?

[zafbasha]

Do you happen to know what caliber movement it is, if not is it manual or automatic?

Pateks are tricky to regulate, esp. if the movement has a Gyromax balance.

[rosetwig]

It's a manual calibre (hand-wound). Is there a mark somewhere on the case or buckle that would identify the calibre more precisely?

More to the point, are there still trustworthy professionals out there who don't see people like me simply as opportunities to sell unwanted services in the name of "preserving a legacy"? I find it hard to swallow that when Patek built this watch 48 years ago, they really expected people to spend thousands of dollars on a regular basis for "maintenance".

Many thanks to the community for advice and recommendations.

[rosetwig]

More info on the watch -- the calibre is 23-300 PM, the ref. # is 3648, and the serial # is 2723332.

[zafbasha]

OK, I just took a look at the movement (photo attached) and sent a message to my watchmaker regarding regulation. If all of the regulation needs to be done via the Gyromax screws then it's tricky! You can see the screws on the balance and you will have to turn each one individually to get good results and make sure everything stays in balance. If there is a more generalized regulation (I see what appears to be an eccentric screw next to the balance staff jewel), then it's a simple task.

Let's see what my shop says and we can possibly do it for you inexepensively. Regarding a full service, on a watch like this, we typically charge half what you've been quoted, even less if it goes smoothly.

Zaf

[rosetwig]

Thanks, Zaf!

[zafbasha]

Watchmaker just replied: "That's a free sprung balance. The adjustments will have to be made on the balance itself."

So I'm afraid there is no really cheap way out of this. It would not be a bad idea to service it to be honest since you don't know when it was last done, assuming you can get a reasonable quote. It shouldn't be more than $200-250 over a normal watch.

[zafbasha]

Hi, just spoke to my watchmaker again, we can do a full service for $650 + return ship. We have to take a little more than our normal rate because the Gyromax balance is a pain in the ass! If interested you can go here:

http://www.classicwatch.com/vintage-watch-repair

For more info.

[rosetwig]

Thanks, Zaf. One question, does your operation have some kind of official relationship with Patek? Do they train your watchmakers? What's the situation if the servicing doesn't go well?

Thanks, and thanks for the price quote.

Laurance

[zafbasha]

No we're independent. That's why it's 1/3 the cost. Quality is the same, we've been doing this for 25 years.

If your watch is running it's really not a problem, the movement is fairly simple (other than the Gyromax part) which is just time consuming to set up, relative to conventional regulation.