Is this watchmaker excuse legit?

ChrisN

I don't know that you will be able to vet a potential watchmaker. To be honest here, we are all snowed under and many will just not respond if there are lots of questions from a potential new customer.

I think that it would be fair to ask for some agreements and this also helps the watchmaker. Let's say you send an Omega calibre 565 from the mid sixties, you could write, as examples:

Introduce yourself and explain that you're a collector who likes their watches to run consistently and with good accuracy.
The first watch I need looking at is an Omega Seamaster 166.020 with the calibre 565 and has low power reserve so it keeps stopping. I am happy with the crystal, dial and hands plus I don't want the case polished and would like to keep the crown even though it may not be water resistant. I'll just send the watch as I will remove the strap.
Are you familiar with the 550 series calibers?
Will you be able to obtain any necessary parts, and be able to spend the time, to make my watch run within the latest Omega specs for this caliber? I realise this may cost more but have some flexibility in that area.
Would you be able to give me an idea of the cost without seeing the watch and roughly when you would be able to take it on?

Don't ask lots of questions about lift angles and testing positions as it would take far too long to answer so you are likely to go onto the list of "definite non customers", plus you're unlikely to fully understand the answer.

Once the watch is with the watchmaker, you can agree the exact work.

I often receive mails saying something like "Dad's old Omega stopped. Needs service. How much?". Doesn't say if it's an auto, chrono or something oddball and no idea of the condition and expectations. Sometimes I wonder why I bother replying with anything more than "£300-£1500".

Good luck, Chris

ATracyWatches

It’s always going to be a difficult dance, and a tough one to figure out. As an example, here is a pallet fork from an Omega 552.

You can see a groove has been cut into the jewel. I have chosen to change this parts, but others may not. Will the watch run without it changed? Absolutely. It won’t run as well and many people will never notice it or care about it. That’s not how I work though. I like every 100% correct, where possible.

Same thing for this train wheel. You can see a groove has worn into the pivot.

Would the watch run with this wheel put back like this? Yes, but again it won’t run as well. The choice here was to polish the pivot, not replace.

Finding out what level a watchmaker works to is difficult, and in some cases you may never know. At the end of the day a level of trust has to be involved, and as has been pointed out, ask questions.

A lot of people may not want to pay for this level of work, and that’s fine, I’m not really interested in having them as customers, nor do they want me as their watchmaker. So my best advice would be - choose a watchmaker that suits your personality type and the level of work you want achieved.

Dan S

Why would he do that? He has presumably already paid quite a lot to have it serviced.