Vintage Watch Repair Price Lists from the 1940s-1980s

Hello watchmakers and watch lovers. A man came by the shop and dropped this off.

Sharing for your enjoyment.

Interesting. Was hoping for some reactions from our watchmakers. Thank you.

The CPI is fine for a quick conversion, but doesn't tell the whole story. If you take average hourly wages in Canada, ~$1 in 1947 vs $37 today, that brings the cost to about $220 in today's money.

Considering an Omega (as an example) chronograph back then must have cost $100-150, service cost is 4-6% of the watch value. Today it's roughly 10% ($7k watch, $700+ service).

Fun post! Interesting how the relative cost of parts/materials has declined, perhaps because of mass production.

50 years ago, or so, I turfed my late father’s watch repair records dating back to 1946. That was 30 years of watch repair records! I have had countless regrets for having done that! I still have the records from the first 100 watches he repaired when he opened his shop. I’ll try to upload some of this info, later today.

Curious …Are there any such modern tables?

Here is a sampling of prices charged by my watchmaker father in 1946. For some perspective, we lived in a rented suite, the rent for his store was $65.00 per month, and in 1946, he bought a brand new 1946 Ford two door for $850.00. These repairs were mostly on men’s and women’s manual wind watches.

Recondition, glass, strap. $4.75
Stem & crown. 1.50
Mainspring, two pins, crystal. 2.15
Recondition, repair hairspring. 1.75
Mainspring. 1.75
Recondition. 3.00
Recondition, glass. 3.50
Stem, replace sleeve (pocket watch). 1.50
Balance staff. 3.00
Recondition, balance staff. 5.50
Recondition, stem. 3.50
Recondition, stem, crown, new case. 9.75
Recondition. 3.00
Balance staff. 3.00
Recondition, mainspring, crown. 7.00
Recondition, 2 plate jewels, bal staff
replace third wheel. 5.50
Mainspring, crown, oil. 2.50

And so it goes. These examples are from the first month he ran his new store. Repairing watches has changed in 80 years. Many shops now don’t own a lathe, staking tool, jewelling tool, poising table, truing calipers, etc. Couldn’t do a balance staff if their life depended on it. 80% of what shops do nowadays is replace quartz movements.

On the topic of the repair of watches from days of yore, this image is of a 19th century English watchmaker painted by English artist Charles Spencelayh. The Tait gallery in London has the largest collection of Spencelayh’s works, but they don’t”t have this painting. The image is of an unused calendar given out in 1940, by a local watch material house (now defunct). I outbid a woman at a farm yard auction sale close to 30 years ago. I wanted it worse than she did. I paid $25.00 for it. It is from the year 1940, my birth year.

Here is a similar picture from a 1931 Calendar. Received a couple years ago from the same man who gave me the watch price lists above.

Note the 1931 Calendar matches 2026.