Best watch repair/mod service in Canada

[911Turbo]

received my watch today back from @dogwood. What was a nightmare finally turned into a great act of kindness. He is highly recommended in my books. Extremely knowledgeable and loves watches and fixing them. He will take you step by step and give you updates till he’s done and satisfied with the end result. I can’t take him enough!

 

[Sjcujwk2762]

I contacted Yasir from Renown Watch Service in Whitby to do some work on my JKF sub; solid guy. Turnaround is fast, only a day for dial, crystal, hands, insert and crown & tube swap.
I'm not sure if he can do further modding tasks like shaving crown guard and drilling lugs, but for the regular watchmaker's works, I highly recommend him.

Hi!
I've been trying to reach Yasir at Renown for the past several weeks.
His Google Maps profile seems to indicate he's no longer in business and the voicemail greeting for his phone number is in foreign language.
Just wondering if anyone has been able to reach out to Renown recently (i.e. in the past few weeks) ? Thanks in advance.

I was really hoping to find a well-rated and reliable watchsmith in the GTA and thought Renown was going to be the one, because Victor Chow's work seems to have gone downhill from reading some other threads. And Avee8or has retired.

 

[vonG]

@dogwood is a wonderful human being. I'll certainly be looking to him if and when the time comes to do some service work.
I've been out of the rep gig for a very long time, but indeed also had a strange experience with Victor Chow.

I sent him a Breitling Super Avenger for a service and replacement of the sub dial hands as one fell off.
he did the service and replaced the sub dial hands for reasonable money - however during the service he replaced the datewheel with a completely different font wheel.

I had to send him photos of the watch to show him the correct font wheel.
I paid to send the watch back to him.
He fixed/swapped the date wheel and sent back to me.

Wasn't super impressed how it was handled.
yes, he fixed it - but wow.

 

[dogwood]

@dogwood is a wonderful human being. I'll certainly be looking to him if and when the time comes to do some service work.
I've been out of the rep gig for a very long time, but indeed also had a strange experience with Victor Chow.

I sent him a Breitling Super Avenger for a service and replacement of the sub dial hands as one fell off.
he did the service and replaced the sub dial hands for reasonable money - however during the service he replaced the datewheel with a completely different font wheel.

I had to send him photos of the watch to show him the correct font wheel.
I paid to send the watch back to him.
He fixed/swapped the date wheel and sent back to me.

Wasn't super impressed how it was handled.
yes, he fixed it - but wow.

Thanks for the kind words. Happy to help out the Canadian rep-fam. I'm out west (Vancouver), but Canada Post Xpresspost gets watch sized packages to / from GTA in 2-3 days for around C$25... Not as convenient as being local, but not that bad either.

 

[Sjcujwk2762]

Thanks for the kind words. Happy to help out the Canadian rep-fam. I'm out west (Vancouver), but Canada Post Xpresspost gets watch sized packages to / from GTA in 2-3 days for around C$25... Not as convenient as being local, but not that bad either.

@dogwood
Awesome! I'll be reaching out to you shortly. : )

 

[CTbeforeLP]

Hi!
I've been trying to reach Yasir at Renown for the past several weeks.
His Google Maps profile seems to indicate he's no longer in business and the voicemail greeting for his phone number is in foreign language.
Just wondering if anyone has been able to reach out to Renown recently (i.e. in the past few weeks) ? Thanks in advance.

I was really hoping to find a well-rated and reliable watchsmith in the GTA and thought Renown was going to be the one, because Victor Chow's work seems to have gone downhill from reading some other threads. And Avee8or has retired.

Yasir is traveling around in India currently. Maybe that's why you aren't able to reach him! He's good. I used him until I found @dogwood who lives a lot closer to me and does a very good job as well!

 

[scott223905]

Hi!
I've been trying to reach Yasir at Renown for the past several weeks.
His Google Maps profile seems to indicate he's no longer in business and the voicemail greeting for his phone number is in foreign language.
Just wondering if anyone has been able to reach out to Renown recently (i.e. in the past few weeks) ? Thanks in advance.

I was really hoping to find a well-rated and reliable watchsmith in the GTA and thought Renown was going to be the one, because Victor Chow's work seems to have gone downhill from reading some other threads. And Avee8or has retired.

He was on vacation out of the country, he’s back now. I was trying to reach him too, he texted me back yesterday.

 

[911Turbo]

Hi!
I've been trying to reach Yasir at Renown for the past several weeks.
His Google Maps profile seems to indicate he's no longer in business and the voicemail greeting for his phone number is in foreign language.
Just wondering if anyone has been able to reach out to Renown recently (i.e. in the past few weeks) ? Thanks in advance.

I was really hoping to find a well-rated and reliable watchsmith in the GTA and thought Renown was going to be the one, because Victor Chow's work seems to have gone downhill from reading some other threads. And Avee8or has retired.

Ship the watch to @dogwood worth the 25$ shipping.

 

[John]

I'd like to add another testimonial for @dogwood. Super friendly and clear in his communication style. I sent my VS3235 Datejust 41 to him for a service and pressure test. The watch came back in excellent condition and is now super precise! It's been gaining +1 second/day whereas, I think before, it was something like +8-10 seconds/day.

Super satisfied and highly recommended. Glad we have a fellow member here on RWI that's able to provide a reliable service to us here in Canada

 

[dogwood]

I'd like to add another testimonial for @dogwood. Super friendly and clear in his communication style. I sent my VS3235 Datejust 41 to him for a service and pressure test. The watch came back in excellent condition and is now super precise! It's been gaining +1 second/day whereas, I think before, it was something like +8-10 seconds/day.

Super satisfied and highly recommended. Glad we have a fellow member here on RWI that's able to provide a reliable service to us here in Canada

Thanks for the kind words John. Happy to help.

 

[altesporsche]

I’ll chime in...I know him pretty well. Damned good looking, smart, witty, and a great guy to boot!

I see you are in Ontario as well. I’ll surely have some stuff for you

 

[Allthenamesweretaken]

I see you are in Ontario as well. I’ll surely have some stuff for you

Ave8tor is retired

 

[altesporsche]

Ave8tor is retired

i am always late to the party : P

 

[haze3715]

I posted on here that I had my VSF NTTD Seamaster serviced by Victor Chow summer of last year. Serviced in August, was running well for a couple months and then more problems started in October - wouldn't hack and low power reserve, sometimes the crown didn't want to be screwed back in. The 2824-clone in my NTTD was always problematic to begin with but it would have been nice to have a qualified watch maker to inspect and tell me it wasn't worth servicing. That's why we enlist the services of wa watchmaker - for their expertise!

So I figured I was done messing with the stock VSF movement, and I wanted to have it swapped for a ETA2824 or SW200 - the NTTD has a closed case back, so an undecorated / unfinished movement is no issue. Re: the ETA2824 / SW200, the RWI community have always maintained that it is a straight swap for this watch, yet I was getting conflicting info from Somal Watches and from another local watchmaker. "Won't fit" they said. Perhaps this was really just their way of saying "not interested".

So inquired with Peter to get his opinion. Straight swap. I was so done with this shitty A2824 and Peter helped me source an SW200 from our friends at... Somal, lol.

Communication was great. Service was excellent as well. Movement swap was done quickly and popped back in the mail the next business day. I shipped from Ontario to Peter in BC, and I had the watch back in my hands in just over a week! Peter works expediently, can't complain!

I received photos and updates as parts arrived and the watch was being worked on. These updates are welcome and much appreciated - this is what pros do!

Now my NTTD has an SW200 beating inside. No marks on the case, no dust beneath the crystal, the watch came back in the same condition as it was sent.

Canada is in need of quality rep watchmakers and I'm glad I found Peter. I have a some other reps that need servicing, I know where I'll be sending them.

Thanks Peter!

 

[haze3715]

sorry @dogwood forgot to tag you in my post above!

 

[dogwood]

sorry @dogwood forgot to tag you in my post above!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm always happy to help.

 

[911Turbo]

I posted on here that I had my VSF NTTD Seamaster serviced by Victor Chow summer of last year. Serviced in August, was running well for a couple months and then more problems started in October - wouldn't hack and low power reserve, sometimes the crown didn't want to be screwed back in. The 2824-clone in my NTTD was always problematic to begin with but it would have been nice to have a qualified watch maker to inspect and tell me it wasn't worth servicing. That's why we enlist the services of wa watchmaker - for their expertise!

So I figured I was done messing with the stock VSF movement, and I wanted to have it swapped for a ETA2824 or SW200 - the NTTD has a closed case back, so an undecorated / unfinished movement is no issue. Re: the ETA2824 / SW200, the RWI community have always maintained that it is a straight swap for this watch, yet I was getting conflicting info from Somal Watches and from another local watchmaker. "Won't fit" they said. Perhaps this was really just their way of saying "not interested".

So inquired with Peter to get his opinion. Straight swap. I was so done with this shitty A2824 and Peter helped me source an SW200 from our friends at... Somal, lol.

Communication was great. Service was excellent as well. Movement swap was done quickly and popped back in the mail the next business day. I shipped from Ontario to Peter in BC, and I had the watch back in my hands in just over a week! Peter works expediently, can't complain!

I received photos and updates as parts arrived and the watch was being worked on. These updates are welcome and much appreciated - this is what pros do!

Now my NTTD has an SW200 beating inside. No marks on the case, no dust beneath the crystal, the watch came back in the same condition as it was sent.

Canada is in need of quality rep watchmakers and I'm glad I found Peter. I have a some other reps that need servicing, I know where I'll be sending them.

Thanks Peter!

I just sent it him another 2 watches that I just received from Puretime to have them serviced and waterproof.
He is the only person I trust at this point in Canada. He's a gentleman and scholar

 

[dogwood]

I just sent it him another 2 watches that I just received from Puretime to have them serviced and waterproof.
He is the only person I trust at this point in Canada. He's a gentleman and scholar

Thanks for the kind words. Always happy to help out the Canadian rep-fam.

 

[Sjcujwk2762]

Hi. I received my watch back from @dogwood and just want to post some feedback for those of you looking to have a rep serviced.

A bit of background, I purchased a BPF DD36 from a TD, it arrived with a bad movement. After looking around for a watchsmith in Toronto, I decided to connect with @dogwood who was well reviewed here at RWI and I have also been following some of his blog posts.

@dogwood did a great job taking care of my watch issues. Other reviews are completely accurate. He is a gentleman and a scholar. Extremely honest and responsive and provided updates while waiting for replacement parts. Extremely happy with his service. Pricing is also very fair. He is located in BC. Xpresspost to BC from any major city in Canada is fast and easy. He is a wonderful supporter of the rep community and I highly recommend his services.

 

[dogwood]

Hi. I received my watch back from @dogwood and just want to post some feedback for those of you looking to have a rep serviced.

A bit of background, I purchased a BPF DD36 from a TD, it arrived with a bad movement. After looking around for a watchsmith in Toronto, I decided to connect with @dogwood who was well reviewed here at RWI and I have also been following some of his blog posts.

@dogwood did a great job taking care of my watch issues. Other reviews are completely accurate. He is a gentleman and a scholar. Extremely honest and responsive and provided updates while waiting for replacement parts. Extremely happy with his service. Pricing is also very fair. He is located in BC. Xpresspost to BC from any major city in Canada is fast and easy. He is a wonderful supporter of the rep community and I highly recommend his services.

Thanks for the kind words @Sjcujwk2762 always happy to help.