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DocJ
·Title says it all. Who do people recommend for service in the City or North Suburbs?
I've used Cornerstone Service in Gurnee for servicing an Omega Cosmic, a Universal Geneve that he was able to source a set bridge for, and my Seiko flyback chrono. I've been very pleased with the work and the prices. Facebook page has a lot more content than the website.
Forgotten Times in Arlington Heights. I never actually had anything serviced there but they took the time to chat with me on a few watches I brought in for them to look at. They did fix a loose stem on one of my vintage Bulovas for free right there.
M meglosI had a bad experience with Forgotten Times in Arlington Heights. After no response to my initial email I took a 1960's Jules Jurgensen dress watch (time and date only, no major complications.) in that was running 2.5 minutes fast per day.
I told the man behind the counter i wanted a basic cleaning, to have it adjusted to keep better time and that I only occasionally wore it. The employee at the counter took the watch to someone in the back and returned to tell me it would cost $695. I said that was significantly more than I expected and politely thanked him for his time.
Also when I was in the store I asked if they had any used Omegas. The guy behind the counter said they did and it was $1,000 even though it had no price tag. He handed it to me and it was an obvious redial, no Omega crown, case back was unsigned, and it wasn't a model familiar to me. Never even seen any similar model.
A few days later I received the following email reply, last names removed for privacy.
"
Hello Mr. XXXX,
I’m sorry that I didn’t have the time to speak to you directly while you were at my shop on Saturday.
Your Jules Jurgensen watch looks to be in above average condition for its age. My estimate is that the watch was made in the late 60’s to early 70’s.
As you were told on Saturday, the cost to do a complete service of this type of watch is $695, however, depending on how you want to use the watch, we can do a partial cleaning which will address just the critical service points of the watch and will greatly improve its timekeeping and would cost $195.
I don’t recommend this type of partial service if the watch is to be worn everyday, but this would be fine if it is to be worn once or twice a week at the most.
Thank you for visiting my shop and let me know if you have any further questions.
Kind regards,
Joe XXXXXXXXXX
"
There was no mention of the $195 option while I was in the store. It felt like they were trying to see how much I would pay and when I didn't go for it they followed up by quoting me a more reasonable price.
All of the above concerns (high initial price quote, questionable "Omega" watch with no price tag, and more reasonable revised price in an email after I left) made me very uncomfortable. Nothing definitively "wrong" but enough bad vibes to just walk away and never go back.
M meglosI had a bad experience with Forgotten Times in Arlington Heights. After no response to my initial email I took a 1960's Jules Jurgensen dress watch (time and date only, no major complications.) in that was running 2.5 minutes fast per day.
I told the man behind the counter i wanted a basic cleaning, to have it adjusted to keep better time and that I only occasionally wore it. The employee at the counter took the watch to someone in the back and returned to tell me it would cost $695. I said that was significantly more than I expected and politely thanked him for his time.
Also when I was in the store I asked if they had any used Omegas. The guy behind the counter said they did and it was $1,000 even though it had no price tag. He handed it to me and it was an obvious redial, no Omega crown, case back was unsigned, and it wasn't a model familiar to me. Never even seen any similar model.
A few days later I received the following email reply, last names removed for privacy.
"
Hello Mr. XXXX,
I’m sorry that I didn’t have the time to speak to you directly while you were at my shop on Saturday.
Your Jules Jurgensen watch looks to be in above average condition for its age. My estimate is that the watch was made in the late 60’s to early 70’s.
As you were told on Saturday, the cost to do a complete service of this type of watch is $695, however, depending on how you want to use the watch, we can do a partial cleaning which will address just the critical service points of the watch and will greatly improve its timekeeping and would cost $195.
I don’t recommend this type of partial service if the watch is to be worn everyday, but this would be fine if it is to be worn once or twice a week at the most.
Thank you for visiting my shop and let me know if you have any further questions.
Kind regards,
Joe XXXXXXXXXX
"
There was no mention of the $195 option while I was in the store. It felt like they were trying to see how much I would pay and when I didn't go for it they followed up by quoting me a more reasonable price.
All of the above concerns (high initial price quote, questionable "Omega" watch with no price tag, and more reasonable revised price in an email after I left) made me very uncomfortable. Nothing definitively "wrong" but enough bad vibes to just walk away and never go back.
I've used Cornerstone Service in Gurnee for servicing an Omega Cosmic, a Universal Geneve that he was able to source a set bridge for, and my Seiko flyback chrono. I've been very pleased with the work and the prices. Facebook page has a lot more content than the website.