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:
(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: