We were rooting around in the family safe and came across Dad's old Bulova wristwatch. A gorgeous rose gold with a tinted, magnified crystal, it had been Mom's wedding day gift to Dad in 1946 and was inscribed to him with love. It was dead as a doornail, but how could we not send it out for restoration? We braced ourselves: Restoring a nearly 70-year-old watch would not only be costly, we figured, but might also mean dealing with some snotty weirdo who wanted to talk us into buying matching earrings or something else equally annoying.
Boy, were we wrong. A quick Internet search for "vintage watch restoration Phoenix" turned up — huzzah! — a Phoenix-based service called Vintage Watch Restoration, which resulted in one of the best jewelry experiences we've ever had. In the watch-repair business since 2001, owner Bruno Park (a charming, French-speaking fellow from the island of Mauritius) not only came and picked up Dad's watch from our office, but ended up charging us less than his already-low estimate for repair and restoration. (Park also accepts watches through the mail and reportedly does international business as a restorationist.) We wear Dad's watch every day now, and it not only looks great and makes us feel closer to him, but it tells time, too. Now we're scrounging around, looking for other broken watches for Mr. Park to repair.