About/FAQs — International Watch Works

International Watch Works is owned and operated by Jack Alexyon. My company specializes in the restoration of vintage watches, watch customization/modification, bead-blasted and PVD/DLC finishes and other repairs. Search for Jack + IWW on any major online watch forum and you will find numerous referrals for IWW’s work.

We are a small shop, consisting of myself and my local watch maker Alberto and turnaround time is consistent with the time it takes to do the very careful work required on intricate timepieces that our customers treasure. We look forward to making your watch the very best it can be or simply making your creative vision come true.

General FAQs

Do we service Asian manufactured mechanical chronograph movements? No. We do not service Seiko, Citizen, Seagull or other mechanical Asian chronograph movements.

Do we service quartz chronograph movements? Generally speaking we do not service quartz chronograph movements. It’s less expensive and much quicker to simply replace these movements with new product if available or with working donor movements from similar models.

Can we install a sapphire crystal in your watch? There are many custom made after market sapphire crystals available for your Seiko watch. These are available from Harold Ng aka “Yobokies.” I do stock some of the most commonly requested sizes but do not have Harold’s entire product line in stock. When inquiring about any crystal for a Seiko watch please use the eight character movement and case reference numbers from the case back i.e. 6105-8119, 6309-7040, 7S26-0020.

As far as other watches are concerned, in most cases we must remove the original crystal and measure it to determine if a sapphire replacement is available. Sapphire replacements are generally available in limited diameters and thicknesses so the the conversion is not always possible.

Can you repair, modify or customize my replica watch? In most instances we will decline to work on replica watches. It’s not a moral or ethical decision. It’s simply that over the years we’ve found them to be problematic to work on due to poor design, flawed engineering and lack of replacement parts when needed.

Can you repair my fashion watch? We do not repair this type of watch i.e. Gucci, Calvin Klein, Movado etc.

Do you stock after market dials, hands and other parts for modifications? No, we do not inventory these types of parts simply due to the fact that there is an almost infinite variety of parts available. You may order your parts from Harold Ng (www.Yobokies.co m) or Jake Bordeau aka Dagaz Watch (www.dagazwatch.com) and have them shipped to IWW on your behalf for installation in our shop. As an FYI, Bill Yao of MKII Watches no longer supplies parts for modifications.

Should I send a picture of the watch project I’m inquiring about? Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words. While I’m familiar with many models of watches there are exponentially more watches out there that I’m not familiar with.

In many instances sending pics of your watch will allow me to answer questions more directly without the need for additional emails especially with regard to reluming dials and hands and refinishing cases and bracelets.

What payment methods do you accept? We accept Paypal (alexyon@aol.com is the account), personal checks or money orders payable to Jack Alexyon, cash and wire transfers.

Is any prepayment required? Generally speaking we accept prepayment only for quick turn around jobs as it eliminates an intermediate communication step and for DLC projects due to the high cost of the Paypal fees on jobs over $1000.00 and the fact that they are typically a quick turn at 4-6 weeks.

Will you return my old, used parts? Yes, we return all used parts and keep nothing.