Some advice please

What’s the watch. Pictures please.

Couple of hundred ££s it will cost at least but £400 sounds a touch high. Unless it’s a chronograph??

If you had it 20 years and haven’t serviced it in that time it might need a good service.

We need what type of watch and a Picture tells a thousand words. 😉

Your analogies are pretty accurate. Watchmakers will normally have a sliding scale of a base service price, which is lower for manual winding time-only watches, slightly more for automatic watches, still more for chronographs and watches with complications, etc. They might quote that base price, and then indicate that the actual price may be higher if they need to replace parts once they do a full inspection. When someone gives a fixed price, it is usually going to be high, since they are taking the risk of additional repairs on themselves, and building that cost into the fixed price quote. Therefore, to quote 400 GBP as a base price to service on that watch reflects a pretty high base price, at least in my opinion. It's the price of a high-end shop or jeweler, with high overhead, who might even outsource the service and add on a layer of profit for themselves. While prices obviously vary with location, I think that you might find someone who might quote a base price of 150-200 GBP, who would still be capable of doing a thorough job. Of course, the price could end up going higher if inspection indicated that the watch needed replacement parts, which would have to be purchased on the secondary parts market.

And yes, there are people who do a halfhearted job of cleaning and lubrication, sometimes pejoratively called a "dip and swish"; you want to avoid that, since it is only a temporary measure.

The question of whether the watch is "worth" the investment cannot be separated from the sentimental value. I don't know how else to answer that question. If you want to wear the watch, it must be serviced. The watch has quality. Those are points in favor of servicing it. I don't get the sense that you plan to sell it, but if you do, the you should not bother having it serviced, since you will not get the service cost back in an increased sales price.

Can you please elaborate on what you are referring to here?

Cheers, Al

Often people will call a price like this outrageous, without any understanding of what is included in that price. Until there is a clear understanding of what a number like this may or may not include, it's not really possible to say that it's a good or bad price.

What did the service provider state was included in this price?

Okay thanks that helps. Is he listed as an official Omega service center or is he an independent watchmaker who is authorized to obtain parts from Omega?

If he is the former and an official Omega service center (like STS for example), his prices will essentially be Omega's prices.

If he is the latter, there is no requirement to charge any set price. At least this is my experience in the many years I have been authorized by Omega. They have no idea what I charge...being independent means I can charge what I feel is appropriate.

BTW not trying to make an issue out of it, but I had just never heard of Omega pressuring independent watchmakers to charge a set price for anything. What they have done is make the parts so expensive that it becomes more difficult to set a price that is lower than what Omega charges, and still make enough to make a living at this.

Cheers, Al