Where to Service

Hello all.

My father's Omega Automatic Seamaster de Ville has lain in a drawer for 35 years. I haven't worn a watch in over forty years but have decided that I might like to wear his watch. As you can see from the photo, it is a "plain Jane" watch with a plain back, but I like it. What I have learned is that I should have it serviced given its age and wearing it now will only damage it.

The watch appears to run well but I have only run it for a short time so I do not know to what degree of accuracy it keeps time.

I live in southern British Columbia, Canada, approximately 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Vancouver in a small town. There is no shop in town that can service the watch. Having the work done in the U.S. is expensive given the exchange rate (I checked out Nesbit's in Seattle that someone on this forum recommended) and Canada Customs will charge duty upon its return. An 'Omega shop' in Vancouver will only send it off to Switzerland at an astronomical cost. There are repair shops in Canada but I don't trust reviews.

Can anyone point me to a good shop in Canada, preferably in the western part of the country.

I look forward to some help.

Paging @Archer

(Or you could just PM him directly.)

Not sure why you won’t consider Vancouver-based watchmakers.

Take it to the German Watchmaker or Time & Gold, both in downtown Vancouver. You can probably get free quotes but T&G will have to take the watch in for an assessment.

+1 for Norbert (the German watchmaker). He's a great watchmaker and very respectful of vintage pieces. I recently received my watch back from him (it took him only a bit more than a week to finish servicing it) and he did an excellent job.

Hello again.

Thank you for your feedback. I never seem to find the right words to use when searching although I did find some references to servicing my Omega before posting my question.

In response to my query, one suggestion was to deal with Time & Gold in Vancouver but they will not service a vintage watch and instead will ship it to Switzerland (cost of a minimum of $1,200 CAD and a six month to one year wait). Another suggestion was the German Watchmaker in Vancouver, but his webpage is rather sparse regarding his background. But given billiout's recommendation, perhaps I should dig a little deeper (he doesn't show an email address).

Another suggestion was to contact Squires Watches in London, Ontario. This looks promising and I will do more investigation.

As an aside, I was laid up with a viral (not Covid) respiratory infection this past winter and happened to watch repair videos posted on YouTube. I found them fascinating and wish I had known about the hobby of horology forty years ago. At my age, to take up the hobby now just won't work. But watching the videos got me interested in my father's Omega (which he wore every day). So I dug it out of a drawer and now I need to have it serviced before I wear it.

Again, thanks.

I sent you a message with the email address of Norbert (the German watchmaker). I won’t post it here since it’s not easily available online and I don’t know if that’s intentional by Norbert.

Another option would be to have the Vancouver OB send it to the Toronto Swatch Service centre. Give them a visit.

It seems like you’re pretty risk averse and that’s another safe option. It will cost a pretty penny though.

It's not a Plain Jane watch by the way, a rare special dial

Also might be worth to research more about customs, not only Canada customs are lenient compared to other countries, but once you show undeniable proof that this is your watch, they shouldn't charge customs

If I were in Canada, there'd be no one else I'd send my watches to but @Archer . No question. I'm only branching out now having found a local watchmaker that I dropped my SM300 with yesterday. We'll see how it goes. In three or so years, my new SMP is going across the border to Archer, though.