I rescued a 1980s Seamaster Quartz (ref. 1432) from the wild earlier today, but it needs an overhaul. The watch's previous owner tried replacing its battery but could not get the watch to run, so it probably needs a new movement (ETA 255.111). Can anyone recommend a reliable but affordable repairer in Australia, or even worldwide? It's not a valuable timepiece so I don't see much sense in spending a great deal of money on it. Thank you all!
Most "good" watchmakers charge enough that a movement replacement is often the more cost effective option. The Cal. 1432 is still available from Omega, so the OP can either get it serviced or swapped out, whichever makes the most sense financially. The only quartz watches I usually service are vintage that no longer have replacements available - an exception would be a very high end movement, but those are not all that common. There are also a whole host of quartz movements that can't be serviced. For example the ETA G10 series of chronograph movements are all plastic and welded together construction, so they can't be disassembled. The tech guides list 2 spare parts available - new stem and new battery...but at $65 for a new movement it would be crazy to service it even if I could... So it depends very much on the watch in question. Cheers, Al