Complete Overhaul

Gehan & Dorety Watchmaking provides superior service and maintenance for high end timepieces.

A full service means that the watch is completely disassembled; each part is examined for damage and its functionality is assessed. The parts are cleaned in a special multi-step process to remove any old lubricants or contaminants. The watch is then reassembled, lubricated, and adjusted before being subjected to stringent timing analyses and water resistance tests. Before returning to the customer, timepieces are regulated and observed to ensure that each piece is operating at its full potential.

A huge component of quality watch service is not taking shortcuts with procedure or replacement of worn / broken parts. This is a stance we take extremely seriously, and one that constitutes a line of separation between us and many cheaper, less thorough competitors' services.

Cases are refinished according to original finish or manufacturers standards.

Restoration

Special watches, especially older ones, may be taken in for restoration. This is a more involved service that may include repairing worn or damaged parts, or making new components entirely from scratch. We can also polish and resurface components to replicate original factory finishes that may have become scratched or marred throughout the life of the timepiece. This type of work is of special interest to us and accepted on a case by case basis.

Quick Services

We also change batteries, replace crystals, and adjust bracelet lengths. Cases and bracelets can also be refinished without a complete overhaul, without any warranty on water resistance or mechanical function.

Getting Your Timepiece To Us

Our shop doors here in Sandy Hook, Connecticut are always open if you wish to drop off your timepiece or take a workshop tour. If you are not local to Connecticut, please contact us for instructions on how to ship to us. We have several clients that regularly send us work from all over the country.

Jack was recently interviewed by @afarmelo for the @robbreport about his holy grail watch as well as his everyday timepiece. It’s a great honor to be mentioned as one of the top 5 watch repair and restoration facilities on the east coast alongside the incredible @wempe_us @rgmwatches @prosway @grandcentralwatch @betteridge1897 . . . . . #robbreport #watchrepair #vintagewatches #watchrestoration #patekphilippe #omegaseamaster #grailwatch #uhrmacher #orologio #horlogerie #hautehorlogerie

Follow up to previous post showing completed crown and tube repair for a vintage Rolex bubbleback. . . . . . #watchmaking #uhrmacher #orologio #watchrepair #vintagewatch #rolex #bubbleback #uilleannpipes #watchrestoration #vintagerolex #sietchtabr

Getting ready for a Rolex bubbleback crown and case tube repair. The threaded brass plug was single point cut on a lathe with an uncommonly fine .3 metric thread pitch. It threads in nicely, and the next step will be to make a new stainless steel tube. Arcane black magjics will be employed to repair the crown itself. . . . . . #rolexrepair #rolex #rolexbubbleback #bubbleback #casetube #vintagewatch #whatsonmybench #horlogerie #orologio #uhrmacher #coronaborealis #fletchingarrows

Swipe 👉🏻 to see this weeks group of vintage Omega professionals after service! #vintageomega #vintagechronograph #flightmaster #ploprof #speedmaster #speedypro #watchmaker #watchmaking #uhrmacher #horloger

Here is a short video demonstrating an instantaneous jumping minute counter on a chronograph pocket watch movement restored by Jack. Instantaneous mechanisms are extremely delicate and require very subtle adjustments to several different spring tensions so as to not stop the watch or drag the amplitude way down. This is not a necessary complication, but rather a display of craftsmanship and panache on the part of the watchmaker - all so that the minute register hand will snap crisply from one index to another each minute the chronograph mechanism is running. . . . . #watchmaking #watchrestoration #pocketwatch #longineschronograph #horlogerie #orologi #uhrmacher #watchmaker #chronograph #vintagechronograph

Sound up! Patek Philippe Minute Repeating Chronograph in for restoration. The first step was to make a custom movement holder with reliefs to accommodate the stem, movement locating pin, and slide for the repeater. We decided to make our first foray into 3d printing and drafted the holder before having it printed by @enza_3d . More to come on this one. . . . . . . #watchrestoration #patekphilippe #minuterepeater #patekminuterepeater #orologi #horlogerie #watchmaker #uhrmacher #automata

A new cannon pinion in progress for an 18th century verge fusee pocket watch. The minute hand frictions onto and is indexed by the square milled at the top, and is long enough to accommodate a square key required to set the time. Harkens back to an age when a little more dexterity and finesse was required of the user when setting their watch...💪🏻 You can see the heavily worn square on the original cannon pinion in the 3rd photo. . . . . . #watchmaking #watchrestoration #armbanduhren #horlogerie #orologio #milling #micromachines #micromachining

Before and after of the aesthetic restoration of the steel components on this Ulysse Nardin caliber 9 chronometer. @chudsea #watchmaking #ulyssenardin #hautehorlogerie #blackpolishing

Turned a balance staff by hand in one clamping operation. The overall length was 4.74 millimeters before the pivots were finished with the jacot tool. . . . . #watchrestoration #pocketwatch #watchmaking #newyorkstandard #watchmakerslathe

1970 root beer 1675 “Clint Eastwood” GMT next up for service, in perfectly original, unpolished condition. . . . #watchmaking #vintagerolex #rolexgmt #1675gmt #clinteastwood #gmtmaster #uhrmacher #orologio #horlogerie

A very special, all original 'Nina Rindt' Universal Geneve Compax chronograph ready for service. This reference was made famous from the model Nina Rindt sporting it through the 60's and 70's. . . . . #watchmaking #watchrestoration #universalgeneve #universalgenevecompax #ninarindt #ninarindtwatch #orologio #uhrmacher #horlogerie

Rolex 4030, their take on the Zenith 3019PHC 'El Primero' movement. Rolex stepped down the frequency to 28,800 vibrations per hour, added a free-sprung overcoiled hairspring, removed the date, improved the automatic winding mechanism, and stepped up the movement finishing. They stopped using this movement in the early 2000s. After overhaul. . . . #rolex #rolexdaytona #chronograph #mechanicalwatch #watchmaking #watchrepair #johndoyle #elprimero #zenithwatches #zenithelprimero

Handmade replacement pushers for a vintage chronograph before being sent out for electroplating. Extremely worn originals on the bottom right. . . . . #watchmaking #vintagechronograph #horlogerie #valjoux #uhrmacher #orologio #vintagewatch

Not all Valjoux 72's are created equal! Rolex leads the pack with mobile hairspring stud, shock protection, Breguet overcoil and finely finished and beveled steel components. #rolex#rolexdaytona#valjoux72#vintagechronograph#watchmaker#watchmaking#horlogerie#uhrmacher

Up next to service: Rolex 6239 Cosmograph Daytona. In very honest and original condition with beautifully intact silver printing on dial. #rolex#rolexdaytona#vintagedaytona#vintagechronograph#valjoux72#watchmaking#watchmaker#horlogerie#uhrmacher

Longines 13zn in for service! #watchmaking #longines #13zn #longines13zn #vintagechronograph #watchmaker #uhrmacher #orologio #horlogerie

New wheel and pinion cutting setup straight from Cowells Machines in Essex, England. Also, new .01 mm increment leadscrews with resettable hand dials for the cross slide and $$Boss$$ motor for the milling spindle! #cowells #gearcutting #watchmaker #watchmaking #watchrestoration #horlogerie #micromachines #micromechanics

Leitz KB 150 making chips. #leitzwetzlar #leitz #leica #watchrestoration #vintagewatch #watchmaking #watchmaker

Dissolving shellac off of a pallet fork in boiling denatured alcohol over a hot plate. Shellac is a natural secretion of the lac beetle. Very brittle and hard when cool, but viscous when heated, it is traditionally used as a sort of glue in certain horological applications. #watchmaking #watchmaker #watchrestoration #vintagewatch #bergeon #shellac #orologi #horlogerie #uhrmacher

Bulova Accutron 214. These movements use a vibrating tuning fork as a regulator, as opposed to a vibrating quartz crystal or a traditional balance wheel. #bulova #bulovawatch #accutron #bulovaaccutron #spaceview #tuningfork #vintagewatch #drone @borisdronevil