Meet The Watch Maker: Vanessa C AKA Vanessa CW_21

[incontrol]

Very awesome film! Vanessa is amazing! Very cool and thanks for sharing!

[rmfnla]

OK, now someone has to do one of these about Rikki...

[Vanessa CW21]

Originally Posted by J. Alan

This is a wonderful post, and I agree it should become a Sticky.

One thing that is quickly observed is how organized and clean Vanessa's work station is. I am a firm believer that organization and cleanliness is a major indication of a person's character and greatly influences the end results of that person's vocation.

You can tell eight away when Vanessa pulls up in her sparkly clean black MB, exits her car with a nicely framed leg shot and a smile on her face, is dressed sharply to begin her work day, a nice pan of her organized work area, you know what the end results are going to be - Perfection!

My congrats to Cam for his video expertise and to shy Vanessa for letting us into her world.

Kudos from a clean and organized Canuck!!

Hoopla,

J. Alan

Thank you for the kudos, and thank you for noticing the details that show my OCD
I truly appreciate the attention to detail, and you are right; only perfection is good enough for me!
It's frustrating on occasion, but the effeciency in my work ethics is what makes me effective as a watchmaker!

[One Ping Only]

Great post, great work!

Thanks for sharing.

[Sunny Arizona]

Vanessa we still miss you in Scottsdale.

Originally Posted by cambarr

Hi All,

I had the recent pleasure of meeting, working with, and getting to know fellow Rolex Forums member Vanessa Contreras AKA here on the Forums as Vanesssa_CW21.

As some of you may know I recently purchased a Vintage 1967 meters first 5513 Submariner that was in bad shape. When purchased the Sub was missing the crown, the bezel and insert, and was lacking the original bracelet. The watch had been sitting in a drawer for quite some time without the crown and although in working condition, the well loved 5513 needed someone to bring it back to life.



While searching the forums here making sure I was seeking and sourcing correct information in some cases specifically pertaining to parts and the technical aspects of service, I continuously ran into technical answers to other forum members inquiry by Vanesssa_CW21.

After a lengthy search for correct and genuine Rolex parts and in some cases parts correct to my specific vintage of Submariner (No-line Twin-lock Crown, Bezel,etc..) I decided to start seeking a watch maker to service my 5513. I recently moved to Orange County, CA from Downtown Los Angeles and didn't have a good watch maker or Rolex resource outside of Los Angeles. One evening while reading a post on vintage twin lock tubes I clicked on Vanesssa_CW21's profile and noticed that she was right in my new backyard in Newport Beach CA providing service at Jewelers On Time. The next day I went into Jewelers On Time and stated that and asked to see Vanessa to discuss potential service on my vintage 5513.

Vanessa was at her bench working on another client's watch and came out to meet me. The cool thing about Jewelers On Time besides for the display cases filed with Rolex's that make your mouth water is you can see the watch makers providing service and maintaining timepieces directly in front of you. I explained to vanessa that I wanted to maintain the watch in as original condition as possible and that the watch had been sitting for quite some time and was not keeping time. I left the watch with Vanessa and the Jewelers On Time team and received a phone call the next day with the prognosis and service estimate... besides for being dusty and dirty and not having been serviced since 93' by Rolex in Beverly Hills it needed a complete cleaning & overhaul. I asked Vanessa if I could document and film the service process and what its like to be an expert watch maker. Vanessa agreed and I created a short film to document the restoration/service process.

Here are some pics of the 5513 on Vanessa's bench and some shots post restoration and during service..








I wanted to share this as I found it extremely fascinating to learn a little bit about the true art form that is watch making and what goes into the expert service of a Rolex not to mention a beat up vintage 5513 Sub from 1967.

I also wanted to provide insight into the awesomeness of Vanessa who has answered all of our questions and provided countless points of guidance to the the members of this forum. After 3 weeks of having a camera over her shoulder I can say that watch making requires the obvious attention to detail, but also patience and an extreme form of studied process and organization. as I'm sure you can imagine from reading her posts she possesses these things at the expert level... truly amazed by her passion and artful skill.

hope you guys enjoy the short film and pics!

Link To Short Film:

[Sunny Arizona]

Originally Posted by Sunny Arizona

Vanessa we still miss you in Scottsdale.

Vanessa,
Do you remember these two guys? One of them is sporting a new Sub C

[siuhen]

Nice watch. Better story 😊

[c.rod]

makes me want a vintage!

also. has anyone ever said you look like a skinnier version of jeremy piven? lol :)

[joe100]

Fantastic!!!!

[JandA]

Originally Posted by cambarr

I Remember! This is a small world isn't it! Your 5512 is sweet glad you brought it in!! The team at Jewelers on Time is awesome! they are good people passionate about high end time pieces! The watch you picked up is sweet SS/Plat yacht master right?

Sure did, I can't stop staring at my new watch! This was my second of what I plan to turn into a collection to pass on to my son some day. Thanks again for the great post!

[Baco Noir]

Great video and thanks for taking the time to do that and for Vanessa to allow it. It was amazing to see what goes into the service. I have a 40 page photo documentation of the tear down, cleaning and reassembly of serval of my watches from Al at Archer watches, but there is something about the video that makes it seem more impressive. Thanks for sharing.

[Vanessa CW21]

Originally Posted by Sunny Arizona

Vanessa,
Do you remember these two guys? One of them is sporting a new Sub C

How can I forget?!
I miss Scottsdale very much! I had many great customers, and the crew I worked with was the best! Debra, Douglas, Matt, Greg, Olga, Amber, Matilda, Rhea, and customers like you, will all have a special place in my heart forever!

[cambarr]

Originally Posted by c.rod

makes me want a vintage!

also. has anyone ever said you look like a skinnier version of jeremy piven? lol :)

Haha yea I've gotten that before!

[swatty]

Great thread, loved the video. Great work

[cambarr]

Originally Posted by JandA

Sure did, I can't stop staring at my new watch! This was my second of what I plan to turn into a collection to pass on to my son some day. Thanks again for the great post!

That YM is clean!!! great buy! My Vintage collection is going to my son Hendrix one day too!

[tomee]

thanks for sharing

[sheldonsmith]

Great video. Thank you to you both for producing it.

[cambarr]

Welcome Guys! It was an awesome project! Trying to source another vintage-esque piece for Vanessa to work on!!

[strafer_kid]

Super video - always amazing to see one of these taken down and put back together again!

[powerband]

This is great! Good to know Vanessa's talent is close by to me!


Sent from my slingshot using Tapatalk

[Time Collector]

Thanks for the story. I used her recently and she gave me a discount for mentioning the Rolex forum, I was beyond happy with the results of my repair and great turn around to.

[Horology.life]

thats was brilliant, thankyou.
And i hope you are pleased with how your watch turned out, looks awesome.

[BoyhoodDreamDaytona]

Great video, even better job....... and gorgeous watch. Thanks for sharing.

[engin33r]

Thanks for sharing !!

[paramednick]

Great insight! Nice to find a gem in your own backyard!

[rolex75216]

Great video and story. Thank you for sharing with us!

[RC2]

Great video.

[Sammk]

Great work and interesting video

[Rags]

Great video. Talented & pretty too.. Great combo..

[Reu]

Great post.

Watch is beautiful - Congrats! Amazing work carried out by a really skilled person.