From the Cousins.UK web page "News" Section:

Latest News: Swatch Group advise Cousins that the supply of watch parts is to totally cease after December 2015, this will affect all brands including Omega, Tissot, Certina, Rado, CK and Longines.

I am more than a bit upset ......
This is a major blow to all vintage watch collectors out there!

 

But why????

 

So, does Cousins load up on inventory and reward and reinforce Swatch's shady business practices, or do they just pick up their ball and go home?

whether you love businesses like Cousins or hate them, it can't be denied they're at least partly responsible for so many old Omegas et al surviving. Which, of course, lends value to the brands which swatch owns. Their reward from swatch for all these years of good service:

NSFW
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typical and disturbing

 

To force everybody to send their vintage pieces to Omega so they can charge three times as much for it and polish every case until nothing vintage can be seen.

 

To gain exclusive rights of the funds in your kitty I guess!
Vintage Omega service in the future? No problem! Off to Bienne, and away with your saved up pension!

 

They are nowhere near three times... More like five times, and you have to bend their arms for them to keep the buffing wheel away from your prized heirloom piece!

 

I have actually been considering getting a "brand new" watch to celebrate an upcoming "event". However I suddenly realized that Swatch Group is fighting hard to get of my wanted list. Too bad. Breguet has some nice watches........

 

It still pisses me off.

Had Switzerland been a EU member this sort of business conduct would have been severely punished as it blocks free trade. See how the automotive companies have been forced to offer parts openly to external/independents!

 

A company that doesn't take care of customers won't be around for long.

Omega does want customer loyalty, but you're right to point out that the customer they value isn't the vintage enthusiast.

For those who've said they'll move on to other brands.... are Richemont and others, public or independent, really any different?

 

If there is money to be made, absolutely. Won't happen on a broad scale with traditional manufacturing methods though.

Not sure how soon it may be, but only a matter of time, IMO, before 3-D printing and other technologies make it feasible.

 

Without exactly saying why, one of the most respected watch guys (ThomasM) expressed his disregard for recent events at Swatch. Now we all know why;-(

 

That's about right

 

when I got far enough up the food chain of a public company my suspicions were all confirmed: the primary loyalty of a company is to the compensation package of 3 or 4 individuals. anyone and everyone else is just along for the ride. All the stuff they taught me in b school was cow dung.

I demand a refund, STAT. :-(

 

Nailed it. On top of that, the 3-4 individuals are typically the ones making the rules as well. They don't call them golden parachutes for nothing...

 

Will it also affect to watchmakers with omega accounts?

 

No - in fact Richemont is probably the most restrictive of the large conglomerates - they will not sell you spare parts for sure (aside from maybe bracelet links of straps), and even watchmakers are pretty much out of luck, regardless of your qualifications. LVMH is really not much better - TAG is one of the few brands that you can get an account for with them. Rolex will sell parts, but they are extremely strict with how they are distributed.

Swatch Group has actually been one of the most open to selling parts.

It's not just big companies either - for example I used to fix a lot of Kobold watches, and one came in with a stripped crown and case tube. It had an ETA 2824-2 movement inside, so certainly something I can service almost in my sleep. I emailed them to ask about getting a new case tube and crown, and the reply was that they have a blanket policy of not selling spare parts - you could be George Daniels or Philippe Dufour and they could not care less - you aren't getting parts from them.

The list of companies that do sell parts is smaller than those who don't.

I personally am all for free distribution of parts. Having said that, it never made any sense to me why Swatch had a double standard in place between watchmakers and material suppliers like Cousins.

I don't know the situation with regards to parts accounts in the UK, but if you look at the US, in order to get a parts account with Swatch in the recent past you had to do the following:

1 - Meet their requirements for schooling, knowledge, and experience.
2 - Have specific designated equipment in your shop.
3 - Have attended their service provider training in NJ where your skills are evaluated over a 5 day course.
4 - Be subject to periodic shop inspections by their inspector.

If you failed to meet any requirement, your account could be pulled at a moment's notice. In fact it can be pulled for no reason at all - they don't even have to tell you why it's been pulled.

At the same time, places like Otto Frei and Cousins are freely selling the same parts and tools to anyone with enough money to buy them.

It really made no sense at all to have one set of people jump through all kinds of hoops to get parts, and then allow anyone to buy parts from these 3rd party suppliers.

You will still have choices outside of Omega as long as they keep parts accounts with watchmakers open in the future, but that is far from guaranteed.

Unfortunately this is how the industry operates, and it's only getting worse.

Cheers, Al

 

All the more reason to ensure that you don't wind those watches without keeping up a regular service regime. I guess it will double the price of "donor" movements over night at the end of next year - especially those with the cal. 550 base.