A friend of mine has a Bulgari quartz watch that stopped running. I changed the battery and it still isn't going. Tried another battery and still won't work, so there's probably something wrong with the electricals. Asked my usual watchmaker if he works on quartz and he said no. Does anyone have a recommendation in the UK of someone who can work on this? To make matters worse, the movement has the tiniest screws and I seemed to have dropped one
Lots of places could attend to that for you. Depending on the movement in the watch, usually, replacement is the option instead of repair. If it comes to it. There are addresses for three dealers in London. You might be able to locate a Bulgari repair service through one of them. But if the watch goes to Bulgari, your friend won't like the price of a service. http://www.bulgari.com/en-gb/storel...-store=1&bl-retailer=2&country=GB&city=London Better to find someone local, but you don't give a location.
Thanks. I'm in London but asked UK - I could just send it special delivery. I've talked to two watchmakers here in London already who don't want to work on it.
None.... The watch is not that old so I'm surprised that the electricals could be an issue. It has a kind of fancy quartz movement in that everything is covered, so you can't even get to the circuit without taking most of it apart.
Show us a picture of the movement, please. On occasion, a basic quartz movement is disguised by some companies, so without delving into it a bit, you might think it is something exotic. You might take a lesson from this intrusion into a friend's watch. Hands off, unless it's your own.
Yes, completely agreed I have no experience at all with quartz, aside from changing the battery on my girlfriend's old burberry watch. But she's since moved on to a manual wind Omega. Pic here
If I am not mistaken, that is a Piguet movement. Same as is used in brands like Cartier, Ebel, and perhaps a few others. To the best of my knowledge, there may not be a short cut here. Best to find someone who can replace the missing screw, as there may simply be a problem of electrical contact. If that doesn't do it, the circuit could be tested to see if that is the problem. If not a problem, cleaning might be all that is needed. If it is a circuit problem, you'll wish you had left the watch alone. Parts for Piguet movements are difficult/impossible to source other than through an official service centre. Ouch!
Thanks for the helpful tips. For the first battery, I did put everything back together (no dice), it was the second battery when the screw popped out, never to be found again. Hoping a watchmaker has a similar screw but more concerned about the movement now.
About all I can say is, good luck! You might be best off having the screw replaced, and giving the watch back so the owner can deal with it. This experience might be enough to cause you to abbreviate your fledgling career as a watchmaker.
So an update. I was able to find someone to take a look at it (the repair arm of a jeweller in Newark) and they said the movement is intact, needs a cleaning and service and reseal. However, they want £198 incl VAT for this, which is about the price I pay for a very complicated chrono service. My watchmaker thinks its high but doesn't know anybody who works on quartz. Any recommendations for someone that can do this job competently, now knowing the movement isn't shot?
At current exchange rates £ to $Cdn, £159 is a lot of money,if I was paying for it! Will the owner be paying the bill, or will you pay it? I'd have the missing screw replaced, then give the watch back, if it was my problem. Maybe consider working only on your own watches in future.
Of course she's paying it, I'm just helping her find someone qualified. Just helping a friend out... 198 GBP is 325 cad btw