Servicing a £200 watch?

vacheron

Looking at the brand (which I had never previously heard of). It looks like they are quartz watches with Japanese movements. All but the most high end (think £3K+ RRP) quartz watches should run for 15 or so years without servicing (apart from the odd battery change), and then the plastic parts inside will wear out.

This is how these mass produced quartz movements are designed to age, they are also not designed to be disassembled and reassembled once, never mind multiple times as better mechanical movements are.

Replacing the entire movement should not cost more than £40, so £150 for a service "every few years" is not recommended.

I have many watches, a few quartz, but most mechanical and automatic (self winding). A also have a Seamaster Pro like @RumRat, which I have had for nearly 20 years and has never been serviced once. (Fortunately I can do this myself as soon as I have the time, I just need to get round to doing it!). 

Modern synthetic oils also means that the watch should be good for at least 8-10 years between services unless it is very heavily used or used for diving in which case a pressure test every 2-3 years would be highly recommended. 
  

TELLIT01

Pollycat said:

diystarter7 said:

victor2 said:

If it's battery powered, get a dealer to replace that when necessary, rather than the chap on the market. Otherwise, don't bother with "servicing" unless something goes wrong.

Hi

Thanks and if it is akinetic  watch, watch out for the price of the battery and when mine ran out after about ten years, the price to change the battery resulted in me getting another watch. This was about 30 years ago a very smart, gold plated watch but the price of the battery could only be done by a jeweller and all I recall is, might as well by a new watch.

They are usually referred to as capacitors.
My OH has had a Citizen eco-drive since 2006 and is still keeping perfect time.

That's saved a fortune against a quartz watch which needs regular battery changes.

We both have a number of these Eco-drive watches, some stiletto (ultra thin) and some with super titanium straps and I have one which is radio controlled.
Most have cost more than £200 and have never been serviced.

The only thing you need to bear in mind with Eco-drive watches is not to store them in their boxes for extended periods.  I bought my wife one and she was only going to use it for special occasions.  Got it back out of the box for said occasion and it had stopped.  It took days to fully recharge the battery.  I wear mine all the time so no problem for me.

Pollycat

TELLIT01 said:

Pollycat said:

diystarter7 said:

victor2 said:

If it's battery powered, get a dealer to replace that when necessary, rather than the chap on the market. Otherwise, don't bother with "servicing" unless something goes wrong.

Hi

Thanks and if it is akinetic  watch, watch out for the price of the battery and when mine ran out after about ten years, the price to change the battery resulted in me getting another watch. This was about 30 years ago a very smart, gold plated watch but the price of the battery could only be done by a jeweller and all I recall is, might as well by a new watch.

They are usually referred to as capacitors.
My OH has had a Citizen eco-drive since 2006 and is still keeping perfect time.

That's saved a fortune against a quartz watch which needs regular battery changes.

We both have a number of these Eco-drive watches, some stiletto (ultra thin) and some with super titanium straps and I have one which is radio controlled.
Most have cost more than £200 and have never been serviced.

The only thing you need to bear in mind with Eco-drive watches is not to store them in their boxes for extended periods.  I bought my wife one and she was only going to use it for special occasions.  Got it back out of the box for said occasion and it had stopped.  It took days to fully recharge the battery.  I wear mine all the time so no problem for me.

OH's 5 eco-drive watches are on his bedside cabinet a foot from the window.
Mine are in a watch box with perspex lid and get charge from the bedroom windows and also the ceiling light.
I also wear them alternately.
The ones with smaller faces need a boost every so often. I pop them on the bedroom windowsill once every couple of months.

PunkRoquefort

In the end, I bought a Citizen Eco-drive diver's watch for £200, as an everyday watch.

It is great for the money.

I am also looking at treating myself with a Tag Heur, Omega or Breightling.

[Deleted User]

PunkRoquefort said:

In the end, I bought a Citizen Eco-drive diver's watch for £200, as an everyday watch.

It is great for the money.

I am also looking at treating myself with a Tag Heur, Omega or Breightling.

Great money saving, access to the time for £200. 

Any cheaper options for telling the time?

vacheron

[Deleted User] said:

PunkRoquefort said:

In the end, I bought a Citizen Eco-drive diver's watch for £200, as an everyday watch.

It is great for the money.

I am also looking at treating myself with a Tag Heur, Omega or Breightling.

Great money saving, access to the time for £200. 

Any cheaper options for telling the time?

I believe this is the “techie stuff” forum, not “get out of debt” 😉 plus what is the point of money saving if you can’t use it to buy the things you enjoy from time to time?

Also “cheaper” watch options are not necessarily money saving. A decent eco-drive will last a long time, need no battery changes and will hold at least a good chunk of its value after 5-10 years, whereas a £30-£50 purely fashion watch is worth almost nothing the second you walk out the shop with it. Smart watches favoured by so many these days can cost far more and will be nothing more than e-waste in 10 years time. 

Meanwhile, the Omega Seamaster I mentioned above which I bought new for £805 in 2002 would return  £1900- £2500 second hand if I sold it today... Seems pretty MSE to me. 😉

facade

vacheron said:

[Deleted User] said:

PunkRoquefort said:

In the end, I bought a Citizen Eco-drive diver's watch for £200, as an everyday watch.

It is great for the money.

I am also looking at treating myself with a Tag Heur, Omega or Breightling.

Great money saving, access to the time for £200. 

Any cheaper options for telling the time?

I believe this is the “techie stuff” forum, not “get out of debt” 😉 plus what is the point of money saving if you can’t use it to buy the things you enjoy from time to time?

Also “cheaper” watch options are not necessarily money saving. A decent eco-drive will last a long time, need no battery changes and will hold at least a good chunk of its value after 5-10 years, whereas a £30-£50 purely fashion watch is worth almost nothing the second you walk out the shop with it. Smart watches favoured by so many these days can cost far more and will be nothing more than e-waste in 10 years time. 

Meanwhile, the Omega Seamaster I mentioned above which I bought new for £805 in 2002 would return  £1900- £2500 second hand if I sold it today... Seems pretty MSE to me. 😉

The ecodrive I am wearing now (and have been for well over 10 years without it costing me a single penny in servicing or batteries) sells on eBay for around £60.

I can't remember exactly what I paid for it, but it would have been around £100. Less than £4 a year for a titanium watch and strap, not too bad.

TELLIT01

[Deleted User] said:

PunkRoquefort said:

In the end, I bought a Citizen Eco-drive diver's watch for £200, as an everyday watch.

It is great for the money.

I am also looking at treating myself with a Tag Heur, Omega or Breightling.

Great money saving, access to the time for £200. 

Any cheaper options for telling the time?

I presume you are suggesting that you never purchase anything because you like it, rather than it being an essential purchase.

Le_Kirk

MalMonroe said:

My phone and computer and kitchen clock serve me well. I don't need or want anything on me - especially if it starts ringing, alarming or talking. No sireeee thank you.

Yep, agree there are multiple devices to tell us the time even the sun (some days) but it is amazing when someone asks you the time, you don't automatically reach for your Smart phone but pull back your sleeve to check your watch!

DiamondLil

Sorry, just came across this thread (thanks MSE for the "most recent" pointer...); I love watches and now I'm older wear a ruddy great clock face on my wrist so's I can see the time without using a magnifier...