WatchUSeek Watch Forums banner

Just tried to get my watch serviced...

2K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  OCDood 
#1 · (Edited)
So, a few people told me, in person and from another forum, that this watchmaker a few miles from where I live was good/reliable.

(Side story: This was after I called the service department in the US for JeanRichard/GP to see how much service would be on my JeanRichard Triple Date. The rep I spoke with said between $900 and $1200. So I laughed for a little bit, then we both had a chuckle, as I'd bought the thing new for a little over the minimum service charge he quoted, and obviously I wasn't sending my watch in.)

So, I take my watch to this reputable watchmaker, and I talked to the guy, seemed nice enough, told him exactly what I wanted, complete movement service/regulation, and cleaning the case, changing the watch strap, etcetera. He told me they'd call me the next day with a price estimate. Okay. The next day, no call. Alright, I'm thinking, maybe they were busy or whatever, they'll call tomorrow morning perhaps. I wait around, no call. So I call at around 1pm, ask about the watch, and the person said it was ready. I was like, How much did the service cost? And the person was like, Nothing. So I had her get the watchmaker, I asked him about the movement, and he said all that needed to be done was to tighten a screw in there. He said come on by and pick it up. I asked how the polishing went, and he said he'd do it now, come pick it up.

When I went down to the shop, spoke with the watchmaker, and he said if there's anything else that goes wrong with the watch, I should just send it back to the company. He charged me $15 for the polishing, which was alright, at best, as there was still some dirt in the watch crevices and I could tell it was done post-strap change. I didn't feel like going through everything again with this guy, as his accent was heavy, and obviously there was something lost in communication. There were also two tiny tears on the strap, which I can't be certain were done by the store because I didn't fully inspect the strap before I took it in, as it was a new strap, just delivered, still in the plastic, so the tears could've been from the manufacturer.

Okay, so let me get to my point (apologies for the longwindedness of this post). Does this sound like proper service? Is my watch impossible to fix by a regular watchmaker? I assume it's an ETA movement in there, with some type of add-on part for the calendar (I don't know all too much about specific movements or anything). How hard can this be to fix? Mind you, I expected to pay a couple or a few hundred bucks to get this done. The watch works, it's just a lot slower than when it was new. Just looking for tips and advice from the more seasoned WISs on here. Thanks.

Also, if anyone knows a good watchmaker on Long Island (NY). Thanks.

Pic of watch in question:
Watch Watch accessory Analog watch Fashion accessory Clock
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
I dont want to be hard on the guy, but no, definitely not a proper service and definitely not someone I would recommend,
seems he did not have the time or does not have the ability to service your watch,

I havent been in New York, but if you're ever in L.A., I could definitely recommend a watchmaker
 
#5 ·
I think his feelings might be if it aint broke don't fix it......So, it wasn't really broke.
And it could be that he really doesn't service watches,he really sends them to someone else.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I reread your post three times but could not find the answer. In one sentence what exactly was the reason you sent your watch in for service.

It sounds like the watch maker found nothing wrong and rather than dummying up a repair bill or doing an unneeded service charged you nothing.

Before saying the watch is running off speed please conduct a good accuracy test. Set it to time.gov and not your cell phone or the radio. Just wear it for five days without handwinding or checking the time. At the end of five days check the accuracy to time.gov again and divide the error by 5 and post the results.
 
#14 ·
That is a good overall test but isn't necessarily enough. The watch may be having high BPM fluctuations that indicate it needs a service and unless you put it on the right machine, you won't be able to necessarily tell. Wear and tear can be hidden for a long time, and parts can be damaged even as the watch 'feels' fine.

I had that very thing happen recently. Brought two Omegas in, and the watch that seemed to hold better time had BPM that was all over the place. It ended up being dried out inside and needing a full service.

Take it to someone who can do full service on high end watches. You're getting enough help here for recommendations, so good luck.
 
#11 ·
Before saying the watch is running off speed please conduct a good accuracy test. Set it to time.gov and not your cell phone or the radio. Just wear it for five days without handwinding or checking the time. At the end of five days check the accuracy to time.gov again and divide the error by 5 and post the results.
Good advice
 
#13 ·
I've had very mixed results with watchmakers. One local guy in the high-end mall charged me $75 or so to swap a dial and hands on an Epos with a skeletonized 6498. He left it FILTHY, and I'm not a nitpicker. There was a giant smudge on the (guilloche) dial that was obviously a fingerprint, and crud on the gears.

I took it to my local small-town shop and the guy there cleaned it up to near-perfection for $15. He later did a hand swap for me on a Seiko mod for maybe $10. I thought I'd struck watchmaker gold, but when I needed to repair a standard 2824 movement his work, while very reasonable, only lasted a few weeks at most before failing- AFTER it was sold.

That situation was a headache, so I decided to send it off to one of the best known watchmakers around. Weeks afterward I'd heard nothing, so I called. I was told that my watch rung a bell so it had arrived, and that it would be evaluated to see i it was something simple. If it wasn't a simple fix then it would be much faster to simply order a new movement- since actual movement repairs were back logged SIX months. I'm pretty sure the six month mark has passed, and to my knowledge the watch has not even been evaluated.

Hopefully this thread yields some good recommendations for reputable repair facilities that accept shipments and have reasonable turnaround times.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for all the replies so far, including the NY watchmaker suggestions. I'm not sure if I need the time.gov accuracy test though for five days. I think my cell phone alarm clock is extremely accurate, and when I check that in the morning, it's running between 20 and 30 seconds slow daily. I've been wearing it since 2008. It used to be -5/+2 daily. I just thought it was about that time for a little service.

Which begs the question: Should you service a watch after a certain amount of time, or after something starts to go wrong? I've seen both sides of the argument from WISs. I just didn't want to damage the movement if things were loose, unoiled, parts rubbing against each other and stuff.
 
#17 ·
The cell phone alarm is probably very accurate but I wouldn't trust it implicitly. The other part of this thread that I find interesting is that someone will take apart the watch and clean the dial and hands for $15. I don't know anything about watch repairs but that seems like an incredible bargain.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top