How much to budget for watch repairs?
October 22, 2022 2:00 AM Subscribe
I inherited four watches, three of them luxury, that I want to get worked on, but am unsure of how much to budget for the repairs.
More explanations and specifics inside
The three luxury watches were not stored in a good environment: humid, wet, moldy, etc. for over five years. They are a 60s-70s Rolex Air King, an Omega Deville, and a Bucharer automatic. The fourth watch, which I inherited from my father is a cheap Slava made in the late 80s, early 90s, it was a touristy gift from my uncle. I wrote it for a few years, but it has started to have more and more issues.
The rolex still works fine, the only corrosion that can be seen is around the post that you use to set the time, that is stuck, however the autowinding still works. The Omega is just dead and the Bucherer has obvious damage on the inside.
How much should I budget for getting these fixed? I'm currently in Edinburgh and relatively new, so I'm not sure which jewelers I should be asking and I'm a little worried about either offending of I ask and things are out of my price range or ending up on three marketing lists.
The two that really matter are the rolex and the slava, the slava was already worked in by someone who was supposed to be an expert on Russian watches back in New York. They got it running, but it didn't last.
The last question like this I could find is from ten years ago, I have no idea how inflation has effected the prices for this sort of thing. If I'm being unreasonable about being worried about approaching jewelers, please tell me. (And if you know a place in Edinburgh, Scotland that does great watch repair, please let me know)
The three luxury watches were not stored in a good environment: humid, wet, moldy, etc. for over five years. They are a 60s-70s Rolex Air King, an Omega Deville, and a Bucharer automatic. The fourth watch, which I inherited from my father is a cheap Slava made in the late 80s, early 90s, it was a touristy gift from my uncle. I wrote it for a few years, but it has started to have more and more issues.
The rolex still works fine, the only corrosion that can be seen is around the post that you use to set the time, that is stuck, however the autowinding still works. The Omega is just dead and the Bucherer has obvious damage on the inside.
How much should I budget for getting these fixed? I'm currently in Edinburgh and relatively new, so I'm not sure which jewelers I should be asking and I'm a little worried about either offending of I ask and things are out of my price range or ending up on three marketing lists.
The two that really matter are the rolex and the slava, the slava was already worked in by someone who was supposed to be an expert on Russian watches back in New York. They got it running, but it didn't last.
The last question like this I could find is from ten years ago, I have no idea how inflation has effected the prices for this sort of thing. If I'm being unreasonable about being worried about approaching jewelers, please tell me. (And if you know a place in Edinburgh, Scotland that does great watch repair, please let me know)
I had a ~10 year old solid gold case watch from Tiffany fixed by Tiffany. It cost about $350. I would have just bought a new, not-gold watch for that money but the old one had sentimental value.
posted by tmdonahue at 5:13 AM on October 22, 2022
posted by tmdonahue at 5:13 AM on October 22, 2022
So its been ten years, but when I worked at a watch place we sent people to Rose Street, next to Princes Street, which is where a lot of the independent jewellers and watch specialists were. Unfortunately I don't know who is still there, but if you don't get a more specific recommendation it's worth a walk along.
If you get the Rolex or Omega sent away and fixed by one of their branded specialists I would no joke budget near a grand each. It will probably be less than that but eeeesh I've seen some big bills for automatics. A small watch place will be less.
On the other hand it was normal for people to balk at some of the repair quotes we got back, I don't think people are likely to be offended if you decide their price is too much for you. Especially in these times.
posted by stillnocturnal at 5:30 AM on October 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you get the Rolex or Omega sent away and fixed by one of their branded specialists I would no joke budget near a grand each. It will probably be less than that but eeeesh I've seen some big bills for automatics. A small watch place will be less.
On the other hand it was normal for people to balk at some of the repair quotes we got back, I don't think people are likely to be offended if you decide their price is too much for you. Especially in these times.
posted by stillnocturnal at 5:30 AM on October 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Russian watches are problematic. The parts are not the same as those made in the west, and the parts are (even before the current unpleasantness with Russia) hard to come by, even for Russians. In many cases, they are simply unobtainable, and the only way to get a complete repair is to find someone (almost always an old man) who is willing to make replacement parts from scratch. The cost will easily be greater than the cost of the watch.
An option I’ve thought about is finding other copies of the same watch (possible, but tricky) and cannibalizing them for parts. But the parts that tend to fail tend to be the same in most copies of the same model of watch, and so buying more watches just means having more broken parts.
If you do find a person willing to fabricate new parts, odds are you will end up with a watch that is better than it was to begin with, but even with the best of intentions, without access to replacement parts, repairing vintage Russian watches is tricky. And those with expertise are dying off.
posted by DaveP at 6:29 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
An option I’ve thought about is finding other copies of the same watch (possible, but tricky) and cannibalizing them for parts. But the parts that tend to fail tend to be the same in most copies of the same model of watch, and so buying more watches just means having more broken parts.
If you do find a person willing to fabricate new parts, odds are you will end up with a watch that is better than it was to begin with, but even with the best of intentions, without access to replacement parts, repairing vintage Russian watches is tricky. And those with expertise are dying off.
posted by DaveP at 6:29 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
The thing about mechanical watches is that they need maintenance every 3-5 years. The technician will completely disassemble the watch into a pile of springs and gears, clean everything, fix or shore up anything that needs it, reassemble it with lubrication where needed, check/replace seals, polish the crystal and polish the case if desired (some people prefer to build up a patina of micro-scratches). I have a 1950s-era Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust that costs me around $350 in NYC for every maintenance. Sounds like yours may need a bit more work.
posted by slkinsey at 7:55 AM on October 22, 2022
posted by slkinsey at 7:55 AM on October 22, 2022
I just had a vintage watch restored/repaired at Cartier and it cost $425.
posted by Charity Garfein at 12:23 PM on October 22, 2022
posted by Charity Garfein at 12:23 PM on October 22, 2022
I paid US$750 to do a "complete service" on a family member's Rolex in an official Rolex service center a few years back. Regretted it immediately as no one was planning to wear the watch anyway; and it's not like the watch, which hadn't been worn or maintained in a decade, was going to get worse somehow by sitting idle.
posted by meowzilla at 7:28 PM on October 22, 2022
posted by meowzilla at 7:28 PM on October 22, 2022
A couple hundred each at the minimum.
To get an idea what the process involves, watch "Wrist Watch Revival" channel on Youtube. This guy repairs these watches and puts the entire process on YT for us to enjoy. It's painstaking process which includes careful disassembly of every part and every screw, replace crystal if needed (easier than polishing the old one), re-lube all jewels, replace broken ones, ultra-sonic and chemical clean everything in special bath, replace main spring, replace parts as needed and/or available, and much more.
posted by kschang at 1:42 PM on October 23, 2022
To get an idea what the process involves, watch "Wrist Watch Revival" channel on Youtube. This guy repairs these watches and puts the entire process on YT for us to enjoy. It's painstaking process which includes careful disassembly of every part and every screw, replace crystal if needed (easier than polishing the old one), re-lube all jewels, replace broken ones, ultra-sonic and chemical clean everything in special bath, replace main spring, replace parts as needed and/or available, and much more.
posted by kschang at 1:42 PM on October 23, 2022
I have a home shop for watch repair and based on what I've seen from those in the business, probably $300-500 per watch, assuming that it only needs a cleaning/oiling or minor repair (such as to replace the mainspring.)
posted by drstrangelove at 7:08 AM on October 24, 2022
posted by drstrangelove at 7:08 AM on October 24, 2022
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posted by backseatpilot at 4:39 AM on October 22, 2022