Quote from a thread on WUS yesterday.
"Good watchmakers are a scarcity if almost non-existant there.
Believe it or not he wasn't talking about some third world country, he was referring to the U.S.
Does anyone agree?

 

Personally, I take anything Georges posts with a grain of salt mate. In this case he bought a watch from the US that was supposedly serviced, and it turns out it wasn't. Now he concludes from that experience that the US has no good watchmakers....seriously?

If this is the standard by which watchmakers in countries across the world are judged, then no country has any good watchmakers because you can find a watch on eBay from pretty much every country in the world that is "freshly serviced" that ends up not being done at all or done right when it gets to you. As others in the thread have pointed out in droves, this is a problem with the seller, not the watchmaker.

Believe me, I see crap work done on watches all the time both from independent watchmakers and from brand service centers. If anyone could conclude that there are nothing but hacks out there, it would be me or someone like me. But yet I know there are plenty of watchmakers out there who do take the time to do the job right.

His argument is bollocks on so many levels it's not funny....

Cheers, Al

 

As have been all his arguments for the last ten years. I actually missed having a laugh while he was inactive for the last couple of years.

 

There are watchmakers in certain obscure corners of the US that do absolutely first-class work. Ironically, watchmakers in New York are generally sub-par

 

I know of several high quality watchmakers who do good work. Most have specialized to Rolex, certain Omega's etc. to make a living as it costs just as much in labor to work on a cheap watch and many times more difficult to repair. Many dealers or maybe I should use the term "flippers" use "serviced" to mean it will run until I get rid of it. If you require a full service it will cost a bit of money but well worth it in terms of enjoyment of watch and upkeep of same. And a competent seller should be able to tell you the condition of the timepiece, dealers only as the public usually has no clue. I usually figure that the watch I'm buying needs a service or at least a tune up when I buy it just to be safe working within a budget for the watch.

 

It seems that there are often threads started about someone trying to find a good watch maker. What would be the pitfalls of a "master" thread for watchmaker reviews maybe with some type of standard format that includes location and contact information?

 

I can't help but recant my satisfaction with GWR in Philadelphia.

Their respectful restoration and complete service for my 105.012-66 I found not to be the most expensive.
One of my most pleasant surprises was the turn-around time: 6 weeks from start to finish

 

Most of those threads go unanswered. I noticed that almost nobody is willing to share the name of “their guy” online, I think to avoid slamming them with work.

 

Quite possible and also sad. There are many threads that talk about the value of a properly serviced time piece and that is often where it ends.

 

If we put up a list here, and if I assume my name would be on it, the result for me is that I would simply end up turning away even more work than I do now.

Everyone who is any good is likely already "slammed with work" so that is the real problem...

Cheers, Al