1958-59 era Longines Wittnauer gold filled case bent lugs

[Nic422]

Hey guys,

I have a Vintage Longines 1958-59 era with 19 AS movement watch with the lighter weight Gold Filled Case. The case back reads "Longines Wittnauer watch co inc New York Geneva Montreal Star W. C. CO. 10 K Gold Filled 2030 SW"

The case has a couple bent lugs on the top right and bottom left. Both are a bit bent inward somewhat making the normal 18mm size band very tight for fitting. They are more in the 16-17mm spacing due to this. My question is for anyone here familiar with these cases, can they be bent back into alignment without fear of breakage? If I could tell the base metal was a bit heavier metal, I wouldn't be too afraid of attempting the fix, but the case itself is the lighter weight version of this case produced during "Flagship era" models, and my concern is if it was a casting of a lighter and possible more brittle metal compound than the stainless or solid gold cases. Is anyone here familiar enough with these cases to give any experienced advice for this type of problem?

If not here, any recommendation on who or where to ask?

Many thanks in advance!

[Bob Tascione]

Good to see you up here Nic!. Hope all's going well with you.
I don't have any experience with that case but would certainly do exactly what you're doing before making any attempt to bend it back into place. Being lighter than normal base metal would also lead me to believe that it's a casting. Wish I could be of help.
Good luck and if you find anything out please let us know. Also just a thought..you might try to PM Randy through the forum messaging as he's usually up on a lot of vintage stuff.
Take care for now Nic,
Bob