Those who buy/collect vintage watches -

[effovex]

- do you get them all serviced?

Let me explain:

I’ve been collecting for a few years now, mainly focusing on vintage dress watches and skin divers. They are not popular brands, just your typical 60’s - 70’s brands that got lost during the Quartz craze. In other words, they are watches of decent quality, but nothing rare.

You can sometimes find them at good prices at thrift/garage sales and popular online auction websites.

If you’re lucky, the watches are running and keep decent time - good enough to wind, set, and wear every once in a while. However, sometimes there are watches that run, but keep awful time (I.e off by several minutes a day).

Let’s face it, servicing movements are pricey; even a vintage watch you buy for a few bucks ends up being over a hundred dollars when you include the service cost.

My question comes here: do you service all the vintage watches you buy? Or perhaps only the ones you like most/see yourself wearing the most?

If so, then what about the vintage watches that you bought, do not keep great time, but are low in the priority of getting serviced? Do you just hang on to them? Wear them as-is knowing the time keeping is not good?

Would like to hear your thoughts!

My recent skin diver pickup:

 

[Dan S]

There are many threads to enjoy on this topic, here is one that comes to mind:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/selling-of-watches-that-are-unserviced.79470/

And here is a more recent thread, where I see I also added some links to previous threads.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/vintage-watches-service-or-not.156180/

With a large collection of inexpensive watches, it makes sense that you may need to be selective about servicing all of your watches.

 

[Canuck]

Everything I acquire gets serviced. By myself. I guess I’m lucky.

 

[wagudc]

I use three different watchmakers:

1) A watchmaker who does top quality work and has a parts account with Omega and the other top brands. Not cheap, but good.
2) A watchmaker who is considerably less expensive, does not have a parts account, and probably is not quite as detailed as watchmaker (1). It doesn't make sense to me to pay $400 to service a $200 watch.
3) A tuning fork specialist to for Accutrons and F300.

I pretty much get every watch I own serviced, and try to keep my collection at a reasonable size so that the burden does not get to great. I am not sure if I am succeeding at the second part.

 

[sheepdoll]

I service my own watches.

Even that can get expensive. Parts can be hard to come by and are often expensive. If one gets a parts movement. Then that is another watch that is just asking to be fed.

Sometimes it becomes about the impulse purchaces and the waiting for the next new addition to the collection. Then there are the gaps. At the moment adding more Omegas are not as practical. I also like chronographs. I used to get movements. Now I look more at the cases.

Typically I clean a watch then favor that one for a month or so. Then it is onto the next impulse ...

 

[wagudc]

sheepdoll

Even that can get expensive.

Especially with some of the basket cases you take on.

I am impressed with your patience to resurrect some of those watches from the dead. Good work.

 

[dsio]

It depends whether they’re watches I plan to wear or watches I plan to have just to sit on like Smaug the dragon. The number of watches I actually wear in rotation is very small, so I keep those serviced and don’t bother with the others.

Then there’s also a special category for watches that are too cheap to care about that I’ll wear and not care about as if they break they’ll just become a parts donor.

 

[Arancio601]

wagudc

I use three different watchmakers:

1) A watchmaker who does top quality work and has a parts account with Omega and the other top brands. Not cheap, but good.
2) A watchmaker who is considerably less expensive, does not have a parts account, and probably is not quite as detailed as watchmaker (1). It doesn't make sense to me to pay $400 to service a $200 watch.
3) A tuning fork specialist to for Accutrons and F300.

I pretty much get every watch I own serviced, and try to keep my collection at a reasonable size so that the burden does not get to great. I am not sure if I am succeeding at the second part.

I like this approach. Finding the watchmaker 2) is quite difficult though I have found. I tried a local guy recently and it didn't go particularly well. I will keep looking but I guess you get what you pay for most of the time.

Edited: Mar 28, 2023

 

[sxl2004]

Canuck

Everything I acquire gets serviced. By myself. I guess I’m lucky.

indeed

 

[wagudc]

Arancio601

I like this approach. Finding the watchmaker 2) is quite difficult though I have found. I tried a local guy recently and it didn't go particularly well. I will keep looking but I guess you get what you pay for most of the time.

My guy is based in USA and I am happy to share via PM if you want.

 

[watchyouwant]

Short answer to your question of inexpensive watches : No.

 

[ghce]

Most of my watches are from the late 50's to the late 70's so I guess vintage.

In my case it's the exception that doesn't get serviced, so pretty much all the watches I buy get serviced.

I don't wear all my watches, just wouldn't be practically possible with well over 200 in the collection so like the afore said Smaug most are serviced and then live their retirement years in a watch box alongside all the other OAP's, I have become a watch hoarder, sue me

 

[Larry S]

Owing to the nature of my collection, most are serviced, even the few that cost between $200 - $600. Any that are still unserviced are due for rotation to the spa soon. Most of my collection keep pretty dammed good time, even if they are 100+ years old. I take care of em though. I’m not interested in garage sale or thrift store watches with no pedigree and I’d not bother spending money to maintain them if I was.

Edited: Mar 31, 2023

 

[Aroxx]

ghce

…with well over 200 in the collection so like the afore said Smaug…

Your new nickname = Smaug

 

[mind.sloths0k]

I have a small collection that I wear in rotation. I have them all serviced. I don’t buy more than I can afford to service and keep in good shape. I don’t flip watches. Everyone is different.

 

[ghce]

Aroxx

Your new nickname = Smaug

Still looking for that Arkenstone watch or was that one watch to rule them all, one watch to find them, One watch to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them; In the land of my watch boxes where the shadows lie.

Edited: Mar 31, 2023

 

[Aroxx]

ghce

Still looking for that Arkenston watch or was that one watch to rule them all, one watch to find them, One watch to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them; In the land of my watch boxes where the shadows lie.

Me searching through your watch box for dibs...

 

[Dan S]

ghce

In my case it's the exception that doesn't get serviced, so pretty much all the watches I buy get serviced.

I don't wear all my watches, just wouldn't be practically possible with well over 200 in the collection so like the afore said Smaug most are serviced and then live their retirement years in a watch box alongside all the other OAP's, I have become a watch hoarder, sue me

I'm impressed at the investment you've made in servicing 200 watches. When my collection grew beyond what I was likely to wear on an annual basis, I started to become more selective about which watches I chose to have serviced. If a watch is operating well and I don't expect to wear it more than a few times a year, I usually will just let it be. I certainly don't service watches that are virtually never worn.

 

[pdxleaf]

Larry S

Owing to the nature of my collection, most are serviced, even the few that cost between $200 - $600. Any that are still unserviced are due for rotation to the spa soon. Most of my collection keep pretty dammed good time, even if they are 100+ years old. I take care of em though. I’m not interested in garage sale or thrift store watches with no pedigree and I’d not bother spending money to maintain them if I was.

Color me intrigued.

 

[ghce]

Dan S

I'm impressed at the investment you've made in servicing 200 watches. When my collection grew beyond what I was likely to wear on an annual basis, I started to become more selective about which watches I chose to have serviced. If a watch is operating well and I don't expect to wear it more than a few times a year, I usually will just let it be. I certainly don't service watches that are virtually never worn.

In my defense of the amount of servicing I get done, most of my watches are vintage and often as not bought in faulty / broken condition or have not been serviced in decades or never at all ie often not running or at best really poorly.

I would like to think that these 50 to 70 year old survivors once in my possesion are restored to as close to new mechanically as possible and hopefully will survive at least another 50 to 70 years with care not abused as many had been.
Plus there is also the added bonus of feeling invested in the peice as well, having spent time and money.

One of my buying critera is that they must all be at least 21 jeweled movements and indeed just about all of mine are 25 Jewels or I tend to pass them by, this tends to limit the wear to more managable levels cost wise. Thats not to say that I dont have lower grade 15 or 17 Jewel watches but they all tend to be special cases.

Edited: Mar 31, 2023