Hi everyone! I was planning on replacing the crystals on my three ancient Omega Chronostop's from 1975 that belonged to my father and grandfather, pictured here inside that green frame. Contacted the locally recommended service center (an independent company who does certified servicing for Omega and a number of other high end brands), and they've asked me 100 EUR ($120) per watch. Would you say this is an acceptable price to pay for this job? I wouldn't mind having a complete service done, but for that they've asked me 405 EUR ($480) a piece, and I really can't afford that right now, especially given I won't be wearing these watches. Just want them to look a bit nicer. Would sourcing out the crystals on the web and getting a cheap press be enough to save some money here? Or would the savings be minimal compared to the hassle, since I'm handy but not a specialist? Thanks! Cheers! André Toscano
Hey André. From conversations with STS, who service my Omega's, Swatch group have put the price of crystals up a lot in the last 12 months (as I understand, in some cases by as much as 300%) - so whilst this price seems high, your watchmaker is likely just passing on the increase of their costs (as you'd expect). I'm not handy enough to attempt a crystal change myself, so can't comment on the DIY option! Cheers Chris
If you just want them to look nicer, I would recommend a tube of Polywatch, will definitely do the job if they are not too badly chipped.