# 1951 Longines Restoration



## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

This was my father's watch which has been sat about in a state of disrepair for a good few years now. The crystal had long ago disappeared along with the Longines logo and a couple of batons. I spent ages looking for a new, similar dial that would fit but with no luck. It seems the Longines 22a movement wasn't very popular in it's day:

Here it is:










After my father died earlier this year, I thought I'd get it sorted out once and for all by a professional. After a few emails to a watchmaker who frequents another UK watch forum, he quite incredibly found an old 22a movement with dial which had apparently been sat in a drawer for 30 years.... A bit of mess though:



It took just 2 weeks from sending it off to receiving it again (and that included a service) and here it is today. I am stunned by how good the dial looks:





Chuffed to bits. Cheers Brendan!


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Stunning result!! Looks brilliant


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Fantastic result, well done mate :thumbup:


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

Beautiful! Great result. :thumbup:


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## PilotWatchLover (Sep 23, 2012)

Amazing! How DO they redo the dials like that?!


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## ryanm8655 (Jul 6, 2013)

That looks awesome, how much did the restoration cost roughly if you don't mind me asking?


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## marley (Dec 22, 2012)

That looks simply amazing! You must be well pleased to get it back to that condition!


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## Delroyb (Jul 17, 2013)

That is one heck of a transformation, nice one!


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## clockworkorange (Jan 9, 2012)

very nice indeed ,i would love to see them refurb the dial .


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## andyclient (Aug 1, 2009)

WOW absolutely stunning , you must be over the moon , and with such sentimental value to. Brilliant


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## lewjamben (Dec 4, 2007)

That looks fantastic. A new lease of life!

Enjoy.


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## Steve R (Sep 29, 2007)

That's extraordinary! Amazing job, very pleased for you. I have a watch branded Helvetia which belonged to my late grandfather and has a dial that looks spookily similar to yours both in terms of style (same small seconds, same markers etc.) and condition (the 'before' shots, sadly!). I've often thought about having the dial restored but always decided against as generally I find dial restorations to be very disappointing. If I could guarantee the same result as you have there I'd get it done tomorrow! Congrats


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## martinus_scriblerus (Sep 29, 2008)

That's a lovely watch and a good story. Don't let any of the "bigger is better" crowd rib you about the size.

Love 1950's Longines watches. I've had quite a number over the years. I don't have this watch anymore, but it is one of the more over the top designed from that era. Great movements in them. Very robust.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Steve R said:


> That's extraordinary! Amazing job, very pleased for you. I have a watch branded Helvetia which belonged to my late grandfather and has a dial that looks spookily similar to yours both in terms of style (same small seconds, same markers etc.) and condition (the 'before' shots, sadly!). I've often thought about having the dial restored but always decided against as generally I find dial restorations to be very disappointing. If I could guarantee the same result as you have there I'd get it done tomorrow! Congrats


Steve, I sent my watch to this particular guy after seeing his work restoring a vintage Omega on another forum. Here's before and after pics:



















The work carried out on mine actually looks far better than my rubbish photos show it to be - there's no marks etc on the batons. It basically looks brand new. If you want more details, send me a pm.


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## lenny2007 (Aug 5, 2013)

Can you message me his details please, I would love to see him tidy up my Tudor! He has done a fantastic job of yours, looks brilliant!


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## sharpie87 (Aug 5, 2013)

Excellent work


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## antony (Dec 28, 2007)

Nice job, I'm just restoring a 1937 longines at the moment, I will try to get the pictures posted so that every one can see the watch restored as I go along.

Not posted any pictures yet on ths site , it might take a while.

Tony..


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## Ryan P (Sep 20, 2011)

That's quite a stunning restoration, you must be well pleased.

Cheers

R


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