Full Service
Complete disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection of every pivot and jewel, fresh lubricants in nine grades, new mainspring where the old one has set, and regulation in five positions on the timegrapher.
Est. 1952 · Jewelers Row · Chicago
Three generations at the same bench, twelve floors above Wabash Avenue. We service and restore mechanical watches only: no batteries, no shortcuts, no part returned to a case until it has earned its place. A watch keeps time the way it was assembled. We assemble slowly.
Anatomy Lesson · Cal. H-52
This is our house teaching movement, drawn from the bench. Assembled, it hums along at a gentle amble. Pull it apart and each layer explains itself. Select any part, by click or by keyboard, and read what it does for a living.
What We Do
Every watch is examined under the loupe first and estimated in writing. Prices below are starting points for time-only movements; complications, condition, and parts availability are quoted per piece.
Complete disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection of every pivot and jewel, fresh lubricants in nine grades, new mainspring where the old one has set, and regulation in five positions on the timegrapher.
For watches that have earned their scars. Movement rebuilt with period-correct parts where they exist and hand-made ones where they do not. Cases cleaned, never over-polished. Dial refinishing referred to a specialist we trust, and only with your written consent.
Acrylic, mineral, or sapphire crystals fitted and sealed. Crowns and stems matched to thread and tube, gaskets replaced, and the case pressure tested before it leaves the bench.
Written valuations for insurance, probate, or sale, with movement photographs and serial documentation. We will tell you honestly which pieces merit restoration and which merit a gentle cleaning and a drawer.
Recent Work
Three entries from the current logbook, reproduced with the owners' permission. Reference numbers are ours; the watches, thankfully, go home.
House Rules
Written by our grandfather in 1952 and amended exactly twice since. They apply to every watch, whether it cost forty dollars or forty thousand.
The Atelier
We see watches by appointment so that every drop-off gets an unhurried examination under the loupe while you watch. Walk-ins are welcome for straps, batteries we will politely decline, and conversation.
Telephone: (312) 555-0152
Post: bench@hallowayandsons.example
Shipping instructions provided on request; please never mail a watch unannounced.
A note on patience: a proper service is measured in weeks because oils must settle and rates must be observed across days, not minutes. We will never rush your watch, and we ask the same courtesy of you.