Newbie here. Tried searching, but haven’t found the answer I’m looking for.

My first nice watch, and my first service after owning my Seamaster for 5yrs. After some research, I chose an independent watch maker vs Omega. Saved a bit of $$ I think. He’s supposedly certified by Omega.

Anyway, he sent me an estimate. On top of the normal service, he included 2 optional items. I called to discuss it with him.

One was to replace the hands, around $90. When I asked, he told me that the hands are held in by, I believe he used the word ‘friction’, and that when removed and replaced, they can sometimes fall out of sync.

The other item was called an Omega Service Kit for $180. At first he told me it was a recommended upgrade from Omega, but he’d have to find out exactly what was included. An email later said it included replacement of the
Crown, tube, helium valve, click spring, bezel spring, crystal gasket, case back gasket.

The normal service says that it includes replacement of worn parts. Wouldn’t that include something like a gasket?

In the end, I told him just to do the service on the watch. It’s 5 years old, never been under water or other stresses.....

Was I being taken for the proverbial ‘ride’? This guy was highly rated on the outlets I researched (BBB, yelp, google)

Or should I have had those things replaced?

Thanks in advance for the upcoming education.

 

Here’s the thing with an independent service — they have to purchase parts from Omega. Most just include the cost of known parts (gaskets, etc) in their cost of service. Sounds like your guy is charging for those parts above his cheaper service. The question I would ask is if he replaces all the gaskets in his service, or just uses the old ones. If he reuses the old ones, I’d not use his services — these should be replaced at each service.

I believe Omega always replaces the parts included in that service kit in their service (and the price reflects it). Personally, I would have paid to have all those parts replaced — they get a lot of wear.

Now, I don’t know about the hands. I’d probably skip that replacement on an independent service.

 

Yes....I tried to figure out what was normally replaced with a service by Omega, but couldn’t find much.

I believe the advertised price for a service by Omega was $550 for this watch. I’m paying about $500.

He advertised the same as Omega, replacing worn parts. Do you think Omega would have charged extra for the other parts? Like a new crown and tube?

Thanks