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Servicing advice...

hamster
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Hello! Been a looooooong time and with this post, at risk of getting burned on my return....

I’ve been a very bad watch owner and have never serviced my watches (my first “significant” purchase was an engagement present 12 years ago).

I have looked to find a thread on this but without success: if I’ve looked in the wrong place or missed it, please do let me know.

I live in the uk and I’m looking for recommendations of where or who you might use?

Any suggestions??
 
Archer
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The answers will depend a great deal on what the watch is. Is it modern, vintage?
 
hamster
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Good point. I have three that I’d like to get serviced, 2 x modern (the oldest is 12 years) and 1 x vintage (a chronostop).

cheers for the speedy response - and the clarification question.
 
Archer
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Should we assume they are all Omegas then? Any additional information you can provide would be helpful.

For example - if the 2 modern are Omega and co-axial, you either need to find an independent watchmaker who has an Omega parts account, and has been trained on co-axial, or you need to send them to Omega.

For the vintage Chronostop, Omega would be the last place most here would want to send it.
 
hamster
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Thank you for persevering @Archer and sorry for the poor response.

1 x omega chronostop
1 x Maurice lacroix chrono (12 years)
1 x ball moon phase (8 years)

I was looking at STS (for all three) and I was sure I’d read good things on here before but I couldn’t find those threads again.
 
KstateSkier
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Do your watch a favor and send it to Archer for service. You won't be disappointed.
 
Braindrain
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@hamster is in the UK. Probably easier to find someone there as there will be zero worries about VAT added on, post service.

But, it seems the UK watch makers that I know of aren't taking any new business at the moment...
 
Dan S
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The modern watches presumably have factory authorized service centers.
 
hamster
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Dan S Dan S
The modern watches presumably have factory authorized service centers.
Braindrain Braindrain
@hamster is in the UK. Probably easier to find someone there as there will be zero worries about VAT added on, post service.

But, it seems the UK watch makers that I know of aren't taking any new business at the moment...
I am indeed in the UK....
 
hamster
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Dan S Dan S
The modern watches presumably have factory authorized service centers.
Yeah, STS for the modern ones. But wasn’t sure if there’s be a view that an alternative would be preferable.
 
Dan S
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hamster hamster
Yeah, STS for the modern ones. But wasn’t sure if there’s be a view that an alternative would be preferable.

Honestly, I don't think there's any reason not to use the authorized service center for most modern watches. Sometimes they are the only ones that have access to parts. And they often have a fixed price, which could be beneficial for you if your watches end up needing a lot of parts replaced.
 
melanieux
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KstateSkier KstateSkier
Do your watch a favor and send it to Archer for service. You won't be disappointed.

I can second that. He did a beautiful job with mine!

I was just looking at the service DVD yesterday, actually 😀 watch is still going strong.
 
Croc
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I had a watch serviced by Russel Talerman in London a couple of years ago. They were recommended by the makers, an independent, and are also Omega authorised. Was happy with the service and the price and turnaround was fast too.
 
melanieux
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ExpiredWatchdog ExpiredWatchdog
Pray tell, what's a "service DVD"?


Haha..

When I sent my watch to @Archer for service, he returned it with a DVD filled with pictures he took of the watch on arrival - the outside, the inside/movement, pushers, etc. With the pics, I could see the work that he was recommending, which was a neat way to keep me involved in what he was doing.

It's also a nice, thorough record of the work that was performed and when.

I thought it was pretty cool.. but what really got me emotional was that he managed to return my fathers watch to me just a few days before fathers day. That brought tears to my eyes - and it is again now just thinking about it (I didn't expect that).

So, maybe there's another name for it..? I just figured it was a service DVD 😀
 
Braindrain
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Yes, that level of detail (ie. the DVD) is something pretty much only @Archer does. I don't know of any other watchmaker who does that.
 
amcclell
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Ashton Tracy in Canada prepares a photo-rich report for every watch that he services.
 
Archer
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Braindrain Braindrain
Yes, that level of detail (ie. the DVD) is something pretty much only @Archer does. I don't know of any other watchmaker who does that.

There are others who do it to a lesser degree certainly, often through the use of web pages like watchguy in the UK. Pretty sure @ChrisN here does this as well, and yes Ashton does something similar, but with less detail (he recently described my documentation as "crazy" on another forum).

How long the document is depends on what is wrong with the watch, and what I have to do to fix it. I think the record for a 3 hand watch is 120 pages (2 photos per page), but more complicated watches can be longer.

Many customers appreciate it, and for me it is borne of my own disappointment in getting exactly "zero" details the first time I had a high end watch (Rolex) serviced. Being an engineer, I wanted to see details, and when I asked I received a blank stare. So when I became a watchmaker I did for my customers what I would have wanted to see, and it's generally well received.

Cheers, Al

Oh, and because many no longer have disk drives, I've moved on to using USB's recently...😉
 
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