The Future of Watchmaking

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Just an enthusiast here: I’m based in Sydney and have been wondering what the future really looks like for watchmaking. On one hand, the craft feels eternal - brands still celebrate hand-finishing, mechanical beauty, and heritage. But at the same time, it’s hard to ignore the challenges: it seems fewer people learning the trade, brands are restricting part supplies to independent watchmakers, prices pushing the entry level out of reach, and younger buyers often gravitating toward smartwatches or tech pieces instead.

I’m curious whether others see this as a craft that’s evolving or one that’s slowly fading. Are new independent watchmakers and microbrands breathing life into it, or is it becoming more of a niche pursuit for collectors?

Would love to hear from anyone in the industry or just passionate about the craft - how do you see watchmaking’s future, especially here in Australia? Of course happy to hear about your thoughts in other places too.
 
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I do not really see any change in the near future.

There was a bit of a crisis 30 years ago. That was when it was realized there was no one replacing the post war generation. Even though the replacement generation is now retiring there is structure in place to keep the skills alive.

There is also a trend to globalization. Watchmaking is a transferable skill. So many of the local watch makers/repair are from other contries. In the SF bay area most are Asian. Probably as that demographic here has a bit of disposable income. Many of these folk are multi generation California and US citizens. So the exclusion acts do not really work in the long term.

I have a book tiled "Twenty first century watch making." this was actually written by one of the 'old gard.' Who's family was responcible for the Ensembl-O-graph watch textbooks. This gives methods for grinding new chronograph springs and setworks. Modern tools like fiber lasers make some of this more practical. The real question here is originality. Aftermarket parts are seen as lesser value. Repainting dials no longer what collectors want.

Automotive repair is probably a close example as to the way watch repair will continue. There will be those for whom high end costs are not a factor. Some watches will remain low mileage concourse worthy safe queens.

If one looks at You Tube and social media, there are dozens of watch repair channels. So there is plenty of entertainment to be had. Most of these will be some sort of frankenstien. One has to consider that the creature did have a good heart. I like to call these rat watches. Such things are likley to inspire young people, as long as the dogma does not overwhelm the passion.

Parts availability does remain a sore point. There needs to be a supply to the hobbyist collector. Perhaps it is only a matter of attending and approved school and paying extortion to manufactures. They though are looking to keep customers happy. So tend to want folk who will do things in the corporate mold.

Current business models are to sell replaceable widgets on a regular basis. There are watches hundreds of years old what are quite repairable. Plastic injection molded ones are more trendy. Smart watches are obsoleted when there are no software updates. How sustainable this is, is anyone's guess.

As long as there are lesser watches, and high value or worn out cases scrapped, there will be donor watches where parts can be swapped from. Some parts like hairsprings and set works, can be tricky to find. At the time of writing these tend to sell in trends. So one has to be patient. Escape wheels, may be in short supply. Other times it is pallet forks, or sweep seconds hands. My observation is that a lot of this is pure chance. Parts collections tend to be hoarded, and dumped in estate sales.

Can not address the state of things in Australia or New Zealand. My uneducated guess is they would be affected by trends and stuff in south east Asia. Before tariffs were commonplace in the last year of these observations. Australia online auctions was a location to locate hard to find parts for some rarer items.

Microbrands are either going to be passion watches from someone Like George Daniels, Derik Pratt or Phillipe du Four. I have not been keeping up on who the top designer nomes are. Others use what ever movements, cases and dials available on the global markets.

Then there will be those who want the maximum return for the least amount of effort.
 
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I do not really see any change in the near future.

There was a bit of a crisis 30 years ago. That was when it was realized there was no one replacing the post war generation. Even though the replacement generation is now retiring there is structure in place to keep the skills alive.

There is also a trend to globalization. Watchmaking is a transferable skill. So many of the local watch makers/repair are from other contries. In the SF bay area most are Asian. Probably as that demographic here has a bit of disposable income. Many of these folk are multi generation California and US citizens. So the exclusion acts do not really work in the long term.

I have a book tiled "Twenty first century watch making." this was actually written by one of the 'old gard.' Who's family was responcible for the Ensembl-O-graph watch textbooks. This gives methods for grinding new chronograph springs and setworks. Modern tools like fiber lasers make some of this more practical. The real question here is originality. Aftermarket parts are seen as lesser value. Repainting dials no longer what collectors want.

Automotive repair is probably a close example as to the way watch repair will continue. There will be those for whom high end costs are not a factor. Some watches will remain low mileage concourse worthy safe queens.

If one looks at You Tube and social media, there are dozens of watch repair channels. So there is plenty of entertainment to be had. Most of these will be some sort of frankenstien. One has to consider that the creature did have a good heart. I like to call these rat watches. Such things are likley to inspire young people, as long as the dogma does not overwhelm the passion.

Parts availability does remain a sore point. There needs to be a supply to the hobbyist collector. Perhaps it is only a matter of attending and approved school and paying extortion to manufactures. They though are looking to keep customers happy. So tend to want folk who will do things in the corporate mold.

Current business models are to sell replaceable widgets on a regular basis. There are watches hundreds of years old what are quite repairable. Plastic injection molded ones are more trendy. Smart watches are obsoleted when there are no software updates. How sustainable this is, is anyone's guess.

As long as there are lesser watches, and high value or worn out cases scrapped, there will be donor watches where parts can be swapped from. Some parts like hairsprings and set works, can be tricky to find. At the time of writing these tend to sell in trends. So one has to be patient. Escape wheels, may be in short supply. Other times it is pallet forks, or sweep seconds hands. My observation is that a lot of this is pure chance. Parts collections tend to be hoarded, and dumped in estate sales.

Can not address the state of things in Australia or New Zealand. My uneducated guess is they would be affected by trends and stuff in south east Asia. Before tariffs were commonplace in the last year of these observations. Australia online auctions was a location to locate hard to find parts for some rarer items.

Microbrands are either going to be passion watches from someone Like George Daniels, Derik Pratt or Phillipe du Four. I have not been keeping up on who the top designer nomes are. Others use what ever movements, cases and dials available on the global markets.

Then there will be those who want the maximum return for the least amount of effort.
Thanks for your insights.

I am glad to hear that the bit of a crisis was now 30 years ago, and that there is something in place to keep the craft alive for posterity. It's so important to have younger people coming into a trade, and watchmaking, I feel, is not something at the forefront of young peoples' minds. Most probably grew up never wearing a watch or like our generation, with a Casio/G-Shock digital.

Yes, I have watched a fair few of those restoration videos by hobbyists. I'm fascinated and admire the skills involved, and I can only imagine how much skill and knowledge one has to obtain to be a true professional in this craft. As you said, we have a disposable culture in which repairs and restorations are not the norm, which makes our mechanical watches even more special and valuable, for there are few objects these days that truly last a lifetime. And yet, these watches do need real watchmakers with ready access to parts to keep them alive, and I must say I fear that it seems parts are getting harder and harder to come by for them.

The watchmaker I use said even Omega parts (for some of my vintage watches) are very difficult to come by now compared to a few years ago, and he basically asks me to source parts from ebay myself, which is a challenge and also sometimes cost prohibitive. I suppose this is part of not supporting "obsolete" products for longer than necessary, as well as controlling the supply chain and forcing consumers to have watches serviced and repaired through the ADs.
 
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basically asks me to source parts from ebay myself, which is a challenge and also sometimes cost prohibitive.
That pretty much sums up the state of things at the moment. Still millions were made. Given the number of watchmaker estates that pop up there must be millions in the pipeline. It is fairly random what shows up, so it can take years for stuff to turn up. Most of the US supply seems to come from Florida. There was a time when US Carribian territories were used to bypass tariffs. Duty and tariffs seem to be the driving force in the history of watchmaking. It has only been the last 40 to 50 years that they were backed off. So none of this is really new.

Territorial rights are also paramount and have always been. For many years Norman Morris was the sole authorized importer to the US. These were called the middle men. Parts were never really available to the general public. The materials houses only sold to the trade. So none of this is really new. Some people even think that the material houses were too greedy, and the modern state of things is just reparation for this so called greed.

I did not do much hobby watchmaking for about 18 years, as I did not trust online auction houses such as eBay. My mailbox in the early 2000s were full of fake watch scams. I thought eBay was a front for fake watch dealers. Most of my friends from the 1990s were dead as they were in their 80s and 90s, so I lost most interest, preferring pipe organs. It was not until I discovered these forums after a trip to Switzerland that my interest returned. Probably missed out on 10 years of some great stuff in the 2010s. I still think that the 1990s were a great time to collect as well. The old guys did not care about mass produced Swiss stuff. They wanted Railroad grade pocket watches and ships chronometers.
 
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SWATCH, Rolex, and many others have stopped selling parts since 2015; this was the first nail in the coffin for my watch repair business, the last was Rheumatoid Arthritis. Simply put it is nearly impossible to do first class work on premium brands without access to parts. It is very hard to make a watch water resistant without access to parts such as crowns for example, that is why you see so many "service" watches on eBay marked "Not Water Resistant. If you need internal parts then the situation is even worse. Prices of remaining new parts have gone up probably 2000% in the past few years (crystals that once sold for less than $50 are being sold for hundreds of dollars). There are generic parts available, but if you install them, and the customer ever sends the watch in for factory service, they will label the watch as counterfeit; Rolex has been known to seize watches like that.

When this all started in 2015 I had been upgrading my shop equipment to the most modern, and was in the process of opening a Rolex parts account, that all came to a screeching halt. Much of the equipment costs tens of thousands of dollars an there was just no longer a justification.

I hope the trade does not dissappear, but increasingly two options seem to stick out; work for a service center or work on antique pocket watches.
 
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When this all started in 2015 I had been upgrading my shop equipment to the most modern, and was in the process of opening a Rolex parts account, that all came to a screeching halt.
I'm curious to know what stopped you from becoming an Omega certified watchmaker if you have the experience and equipment already.
 
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In general, Rolex will not service watches with aftermarket parts, but they are not considered counterfeit and they are not seized. Truly counterfeit watches are seized. There might be a gray area, for example if a watch had a a bunch of major deliberately reproduction parts (e.g. fake dial and case, with legit movement), it might be considered counterfeit. But an aftermarket crown, tube, dial, bezel/insert, seals, rotor, reversing wheels, etc.? No. They would just return it, or sometimes just require replacement.
Edited:
 
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SWATCH, Rolex, and many others have stopped selling parts since 2015; this was the first nail in the coffin for my watch repair business, the last was Rheumatoid Arthritis. Simply put it is nearly impossible to do first class work on premium brands without access to parts. It is very hard to make a watch water resistant without access to parts such as crowns for example, that is why you see so many "service" watches on eBay marked "Not Water Resistant. If you need internal parts then the situation is even worse. Prices of remaining new parts have gone up probably 2000% in the past few years (crystals that once sold for less than $50 are being sold for hundreds of dollars). There are generic parts available, but if you install them, and the customer ever sends the watch in for factory service, they will label the watch as counterfeit; Rolex has been known to seize watches like that.

When this all started in 2015 I had been upgrading my shop equipment to the most modern, and was in the process of opening a Rolex parts account, that all came to a screeching halt. Much of the equipment costs tens of thousands of dollars an there was just no longer a justification.

I hope the trade does not dissappear, but increasingly two options seem to stick out; work for a service center or work on antique pocket watches.
I'm sorry to hear that 🙁 It’s a terrible feeling when you’ve made serious investments only to have the rug pulled out from under you.

Unfortunately, the consumer’s right to repair has been going down the drain for some time. I reckon it really started when the iPod came out with an integrated battery at around 2000. They worked out that if the battery couldn't be replaced - often the only thing a consumer can do to "fix" something, then either they will throw it away or bring it back to the manufacturer, which isn't always cost effective.
 
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I'm curious to know what stopped you from becoming an Omega certified watchmaker if you have the experience and equipment already.
sae43351 mentioned that Swatch stopped supplying parts since 2015, so would you have the same issue with Omega?
 
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Omega is owned by the Swatch Group. They stopped supplying parts to resellers awhile ago. There are many Omega certified independent watchmakers around the world who can order parts from Omega directly. My question is what stopped him from becoming one.
 
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Omega is owned by the Swatch Group. They stopped supplying parts to resellers awhile ago. There are many Omega certified independent watchmakers around the world who can order parts from Omega directly. My question is what stopped him from becoming one.
Just out of interest what does it take to become certified by Omega? And what are the ongoing commitments?
 
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In general, Rolex will not service watches with aftermarket parts, but they are not considered counterfeit and they are not seized. Truly counterfeit watches are seized. There might be a gray area, for example if a watch had a a bunch of major deliberately reproduction parts (e.g. fake dial and case, with legit movement), it might be considered counterfeit. But an aftermarket crown, tube, dial, bezel/insert, seals, rotor, reversing wheels, etc.? No. They would just return it, or sometimes just require replacement.
Does Rolex actually still have all the parts for their old watches? I imagine they wouldn't be very meticulous when it comes to parts being period correct etc. Also, I heard that Rolex (and others) sometimes insists on things like swapping the dial and crown. It seems they adopt an all or nothing approach. I feel like there is still very much a need for independent watchmakers to be able to carry out repairs or restorations on vintage pieces, but the lack of parts would make that very difficult or impossible, which is a shame.
 
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I’m based in Sydney and have been wondering what the future really looks like for watchmaking.
YOU are the future.
Just relocate to Brisbane 🌴🏖 👊🤣

 
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YOU are the future.
Just relocate to Brisbane 🌴🏖 👊🤣

Sigh, "a fine upstanding youngster" and "superior fine motor skills" very sadly ruled me out! Otherwise I would move to Brisbane haha!

Is this being advertised in TAFE etc? Sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
 
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Sigh, "a fine upstanding youngster" and "superior fine motor skills" very sadly ruled me out! Otherwise I would move to Brisbane haha!

Is this being advertised in TAFE etc? Sounds like a fantastic opportunity.
I'm with you on the first parts, unfortunately 🙁

Who knows how jobs are advertised these days ???
I found this on Seek because I'm currently out of work. My Workforce consultant seems impressed I'm prepared to travel over 20km on Public Transport but is putting me up for jobs on the Gold Coast (80km+ each way) 🤔 Brown paper bags 💰 still the motivator?
 
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I'm with you on the first parts, unfortunately 🙁

Who knows how jobs are advertised these days ???
I found this on Seek because I'm currently out of work. My Workforce consultant seems impressed I'm prepared to travel over 20km on Public Transport but is putting me up for jobs on the Gold Coast (80km+ each way) 🤔 Brown paper bags 💰 still the motivator?
I'm sorry to hear 🙁 Hope you'll find something suitable soon.

I can certainly appreciate the need for superior fine motor skills amongst many others required of a good watchmaker. It seems TAFE NSW used to offer a course but nothing is available right now: https://www.tafensw.edu.au/course-areas/engineering/watch-and-clock-repair
 
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sae43351 mentioned that Swatch stopped supplying parts since 2015, so would you have the same issue with Omega?
Some clarification is needed I think.

Swatch had 2 distribution channels prior to 2015.

One of those was selling parts directly to watchmakers who they had certified, so people who were able to show that they had the education, experience, and all the tools needed to do the job to Swatch standards. I went through this process, which is known as the selective spare parts distribution program. It also required some training at Swatch, which only required that I get myself there and get a room. Nearly everything else was covered, including some meals, plus transportation back and forth from the hotel each day. Provided you passed the training, these people were approved to purchase parts directly from Swatch group with no middleman.

The second channel was selling parts to third party resellers, so retailers who in turn marked up the prices and sold the parts to watchmakers who were not certified by Swatch. This was essentially a back door for watchmakers who either could not or would not go through the process of being certified, so they could still get parts.

Swatch didn’t stop selling parts to watchmakers in 2015 - I know as I had my account long before then and I was not affected by any of this. They stopped selling parts to those third parties so the many watch material suppliers. Otto Frei, Jules Borel, etc. People who say that they were personally cut off in 2015 didn’t actually have any direct relationship with Swatch, as they were buying from a third party.

Swatch still issues parts accounts today, so if you are qualified and willing to go through the process, you can still get an account. There are at least 3 members of this forum who have gone through this process that I know of since 2015, one completing this just a couple of years ago.

No one can predict how watch companies will distribute parts, or even if they will, in the future. There are no sure things in life.

But back in I think late 2013 when this change was announced, many watchmakers were very upset, and were all predicting dire consequences for everyone. I tried to encourage people to just work through the process, but was told many times that it wasn’t worth it because Swatch was going to close all the accounts shortly after they cut off the retailers. Well it’s been 10 years, and there’s no sign of anything changing. People who hesitated could have had a solid decade already (and likely a lot more) of easy parts supply if they had just got it done. Everyone has to decide what works best for their own business, and if it’s not worth it that’s fine. But the reason I went for my own personal account in the first place is that I didn’t want to rely on third parties for my parts supply, and I’ve never regretted that decision.
 
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Some clarification is needed I think.

Swatch had 2 distribution channels prior to 2015.

One of those was selling parts directly to watchmakers who they had certified, so people who were able to show that they had the education, experience, and all the tools needed to do the job to Swatch standards. I went through this process, which is known as the selective spare parts distribution program. It also required some training at Swatch, which only required that I get myself there and get a room. Nearly everything else was covered, including some meals, plus transportation back and forth from the hotel each day. Provided you passed the training, these people were approved to purchase parts directly from Swatch group with no middleman.

The second channel was selling parts to third party resellers, so retailers who in turn marked up the prices and sold the parts to watchmakers who were not certified by Swatch. This was essentially a back door for watchmakers who either could not or would not go through the process of being certified, so they could still get parts.

Swatch didn’t stop selling parts to watchmakers in 2015 - I know as I had my account long before then and I was not affected by any of this. They stopped selling parts to those third parties so the many watch material suppliers. Otto Frei, Jules Borel, etc. People who say that they were personally cut off in 2015 didn’t actually have any direct relationship with Swatch, as they were buying from a third party.

Swatch still issues parts accounts today, so if you are qualified and willing to go through the process, you can still get an account. There are at least 3 members of this forum who have gone through this process that I know of since 2015, one completing this just a couple of years ago.

No one can predict how watch companies will distribute parts, or even if they will, in the future. There are no sure things in life.

But back in I think late 2013 when this change was announced, many watchmakers were very upset, and were all predicting dire consequences for everyone. I tried to encourage people to just work through the process, but was told many times that it wasn’t worth it because Swatch was going to close all the accounts shortly after they cut off the retailers. Well it’s been 10 years, and there’s no sign of anything changing. People who hesitated could have had a solid decade already (and likely a lot more) of easy parts supply if they had just got it done. Everyone has to decide what works best for their own business, and if it’s not worth it that’s fine. But the reason I went for my own personal account in the first place is that I didn’t want to rely on third parties for my parts supply, and I’ve never regretted that decision.
Thank you for clarifying. I suppose that is a way for Swatch to exert control over their supply chain so they can pinpoint who can get what.

Is this the same for Rolex as well? Does this mean there are still some independent watchmakers who have Rolex parts accounts?

I imagine those independents who have these accounts would be in demand.
 
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Is this the same for Rolex as well? Does this mean there are still some independent watchmakers who have Rolex parts accounts?
I've never had (nor wanted) a Rolex parts account - I already have more work that I can handle so there was never a business need to desire an account. I still serviced these watches occasionally, because parts were available on the open market (I bought a bunch of parts from a retiring US watchmaker at one time for example), but I service very few these days - maybe one every year or two. In Canada, where I am, there have not been truly independent accounts for a very long time. The only accounts here are at Rolex AD's who put the money into having an on site watchmaker and shop.

In the US those truly independent accounts, in other words people who do not work for an AD but just have their own business and are certified by Rolex, are mostly gone now. It's a bit of a long story, but there was a some deception involved I believe...

There was a time when watch companies would send watchmakers parts they wrote in asking for, free of charge - the good old days that were long before my time in the industry. But at one time it was apparent that the Swiss industry in particular employed monopolistic practices, and by 1960 they and their industry associations were considered a cartel by the US government, and a consent decree was imposed.

Back in 2006, Rolex applied to have this consent decree removed - information here:

https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-do...-motion-rolex-watch-usa-inc-order-terminating

The final agreement has Rolex paying $750,000 to cover costs. Essentially, this removed the restrictions on Rolex to limit the supply of parts and was a real turning point in how they operated.

Curiously, the AWCI (originally the AWA back in 1960) - the trade organization representing watchmakers in the US, agreed to this. This seems rather strange considering that this group represents watchmakers, and to be honest the membership were not pleased. However, the AWCI was working with Rolex to develop the CW21 watchmaker certification process at this time, and not long after the consent decree was removed in 2007, Rolex announced that all watchmakers with a parts account had to become CW21 certified by the end of 2010, or they would lose their accounts. The AWCI and Rolex were considered "partners" at this time.

Everyone was required to take the 4 day long test, and these were held at AWCI headquarters near Cincinnati - you had to pay for the test, pay for the travel and lodging, and you lost a week of income. They also ran refresher courses to prepare watchmakers for the exams. I was in many of those classes just for my own continuing education, and all the watchmakers with parts accounts were shitting bricks because they knew they would likely be out of business if they lost their accounts. They were also very bitter that their own organization was involved in the removal of the consent decree.

The AWCI said that other brands were going to adopt this CW21 certification as a requirement, but none other than Rolex ever did. When I was at Swatch in NJ for training on servicing the co-axial escapement years ago, someone in the class asked the instructor about Swatch adopting the CW21. The response:

"That's got nothing to do with us. That's a Rolex thing."

Then some time went by, everyone was (reasonably) happy, and Rolex just started closing all these parts accounts anyway. In all Rolex agreements, there is this clause:

"Both the parts account and Rolex are free, at any time and for any reason, to discontinue their business relationship, without cause and without prior notice."

So Rolex played the long game to get rid of the consent decree, the AWCI got played, and US watchmakers paid the price for it.

This is one reason why I personally get frustrated when people say these companies operate the same way, or that all of them are cutting off parts supplies. It's just not true at all. There are some very good companies to work with, and I personally count Swatch among them. I don't agree with everything they do certainly, like since 2015 they have jacked up prices to sometimes absurd levels on things. But for the most part all my own experiences working with them have been good. They have helped me when needed, and sometimes even recommended me to people for vintage repairs. It's a good working relationship. As long as I do the work right and don't be an idiot, they leave me alone to run my business and we are both happy.

A good friend of mine is a watchmaker for a Rolex AD here in Canada, and when he told me how Rolex operates with him, it was astonishing. With Swatch I can order whatever parts I feel are appropriate for me to have in stock at any given time, so if I want to order 50 mainsprings for a specific caliber, I just order them and nothing is said. In contrast Rolex won't let him just buy the spare parts he wants to stock - he has to only order what's needed for a specific watch in front of him. He must log the replacement of every part (even a screw) to a specific serial number. He must take a photo of that watch on a specific pad the Rolex provides., He must be able to pull up the records of any watch he's serviced if Rolex asks him to. It is extreme micro-managing.

Another good company is Nomos in Germany. I recently ordered some parts for a customer's watch, and the first thing they said was thank you for taking care of one of our customers for us. They actually sent me the parts before I paid for them (actually even before I had a copy of the invoice) to help speed up the process.

The contrast between Rolex (you should be happy we allow you to buy parts from us) and Nomos (we are happy you are helping us) is huge. Personally I prefer working with companies who want to work with me, not against me.

Sorry, this ended up being much longer than I intended...😉
 
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sae43351 mentioned that Swatch stopped supplying parts since 2015, so would you have the same issue with Omega?
I closed my watch shop in 2014. When Rolex stopped supplying watch material long ago to Independent's I became concerned, since it represented about 30% of our vintage watch repair/restore shop business. Then Swatch jumped in on the act and would stop supplying Swatch related repair parts to our watch material houses. The writing was on the wall that Rolex and Swatch had changed their business model, and Independents do not fit into that model.