My wife and I were at the local village doing a bit of shopping so to kill a bit of time (& out of curiosity) I popped into the local watch repairers with my 1970's Geneva which I'd acquired recently, but is very difficult to wind.

Just asked if it was something he could sort out. He asked to look at the watch, gave the winder a feel and said 'O' rings deteriorated, took off the back, took out the crown and stem, gave it & where it goes into the watch a clean, unwound the spring a bit, put it back together and said there you go, try that. It's now light as a feather, but he did mention the O ring seal on the back has also turned to gunge and they both need replacing and the watch is probably long overdue a service as these should have been changed. I thanked him and asked how much for sorting it, "oh that's OK, happy to help". I asked him how much for a service & what it would entail, so for complete strip-down, clean reassembly with lubs - £70 plus any parts needed. The previous week I was in an authorised Omega repair shop, discussing my Seamaster Chronograph and mentioned this problem on the Geneve and he had a quick feel and recommended a service as a starting point and it'll get sorted then, £320, now I know the Omega authorised service will include more elements by default, but that's actually far more than the watch costs, so I'm inclined to use my local repairer.

Paul

 

I only have only used an Omega trained watchmaker once. Sent a watch to Omega and it was never the same. There are plenty of qualified watchmakers who aren't Omega trained.

 

I've only used Archer, but both watches I've sent him had some serious mechanical issues so I felt good about having him replace with official parts. I haven't dealt with a tune up yet, so I'm not sure what I'll do when that time comes.

 

@paulw this guy sounds like a good find! Which part of Devon is he based in? I'm in east devon and been in to see a guy in Exeter but be useful to have another hook up!

 

Elburton, on the outskirts of Plymouth.
Just a little local repair shop that's been there for ages, but I've never been inside - no dedicated clean room, just a work bench behind the counter!
Paul

 

If it is a family heirloom, I'd spend a bit more just to be safe.

 

Well as this is just an impulse eBay buy that took my fancy...
Paul

 

Ah, bit far from me - sounds cool though

 

Ah ok then. Personally for that cheap then it's probably worth the risk.

 

If you're tempted to give him a try, this seems like a reasonable time to do it, since you have a relatively inexpensive watch in need of a service.

 

I would go for it. My watchmaker is also a very Good allrounder

 

And your feeling is Good !! Very important i think..

 

I did like the fact there was absolutely no sales pitch and when I mentioned I disliked the date change mechanism, he said he liked it as it was both elegant and robust, so extra brownie points in my book for not kowtowing to get potential work so yes, I got a good feeling as well.

Paul

 

It’s a regular lever mechanical watch, nothing separates Omega from any other quality piece until you get into coaxial. I’d have no problem taking one of my Omegas to any competent watchmaker.

Now that I think about it, the most dishonest hack I ever dealt with was Omega factory trained, so it’s more the man than the paperwork on the wall that fixes your watch.

 

Indeed.

 

Actually it was you I had in mind when I wrote that.

your reputation around here is such that I would send you my precious Bunn 24j in a second, even though I have no idea what pieces of paper you may have on the wall.