Have you ever asked a local watch smith to service your rep?

[silverbullet]

After striking out a few times, I recently found a watchmaker who was impressed by reps and was eager to service them. Keep at it.

 

[tomriddle]

After striking out a few times, I recently found a watchmaker who was impressed by reps and was eager to service them. Keep at it.

CONGRATULATIONS!! The world.. is now yours enjoy! and make sure to keep that relationship happy

 

[Itto]

No.

But once, i walked into an optometrist and borrowed a small screwdriver. Then i got myself an espresso in the café across the street and resized my Noob bracelet.

I forgot to return the screwdriver. True story. Sorry.

 

[tomriddle]

consider this.. a real-time adventure report

so I found a local watch repair shop.. in my ghetto -.-

remember what i said? your best bets are basically Asian 'hoods or well.. the ghetto.. i feel lucky because this spot is like 10-15 minute drive from me so during my lunchbreak I take my newly purchased Rolex YM to him because it has a noisy rotor. I go in the shop and go "watch repair", one guy nods at this old russian guy.. so I go over and hand him my watch and say, "it's noisy.. shake it"

he looks at it.. admires it to be honest.. even shows it to the owner whose on a "business" call right next to him..

he shakes it, listens intently.. looks at it some more.. examines it closer..

then goes

"it's good.. no fix needed"
i go 'it's my dad's, it's not real'
"it's real"
'no, it's not real..'
"you know how much they sell this for now? you don't need it fixed. it's working good. wear it well."

now, a couple of things..
-are we now at a point that the only tell-tale sign it's a fake is when they open the watch up?!
-how crazy are we in the rep world to nitpick over "a noisy rotor" when repair shops refuse business because there's technically nothing to fix..?

I'll bring him my Panerai Monday.. let's see how the old man does with manual winds and this one really needs fixing for sure

....why not go to my old surefire in Chinatown? Well this is so much closer to my house. lol!

 

[tomriddle]

addendum: just wanted to point out the rep I brought him is the extinct NLA Rolex Yachtmaster 16622..

so now that I'm back at work I'm wondering how connected they are into the world of fakes and thought it was real because you can't buy these reps anymore.. they not being sold anymore so he thought it was real?

 

[tomriddle]

i'm actually at a conundrum and it falls in here not in its own thread..

basically, as i;ve said before.. everyone does come to a point where the question must be answered: at what point is it even worth it to service a rep?

case in point.. one of my treasured reps is my Little Hero Panerai 111H.. it's been my go-to vacation watch and have been in more oceans and waters or this world than I care to count at this point..

but it's "Broken".. it definitely needs servicing.. my local watchsmith charges like... $298? I think or $236..? whatever.. it's upwards of $230+.. a "new" 111H right now due to sales ca be had for $218

so do i fix the watch?! it's got a lot of memories but another 111H would serve its purpose if I wanted

sigh.. maybe it's time to let it go.. i haven't had it fixed yet tbh but yeah.. this is one of those age old questions.. junk it or fix it

and funny enough my answer to everyone else is basically the same.. junk it. it's a fake watch. if it'll cost you more to fix it just buy another fake watch

lol i'm staring my own answer hard in the face now

 

[wisedennis]

i'm actually at a conundrum and it falls in here not in its own thread..

basically, as i;ve said before.. everyone does come to a point where the question must be answered: at what point is it even worth it to service a rep?

case in point.. one of my treasured reps is my Little Hero Panerai 111H.. it's been my go-to vacation watch and have been in more oceans and waters or this world than I care to count at this point..

but it's "Broken".. it definitely needs servicing.. my local watchsmith charges like... $298? I think or $236..? whatever.. it's upwards of $230+.. a "new" 111H right now due to sales ca be had for $218

so do i fix the watch?! it's got a lot of memories but another 111H would serve its purpose if I wanted

sigh.. maybe it's time to let it go.. i haven't had it fixed yet tbh but yeah.. this is one of those age old questions.. junk it or fix it

and funny enough my answer to everyone else is basically the same.. junk it. it's a fake watch. if it'll cost you more to fix it just buy another fake watch

lol i'm staring my own answer hard in the face now

Is the local watchmaker confident to fix it? I hope he can source the parts of it’s a rare movement..

 

[TheDan772]

My local Rolex certified watchsmith (Swiss father and son team) has worked on a number of my reps. He mentioned in servicing a ladies Yachtmaster that the movement was not original but said nothing about the case. On my Explorer II, he fastened the crown after it became loose and said nothing about its provenance. I think most watchsmiths are happy for the business.

 

[Dave2302]

Smaller "certified" watchsmiths may work on them, in UK most all will not.

Just don't ty it with an Authorised Dealer

 

[Patj44]

My personal experience is that working on a replica movement cost much more than just replacing it. There are videos on YouTube that show how to remove hands and dial and movements etc. I would not work on a gen just yet but it’s fun working on a replica and if I make a mistake then a new part is cheap.
Don’t be afraid to give it a try.

 

[EM9]

Stay away from words like "certified", "authorized" & "CW21", you'll have better luck finding a smith. You want Grandpa smith not CW21 jimmy.

 

[Alan Bourdillion Traherne]

Stay away from words like "certified", "authorized" & "CW21", you'll have better luck finding a smith. You want Grandpa smith not CW21 jimmy.

Good advice. I prefer listings with "Double Plus Happy AAA Three-times Good Good!!"