Why aren't trusted dealers offering full movement servicing?

[RepPossessed]

How is this different though to normal case if the watch break downs shortly after shipping? And they typically have someone locally for this anyway in big countries (at least in my experience).

Well of course it’s different. They have supplied a fully serviced watch so when something goes wrong they turn to the seller looking help not the watchsmith

Big countries, a few… but MOST countries they do not and that’s a wild assumption btw

So this brings another hurdle, watch is serviced in china, breaks down after 3 months, the buyer is in Norway, the TD doesn’t have a watchsmith in Norway so it has to go to UK, a service and repair is and postage is £200
However it can be done in china for a fraction..

Would the repairer even entertain fixing a watch someone else might have butchered (in his eyes) I very much doubt it

Who foots the bill? TD who supplied a fully working watch? Or the Chinese watchsmith?
Would the chinaman be happy to let someone else look at it and accept their work
If the chinaman accepted, would be be happy to pay the European price? No way!

You don’t get it, there are so many ifs and buts with this it’s not worth £50 for the ballache it would present when something goes wrong and it will.

It would need to be very much on the basis that if it breaks, you need to contact who serviced it

Someone here mentioned a dealer that’s does offer the service so I suggest you use that dealer

 

[Kerbus]

Even as far as servicing gens, they offer a warranty for a reason. My serviced watch did in fact stop and needed to be returned, then the real nightmare began.

 

[KonKir]

I had these issues with my rep watches, Zenith and Rolex both got worse after service at AD…
But anyway, seems like some TDs do offer this so it’s a relevant service - thanks for flagging - helpful.

 

[RepPossessed]

^^ This 100%. It will only create another reason for people to complain. As if we don't get enough asinine complaints.

The experienced users on the forum are great and know the protocols which is great

But there’s the guys with a chronograph who can’t understand why their seconds hand is stuck at 12
And believe me there is many many of those here!

 

[RepPossessed]

I had these issues with my rep watches, Zenith and Rolex both got worse after service at AD…
But anyway, seems like some TDs do offer this so it’s a relevant service - thanks for flagging - helpful.

So you had watches that got worse after service

Yet you think getting someone in china who you don’t know to service your rep is a great idea

Mmmkay

 

[RepPossessed]

Ok who’s the comedian..

 

[davelister]

I can totally see why you wouldn't want a TD to service it for you - if they did it would apply such a massive logistical and tracking nightmare to an already delicate process.

I certainly wouldn't send a watch back to china.

I think it's better to invest in yourself and learn the skills needed. It's really not that bad. I found once I understood the movement parts, it's pretty simple to figure out what might be wrong and go from there.
For instance, one watch I bought as broken would not stay running for more than a few minutes, no matter how much you wound it (manually or on a winder). Easy fix - the arbor was slipping out of the end of the spring, allowing for a few turns before it wouldn't wind anymore. Replaced arbor - worked fine!

 

[muiramas]

But there’s the guys with a chronograph who can’t understand why their seconds hand is stuck at 12
And believe me there is many many of those here!

Not even chronographs. There are people who don't realise they need to wind their watch. There was even some moron last month complaining that his watch didn't know that a month had only 30 days in it - he had to wind forward the date himself.

 

[vagabundo94]

I gladly pay a few hundred to have the movements fully serviced and lubed here in the US. Maybe not needed, but I consider it the final step in the purchase process. And I’d rather pay somebody I trust here than hope it’s done right before the watch ships to me.

 

[davelister]

I gladly pay a few hundred to have the movements fully serviced and lubed here in the US. Maybe not needed, but I consider it the final step in the purchase process. And I’d rather pay somebody I trust here than hope it’s done right before the watch ships to me.

It's honestly not that hard. If you have any kind of predisposition to enjoying learning how things work, some basic tools and some research, a few books and some practice is all you need. Oh, and the oils - those are insanely expensive but well worth it.

 

[davelister]

Here's a great starting point to understanding more about the internals of your watch:

Mechanical Watch – Bartosz Ciechanowski

Interactive article explaining how a mechanical watch works.

ciechanow.ski

 

[Dave2302]

Here's a great starting point to understanding more about the internals of your watch:

Mechanical Watch – Bartosz Ciechanowski

Interactive article explaining how a mechanical watch works.

ciechanow.ski

A big thanks to @davelister

That there article is gold, it's up there with some of the top articles I've read on RWI.

Being mechanically inclined my whole life, and on a bigger scale than teensy watch parts, I can usually take something to a gazillion bits and repair what's broken with the correct parts or by fabricating NLA parts etc
Now I actually understand what all the parts do and how they interact.

Sure, I studied it over about an hour an a half today, going back and forth, but yeah now I feel confident to go and strip down any watch movement and fix it
Now, where is my Gen Paul Newman Daytona ??? ....

nah that last bit is a joke but what a great article, now bookmarked

Sadly, I don't know whether I'll ever be able to successfully strip and rebuild one, because my Arthritis and other aliments, coupled with the tablets I have to take and also shite eyesight means I often have shaky hands and poor vision.

But with the insight from this article, I would have a fairly good idea of what is wrong and happily have a go at a busted cheaper rep with say an A2813 or a Miyota in it

Thank you for that

 

[TheBigJS]

I'd think any problem that would be avoided by a service, can be fixed by a service when it arises.
Watchsmith's willing to work on reps? There's a whole section of them on this forum!

 

[muiramas]

Here's a great starting point to understanding more about the internals of your watch:

Mechanical Watch – Bartosz Ciechanowski

Interactive article explaining how a mechanical watch works.

ciechanow.ski

What a sensational article - in both the explanation and the presentation of it. Thank you.

 

[davelister]

A big thanks to @davelister

That there article is gold, it's up there with some of the top articles I've read on RWI.

Being mechanically inclined my whole life, and on a bigger scale than teensy watch parts, I can usually take something to a gazillion bits and repair what's broken with the correct parts or by fabricating NLA parts etc
Now I actually understand what all the parts do and how they interact.

Sure, I studied it over about an hour an a half today, going back and forth, but yeah now I feel confident to go and strip down any watch movement and fix it
Now, where is my Gen Paul Newman Daytona ??? ....

nah that last bit is a joke but what a great article, now bookmarked

Sadly, I don't know whether I'll ever be able to successfully strip and rebuild one, because my Arthritis and other aliments, coupled with the tablets I have to take and also shite eyesight means I often have shaky hands and poor vision.

But with the insight from this article, I would have a fairly good idea of what is wrong and happily have a go at a busted cheaper rep with say an A2813 or a Miyota in it

Thank you for that

Super glad you found it helpful.

Just be aware that more modern movements have a LOT more springs in them, and they are your absolute worst enemy! Just go slow, take lots of pictures, and you'll be fine.

Just don't buy tools from Aliexpress or Amazon. Go with a reputable brand and spend the extra - do it right the first time.

 

[tu_or]

I thought PureTime offered servicing? Pointless IMO - a child chained to a desk is not a qualified watch smith. And if you were charged €450 to service a movement then you got served.

If that child could build the movement and the watch, I guess they could also service it.

 

[MaximillianGT]

If that child could build the movement and the watch, I guess they could also service it.

Being half-Chinese, I find it hard to enjoy conversations like this. So, you benefit from the cheap labour they provide for an illegal business (reps are illegal), and now you mock them? Really?

 

[Plaasbaas]

Servicing a movement before the long journey from China to wherever in the world is a bit like tuning a piano before transport. You'll have to do it again in no time.

And for all who just want the service of a movement to be as cheap as possible I recommend to buy a cheap movement and attempt to do it yourself. Just once. Lot's of tutorials on YouTube. Then you will know what is involved and how intense that job is and what kind of skillset is needed. If somebody offers that job for very cheap I am almost sure that some shortcuts are involved and I would forever ask myself, if it even has been done properly.

 

[Feefo]

A big thanks to @davelister

That there article is gold, it's up there with some of the top articles I've read on RWI.

Being mechanically inclined my whole life, and on a bigger scale than teensy watch parts, I can usually take something to a gazillion bits and repair what's broken with the correct parts or by fabricating NLA parts etc
Now I actually understand what all the parts do and how they interact.

Sure, I studied it over about an hour an a half today, going back and forth, but yeah now I feel confident to go and strip down any watch movement and fix it
Now, where is my Gen Paul Newman Daytona ??? ....

nah that last bit is a joke but what a great article, now bookmarked

Sadly, I don't know whether I'll ever be able to successfully strip and rebuild one, because my Arthritis and other aliments, coupled with the tablets I have to take and also shite eyesight means I often have shaky hands and poor vision.

But with the insight from this article, I would have a fairly good idea of what is wrong and happily have a go at a busted cheaper rep with say an A2813 or a Miyota in it

Thank you for that

What a sensational article - in both the explanation and the presentation of it. Thank you.

Been there, done that.
Always complaining about noobs not using the search function...

https://forum.replica-watch.info/threads/worth-a-look-mechanical-watch-construction.10949523/

 

[muiramas]

Been there, done that.
Always complaining about noobs not using the search function...

https://forum.replica-watch.info/threads/worth-a-look-mechanical-watch-construction.10949523/

I click your link and get this:

Oops! We ran into some problems.​

You do not have permission to view this page or perform this action.

I wasn’t looking for that article, just thanking the last human alive for posting it - as that’s how I came to know about it. If I was actually searching for it, the search function in this site would be the last thing I would use.