Pacific In-2-Sta Watch & Crystals

Great business. I tried to change my watch battery myself, not realizing that I wouldn’t be able to get the back on again without a special press. I first went to the watch guy downstairs in the same building, who didn’t have the right equipment. He recommended that I go here, and sure enough Pacific was able to do it. Next time I need a battery changed, I’ll just go here to begin with.

I got my watch battery replaced here for $ 15. It was actually the third place I tried — I’d never gotten my battery replaced before and the manufacturer had the screws tightened so the first two places weren’t able to remove the back. Finally I came to Pacific and they were able to swap out the battery!

True master. I have an old Citizen digital watch that stopped running. It has a lot of sentimental value for me. I sent it to US Citizen HQ and they said they couldn’t repair it. But Mr. Shing fixed it! Forever indebted to him.

I was referred to Daniel at Pacific In-​2 Sta Watch Company by Shreve and Company to get the band resized on a brand new very expensive watch. I called the company and a woman on the other end said to come in and not to worry. The woman greeted me at the window and took my watch in to another room to be resized. We had to try about three times to get the band sized properly and put back together correctly. The person working on the watch was neither the woman nor Daniel — it was definitely someone else. I remained at the establishment until the repairs were done.
My watch was brand new, straight out of the box with absolutely no scratches or defects whatsoever; it was perfect. When I got it back and was headed down in the elevator, I thought I saw a scratch on the side of the case but I wasn’t sure. When I got into better lighting, there were multiple deep scratches on the side of the case. And these weren’t accidental scratches. You could tell the person who worked on my watch took it and ground it into a gritty surface to make those scratches. They were deep and it took some effort.
I figure the person probably got mad at me, because I made sure the band was put back together correctly.
I feel sorry for Daniel because he’s worked hard to build a business and he has an employee who is destroying his business’ reputation.
If you must go to this establishment, make sure Daniel works on your watch in front of you. Don’t let them take your watch out of your sight while they are working on it.

I took my 1923 Elgin pocket watch to them because it stopped working and winding. i’ve had it since 1991 and while it was considerably «weathered» on the face, it worked great. some internal parts were corroded and it was in bad need of a cleaning.
it took awhile because of different parts and refreshing the face but 6 weeks later, i have a watch that you could absolutely not tell is not brand new. the cost was probably about the same as the resale value but when its personal item its priceless
simply amazing work.

Needed a battery change for my Issey Miyake TWELVE watch and everyone in the Shreve Building was having a difficult time opening the body of the watch. And when I say difficult, I mean they just couldn’t. Referrals from one place bounced me around a few times and I ended up here.
They examined the watch, handed me a slip, and it was ready an hour later for pickup. Yes, it cost $ 20, but nobody else could take my business. Thanks to these guys, I’m back to color-​coordinating that leather band with my belt and shoes like a true SF professional.

Love this place! I was referred by Shreve Jewelers for my TAG watch. I needed another link added. Daniel was awesome. He did it quickly, and was very pleasant. I’m a watch fanatic. I don’t actually look at them to tell time, but I love pretty watches. Anyway, I have a few more that I’ll be taking back to Daniel to have serviced. I’m glad I found this place.

I hate to «humble brag,» but I never pay to have the links removed from my watch bracelets. I usually take my fancy watches to Shreve & Co., and they take care of them for me. That’s why it’s my favorite store in all of San Francisco. (See my glowing review of Shreve & Co. here:
).
Last month, I treated myself to a new Tag Heuer. It was a good deal, and, damn it, I am worth it. When I finally received my watch via FedEx, I immediately put it on my wrist only to realize the bracelet was too big. I tried to see if I could remove the links myself, but I quickly realized it was an impossible task without a special tool. Well, off to Shreve & Co. I walked in, chatted with the lady behind the counter only to learn that they don’t service Tags. Uh oh. «Never fear,» she said, «I’m sending you to Daniel next door. He’ll help you out.»
I took a really old elevator to the 11^th floor of the building that immediately reminded me of the 1930s. That’s what Dick Tracy’s offices looked like when he was working hard to exonerate Roger Rabbit. I reluctantly rang the door bell, and was immediately let in by Daniel, the owner of this place.
He informed that he’d have to charge me $ 15 (ok, fine) and asked me to wait in the lobby. «10−15 minutes,» he said. The lobby was like a museum; its walls covered with old clocks, watches, photos and disclaimers. I was thoroughly amused looking at the old artifacts and watch components. What were they doing there on the walls? Was anybody actually buying those?
Before I could figure out what «Pacific In-​2-​Sta» actually means, my watch was done. The extra links were neatly placed in a plastic baggy, and my watch was handed to me with great care. Daniel made me feel safe about handing an expensive timepiece to him, as he clearly knew what he was doing. He has the expertise, the positive attitude, and the Shreve & Co. endorsement. Why would I go anywhere else?

I was sent here by the folks at Shreve and brought Daniel a very old French wrist watch which was missing a band, the crown had fallen off, and it had a broken mainspring. Daniel examined the watch, found a matching strap, and let me know that the whole thing needed to be serviced, cleaned, rebalanced and so on — at a cost of several hundred dollars. I opted simply to replace strap and winding stem for the time being. By my next visit Daniel prepared a few possible replacement crowns and had glued on a new strap. Unfortunately, the new strap didn’t fit properly through the very narrow closed lug and the leather was chafed off. I complained and was told to come back again.
By my final visit, Daniel replaced the strap with a new one of excellent fit, installed the crown, and, most surprising of all, replaced my broken mainspring at almost no additional cost! This went far beyond my expectations, as I was hoping at most to restore the watch to some decent cosmetic state, putting off the cost of a full overhaul for a later time. However, this dear old watch actually runs now — for a very reasonable cost.

I brought my high end watch there and he messed up the watch and wouldn’t own up to it.

my watch crystal was scratched so it needed to be replaced. this place (and daniel, specifically) were recommended to me. i brought it in and was given an estimate of 40 dollars and an hour to repair it, which was a good price and a surprisingly quick turn-​around. so i left the watch.
i returned an hour and 45 minutes later to pick up the watch and was told by daniel to «wait a minute». as i watched him (pun intended) run around in the back room and interact with another employee it became clear to me that they hadn’t even started the repair. i asked to just have the watch back. he said, again, «wait a minute». 20 minutes later he came out with my watch all wrapped up, telling me that the glue wasn’t yet dry. i asked him if they started the repair just after we came in. he said yes. and that the glue wasn’t dry.
they have a very clearly posted sign with lots of their conditions, one of which is that you need to inspect the work before you leave the premises. so i unwrapped the watch to have a look at it; it looked fine but, as he said, it needed to dry. i told him that he should have told me when i came in that they hadn’t started on it … i would have just retrieved the watch and left to find another place. but instead they told me what they needed to tell me to get my business and then wasted my time.
if you were going to do the repair while i waited then why not do it when i first went in two hours earlier?
if you needed more time to do the repair then why not give your customers a realistic turn-​around time? (although i suspect even if they had said three hours that they wouldn’t have started the repair until i returned.)
my time is just as valuable to me as is yours to you, and every minute of my time that i stood there waiting for you to do what you said would already be done is my time wasted. can i bill you for that?
i hope someone gives to you the same poor customer service that you have provided me. that, and you’ll not get any more of my business.

The guy at Downtown Watch Repair sent the customer ahead of me here, to Pacific In-​2-​Sta Watch for a watch band & since he couldn’t figure out how to get into my Andy Warhol watch to replace the battery, I thought why not make the trek upstairs & give them a shot as well
No muss, no fuss. Got into the watch lickety-​split & I’m all powered up & back in business!
$ 15 which is $ 5 more than downstairs but I figured since it was probably a more confusing & labor-​intensive process to get into the watch & esp since Downtown Watch couldn’t figure it out, it was well worth the cost
Also came back a few weeks later to get another watch battery replaced (isn’t it that all batteries seem to give out at the same time?) & that was $ 12 — again, well worth it since the other place was closed for the day
So given Pacific In-​2-​Sta is consistently open & consistently & easily handles all my battery replacements, have to say it doesn’t get better
Located on the 11^th floor… worth the trip!

Fast, friendly. I went to Downtown Watch Repair (a Unilocal favorite) first, and he couldn’t do it due to the tricky crystal on the watch. He sent me upstairs to Pacific, and Daniel replaced the battery in my Skagen in four minutes flat while I waited.

This watch repair was recommended by Macy’s. They did a good, reliable job in replacing my watch battery and also shortening the strap back in 2009. My watch is a thin metal watch (not the kind with chunky links), and changing the size of the strap is complicated. I will return for future watch needs. Thank you!

This guy was recommended to me by the guy downstairs @ DT watch repair (his review is separate). Anyway, this guy replaced the crystal on my watch and reset a pin that had come loose. He completed the repairs in 24 hours, which was really cool. I was expecting to take much longer. He was very quick to figure out what he needed to do and how much it would cost. You could tell he knew what he was doing. He quoted me at $ 45 for the crystal and $ 5 for the pin being reset. So $ 50 total isn’t bad for a Rolex or something like that, but I’m no high roller, so this seemed a little much. He did do a good job and I have no complaints about the crystal. There were a couple scratches or nicks where he reset the pin, but you can hardly tell. His door said he took credit cards, but he said it was down when I came back to pay. Luckily, I had the cash to spare. Overall a good experience.

My husband has been coming here for years. This is the place for your Rolexes and higher end watch repair, cleaning and maintenance.
He trusts Daniel.
Recently, I had a battery replaced at some other place (never again) and the guy broke my watch stem! The battery is changed and he refunded my money for that cost, but now I have a broken stem that he couldn’t fix! My watch is over 20 yrs old but it’s not a cheap watch and I know it was going to cost. So I went to my husband’s place and trusted my watch to them. Virginia initially quoted me a price and my 2 options, and I opted for the lesser cost of keeping the original crown. After talking to Daniel, she called me back and gave me a discount. Then she called a day later, and found out after closer observation, that the «other» guy squashed the crown and stem and they couldn’t just add another stem. Cost is higher now, but at least I know it will be well done and I have to go after the «other» guy to get some compensation.
The crown and stem had to ordered and it took a little while, longer than I thought but it is fixed now and I’m happy with the work.

Last week i discovered an unsightly scratch on the face of my watch. I adore my watch so instead of trying to live with the scratch, I googled how to repair the scratch.
My google search actually led me to a Unilocal review of DT watch repair (in the same building as this place). So i went to DT watch repair and asked for his expert advice. he informed me that my watch was a crystal cut, and something about the crystal being embedded inside the frame of the watch which makes it difficult for him to repair. and that even if i get it repair (for his quoted price of $ 45) it wouldn’t look as nice as it does now.
but he was nice enough to recommend me to a crystal watch repair guy upstairs. so that’s how i discovered this place. the guy saw the problem, and said he can fix it for $ 40. cool.
he said it’ll be ready the next day, so i went to pick it up the watch and it looks just the same, less the scratch of course. but i didnt notice until after i left that in the back i saw some scratches he left when i guess he was trying to pry the backing off the watch.