Morning Gents,

Hope everyone is doing well during the Holiday season! Stay safe & get your family some wrist candy. Today I wanted to discuss the wait time on getting a piece fully serviced. I'll post the piece I've had this very reputable watch maker handle for the past month and a half. I'm getting impatient, and want to make sure this is of the norm.

Here is the Flightmaster that I got from the son of the original owner. I'm in it right so I have no issue with the full spa treatment (all original/period parts, dial is not being touched). Movement servicing, fresh gasket, crystal, and he's cleaning it inside and out. I'm not sure what else he could be doing but I'm wondering if the wait time can get shortened up.

I'd like to have a job like this done in two weeks. Am I being unrealistic? Do you guys know of anyone who can make that happen without charging $500+? What are you value/time experiences? Please include photos to support. I like seeing what degree of work warrants what time of wait. This thread is specific to privately owned/operating watch makers, not Omega servicing.

Looking forward to the communities experience in this field of collecting....Keeping everything clean, working, and in it's proper place is very important to me. Any help is appreciated! Here to learn, so feel free to correct, criticize, or suggest anything to help improve the information included in this thread.

Thank you & Happy Holidays OF!

Thomas

 

I had a flightmaster serviced by an Omega-trained watchmaker, last year, in Austin, Tx. He charged $700, which I thought was high, and I believe he took a month. I think 2 weeks is unrealistic for a good watchmaker because they're usually very busy. @Archer can give you more insight.

 

Never going to happen in my experience.

 

Two weeks is my "dream" timeframe but I also understand that a quality servicing doesn't come cheap/quick. One month is feasible for me, but just as you said, the pricing seems to be slightly overboard. I will update this thread with my finished product for further assessment to see if I have a OF approved watch maker.

Thank you both for your participation! I appreciate the insight & look forward to the additions to come.

Best,

Thomas

 

My watchmaker serviced one of my speedmasters recently and I had it back within three weeks, which included it going awol in the post for a week. Total cost including parts was just over 300 Euros.

 

I just had a speedmaster back from STS, they told me 30 working days and on the 30th working day it showed up. There's something comforting about knowing they took a bit of time with it, almost like the Stella "reassuringly expensive" line...

 

In my experience 2 weeks is possible but rare. It depends on the watchmaker's workload, whether or not you need new parts, and whether or not they have needed parts on hand. If not, then it also depends on their workload when your parts come in.

 

Especially not for a Flightmaster.
Different watchmakers = different turnaround times. Some are slower, some are busier, some are busier and slow! The normal for authorized Rolex for example is 30 days and they are very consistent with this time frame. I've had some watchmakers take over 6 months and some done within a week. But I figure 30 days is the norm especially for a chrono which can be more.
If you own a vintage mechanical better not be in a hurry if it needs a service!

Cheers,

EDIT: I didn't mean slow pejoratively. I should have used the word deliberate.

 

Most people have no idea what goes into servicing a watch, and doing it properly. Even if you think you know what's involved, it's probably not a true representation of what a professional watchmaker does during a truly proper service.

You are going to see people chime in saying their watchmaker did such and such a watch super fast, and it only cost X dollars, pounds, whatever. Let me just say that not all watches are the same to service (even 2 watches of the exact same model and movement can take vastly different amounts of work), and not all watchmaker work to the same standard - trust me I get enough watches "serviced" by others to know that some just clean, slap in some oil, and ship it back - that is not a proper service, although many collectors are happy with the level of work.

For example, any watch I service goes through a 10 day minimum testing regime after the service is completed. So a 2 week service is not going to happen from me, and my customers are fine with that. The time needed to service a particular watch can depend on many factors. For example after I disassemble and clean the movement, every part that is subject to wear gets inspected under a microscope, so do any need to be replaced? If so, do I have them in stock or do I have to order them from someone? If I need parts, who has them? This depends on the watch, but sticking with Omega, I would order directly from them. So does Omega Canada have the parts I need? If so, I can get them in 2 days usually, but what if they don't? Then there is a backorder, and that is typically 2-3 weeks to get parts from Switzerland. But that doesn't take into account the long breaks that companies in Switzerland take a couple of times a year, so if I happen to hit one of those, it could be longer. I would say at least 20% of the time when I order from Omega, there is a backordered item or items in my order...

For watches where parts are no longer available, the hunt can take more time. I have to spend time away from the bench (the only place I get paid) to now search for parts from suppliers, or eBay, sometimes wait for an auction to run it's course, and then wait for the part to be shipped in from wherever the seller is from - last one I did this for was a vintage Tissot and I ordered parts via eBay from a seller in the UK. Not all the parts I needed, so I ended up having to install a bushing in the worn main plate. Yes Tissot is a Swatch group product, but like for other brands they have acquired, even though I have an account, they don't have parts. So Longines, Tissot - forget getting any vintage parts from Swatch.

If the watch has a problem that appears during service, it has to be diagnosed and remedied. Until you get the movement ticking, you don't always know what the job will go like. Of course modern watches tend to be less difficult in many respects than vintage, so more predictable, and easier to get parts for.

The last thing to keep in mind is, when you hand your watch over there are people in front of you in the queue...if there aren't, you should ask yourself why.

Cheers, Al

 

Chronographs are not simple to service. They're tedious and time consuming, which equates to $$$.

I've had watches serviced in 2 weeks..... but not often at all. I've also waited over a year for a complete restoration from Le Sentier (JLC factory).

 

I would just add that my watchmaker is a fully qualified member of the British Horological Institute.
He gave me the option of a partial service, ie COR at a reduced cost. I opted for a full service. My 70's speedy is now running at +5 secs a day on the wrist.
He was well respected here when he used to post on technical matters on the forum.

 

Lots of insight, sounds to me like you're the person I should be talking to - I want a careful calculated hand on my collection.

Thank you for the time placed in this response. This has answered several questions on my end.

After seeing Archer's response, makes sense that the additional complications would add that much more detail to his testing/approach. As we all know, these pieces are suffering through years of different damage from all elements causing a lottery of issues every time a caseback is cracked.

Thank you both!

Thomas

 

It varies but I'd say 2 weeks is extremely quick and is the exception rather than the rule.

I had my Seamaster 600 returned within just over a fortnight recently, which I thought was lightening quick. My chronographs usually take 4-8 weeks, sometimes a little longer. I'm completely fine with that as I want it done properly, not quickly.

 

Are you really saying that a fully qualified watchmaker can't service and properly test and regulate a relatively simple chrono movement like the 861 in a couple of weeks?
Maybe I got priority because I have built up a rapport with him, but it really doesn't take months to service a speedmaster.
And I find it quite sad when one watchmaker insinuates that because another watchmaker has a faster turnaround he must be short of customers because of some problem with their competence.

 

Steel cage match!

 

Don't worry, I'll say no more on the subject .Others can decide for themselves.

 

The question was, what is a normal for servicing. 2 week is not normal, it is extremely quick. I bet if we had a poll the median wait would be around 5-6 weeks. I have had dozens of watches serviced at several providers and only a couple were as quick as 2 weeks and they were manual wind 3-hander Omegas needing little intervention.

 

My comment wasn't directed at your post, or whoever your watchmaker is - you could say I was just "talking aloud" if you like because it wasn't directed at anyone in particular. If you are happy with whoever it is that you are using, then I'm happy for you. Good watchmakers are always busy - this is not a revolutionary concept by any means.

With regards to the time it should take to complete a Speedmaster service, the actual bench service time (according to Omega standards) is about 3.5 hours. This of course assumes a straightforward service, with all spares that are needed on hand. This is in an ideal situation, but of course it's not always ideal. Can it take months to service a Speedmaster? Not likely an 861 but even those can take several weeks if you get some bad luck on parts deliveries as I've noted in my original post. For a Cal. 321 where you need a new escape wheel, operating lever hook, hammer spring, etc. that are all discontinued, the movement is beat to shit...yes it can certainly take some time. When people ask for a time frame from me, it's usually 4-6 weeks, but depends on the specifics of the job - no one I've encountered yet has found that to be unreasonable.

It's rare that I start working on a watch the moment it arrives - there is a queue. The one exception in my shop is a flooded watch - I will pretty much drop everything I'm doing and at the very least get it apart, and run through the cleaning machine in order to stop the damage. Everything else waits it's turn. FIFO...it's fair and no one gets priority by building a rapport with me, or offering to pay to cut in line (yes I've had people try to buy their way to the front of my line), etc.

Others can choose to run their businesses the way they choose I suppose.

Looking at all watches and all servicing with a "one size fits all" approach is naïve in my view.

Cheers, Al

 

Hi Al,

Would it be fair to say that equally competent watchmakers may take different amounts of time to service, for example a caliber 861 chrono depending on how much experience each watchmaker has? For example, a watch maker with 40 years experience versus one with 5 years experience?