barimu
Oakley Beginner
- 7
- 3
Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to share a quick story on my Journey to getting my Oakley Time Bomb restored. Back in 2016, my father passed away and one of the items he left me was his daily wear Oakley Time bomb, it was a gift from his father and he wore it every day since the day he got it back in 1999/2000. Needless to say, it was pretty beat up so I didn't wear it at the time and just shelved it. Fast forward to April 2023, I decided it was time to start wearing it, but unfortunately, it wasn't working. it seemed as though the capacitor wasn't good so I took it to some local watch shops but none were willing to touch it- I live in Trinidad and Tobago (in the Caribbean) so needless to say we have limited options here, so I decided to do some googling on who repairs Oakley watches. I eventually settled on shipping it out to a US-based company in Utah ( No, I won't say the company name) that had good reviews. To my surprise, when they received the watch, I got a repair estimate of $1,400.00! needless to say, this was way out of my budget, so I continued to search around for other repair options which is where I found this godsend of a forum!
After reading through the various threads, I quickly learned that the Oakley brand was a specialty sought-after watch and that the brand was discontinued, thus parts were hard to get. I didn't lose hope and continued digging until I found a gentleman's thread detailing the repair process of the same model Timebomb! He goes by the name Ironranger88. I got in contact with him to get some info on how I should go about getting the watch repaired, to which he offered to do the repair himself. I admit, I was hesitant at first to send my watch to a complete stranger, but I decided to take the chance and send it to him.
When Ironranger88 received the watch, he tore it down for a complete inspection; Turns out, it was way more than a capacitor issue, the movement was shot, filled with gunk and rust, there was a broken seal, and being in the Caribbean, subject to a lot of seawater and sand (see pics below). The bracelet pin was bent out of shape, the rubber pads were broken as well. Nonetheless, Ironranger88 went to work, repaired what parts he could, searched for parts to replace what he couldn't repair, sourced the seals, got it pressure tested, and back to working order again! He even got the watch polished eliminating nearly all the scratches from the watch face! and shipped it back out to me all for a fraction of what the Utah company quoted me.
I would like to thank this forum and especially Ironranger88 for taking the time out of his busy schedule and his hard work, but more so for doing this favor for a complete stranger, four thousand miles away, out of the goodness of his heart. For me, it was more than just getting a watch fixed, he gave me back a connection to my father, one that I could carry around on my wrist every day and remember him, no amount of money could ever pay for that.
I just wanted to share a quick story on my Journey to getting my Oakley Time Bomb restored. Back in 2016, my father passed away and one of the items he left me was his daily wear Oakley Time bomb, it was a gift from his father and he wore it every day since the day he got it back in 1999/2000. Needless to say, it was pretty beat up so I didn't wear it at the time and just shelved it. Fast forward to April 2023, I decided it was time to start wearing it, but unfortunately, it wasn't working. it seemed as though the capacitor wasn't good so I took it to some local watch shops but none were willing to touch it- I live in Trinidad and Tobago (in the Caribbean) so needless to say we have limited options here, so I decided to do some googling on who repairs Oakley watches. I eventually settled on shipping it out to a US-based company in Utah ( No, I won't say the company name) that had good reviews. To my surprise, when they received the watch, I got a repair estimate of $1,400.00! needless to say, this was way out of my budget, so I continued to search around for other repair options which is where I found this godsend of a forum!
After reading through the various threads, I quickly learned that the Oakley brand was a specialty sought-after watch and that the brand was discontinued, thus parts were hard to get. I didn't lose hope and continued digging until I found a gentleman's thread detailing the repair process of the same model Timebomb! He goes by the name Ironranger88. I got in contact with him to get some info on how I should go about getting the watch repaired, to which he offered to do the repair himself. I admit, I was hesitant at first to send my watch to a complete stranger, but I decided to take the chance and send it to him.
When Ironranger88 received the watch, he tore it down for a complete inspection; Turns out, it was way more than a capacitor issue, the movement was shot, filled with gunk and rust, there was a broken seal, and being in the Caribbean, subject to a lot of seawater and sand (see pics below). The bracelet pin was bent out of shape, the rubber pads were broken as well. Nonetheless, Ironranger88 went to work, repaired what parts he could, searched for parts to replace what he couldn't repair, sourced the seals, got it pressure tested, and back to working order again! He even got the watch polished eliminating nearly all the scratches from the watch face! and shipped it back out to me all for a fraction of what the Utah company quoted me.
I would like to thank this forum and especially Ironranger88 for taking the time out of his busy schedule and his hard work, but more so for doing this favor for a complete stranger, four thousand miles away, out of the goodness of his heart. For me, it was more than just getting a watch fixed, he gave me back a connection to my father, one that I could carry around on my wrist every day and remember him, no amount of money could ever pay for that.
