How do you manage to maintain service on large watch collections???

I've got around 16 vintage watches & have had 7 of them serviced. I use an independent watchmaker & he charges £180 for automatic for example. Unless it is a very complicated Perpetual Calendar movement for example, the cost is based on the type of movement not the brand. So an automatic Seiko would no more to service in theory than an Omega. Parts for the Omega could push up the cost, but they aren't always necessary though. With newer watches many people go back to the brand for service & most will charge considerably more than a decent independent.

I'm a keeper of only two watches so I'm probably not the right guy to commment your question but I have been thinking about it in past as well and I have come to the conclusion that at first most collectors leave them without service until everything works as it should and when some watches stop working, they then have them serviced individually. I very much doubt that anyone who has, for example, twenty watches, went to service them all at once and paid enormous thousands for it. It is also possible that if someone has, say, five pieces, they rotate them on year basis IMO 🤷‍♂🤔🙂

Excellent question!! Like most, I rotate my watches (allocating one week of wrist time per watch - which translates to only several weeks of total wear for each watch annually). That said, I disregard the brand’s recommended service interval. My plan is to service a watch when there’s a noticeable issue. Might be important to mention the majority of my watches are < 4 years old, couple of neo vintages and are not on winders. All are babied and in pristine condition. Looking forward to comments, insights and suggestions from fellow Crunchers🤙

I’ve not been in the game long enough to worry. But I do think it’s a reason to keep the number of very special mechanical watches to a minimum.

I have a great guy I use for lesser watches - but I’d be nervous to take him something really valuable.

I haven't owned watches long enough to warrant a service (except for my Lucerne Digital Jump Hour, which needs it's balance shaft and jewel oiled) but, seeing as many of my watches are vintage and either time only or with a date complication, I'm just going to learn how to service them myself. I wouldn't do this with an expensive or very complicated watch, but I don't own those sorts of thing. The only watchmaker in my town retired some years ago, so getting a service is a massive affair for me, hence the whole learning part.

I haven’t owned my mechanical watches long enough for a service yet but it is something I think about. I wear four in rotation and none live on winders so I disregard the recommended service time. Like @VuTang I will wait until there is an issue before servicing.

I prefer the idea of finding a good quality, trusted independent rather than going to the brand directly.

For those that take a similar approach to their watch servicing, how did you find your independent? Google search? Recommended to you?

I sought out an independent watch service shop and I use him. €180 for a vintage , modern Seiko or selita/myota movement, rising to €250 for 8L35 movements.

I have just had 3 watches serviced ,one hasn't been serviced for 12 yrs cost £600 so that cost £50 a year ,the other 2 were bought second hand with no service history but at good pre COVID prices ,so they were serviced just to maintain water resistance and check authenticity, as I plan on swimming in them , going forward the service intervals will be staggered

All my mechanical watches are using 4R3x/NH3x movements. The current replacement cost is around $30.

I know that I can take this movement apart, and put it back together, but in all honesty, movement swaps are more likely with entry-level standard movements.

Absolutely no Winders.

Each watch gets about one month of total wrist time per year.

I send them in every 20 years.

I have been very lucky, never had an Issue so far.

It is an interesting one, and a good way to curb growing the collection too big to look after your watches correctly.

Servicing through the watchmaker I use ranges from £300 - £500 depending on the work that needs to be done. That's not far off the same as going to an AD, but I feel a much better service as I know exactly what's going on every step of the way.

I try to service a couple at a time. Thankfully, once done they should run for years, so the outlay isn't too often.

I only have 2 automatics, if they start getting really screwy I'll get a new watch because my watches tend to be very budget friendly. The rest of my collection are battery powered or solar powered, still really inexpensive watches so if one of them dies its not a big deal.

Well, im going to get some flak over this but...I dont service a watch unless it needs it..Simple as that. My oldest is a (other then a couple vintage pieces) 1970's datejust purchased new. I wore it everyday for ten years or so..it just went in for a service...

I have an 80yo VC that does get serviced, otherwise I'd only service if the time goes awry or if the amplitude looks poor on the timegrapher.

Important point.

I try to keep as less automatics as possible. A good mix of quartz and solar watches are always helpful to jeep the average costs of the collection low.

I only buy mechanical if it's really something special to me.

But only being mechanical doesn't makes a watch special. There are awesome quartz/solar watches out there.

The bad on quartz watches.

Many brands forbid their A.D.s to change theire batteries, so you have to send the quart watches for a "service". Basicly battery changing and WR-testing.

Around 60 to 70 Euro for most brands.

The good on solar watches:

In general you will have no problem with the battery for 10 to 20 years. That means you don't need a service for decades.

Let's say you have a collection of 10 watches, made of different movements and estimate their service costs within ten years.

3 mechanical = one service in 10 years for 400 euro each (assuming no big repairs), at a entry level watch brand.

5 Quartz = 70 euro every three years

2 Solar = 0 euro because no service needed within 10 years, as long nothing goes wrong or no accidents with the watch

In average per watch you would have service cost of 185 Euro in ten years (1850 for the whole ten watch collectiom).

So quartz and especially Solar watches do safe so much money in long term. I whish there would be more solar alternatives.

But it also depends on the movement and the brand. I would buy a Chronograph prefered as a quartz/solar watch, as they are much more expensive in service if they are mechanical.

Also important brands which uses movements and parts which are more standard and simple so that any watchmaker can handle it essy and fast.

The more you go into manufacture movements the more expensive it will get.

Most recommendations for service are just that . . . recommendations . . . and I'd esp. treat these recs with a grain of salt if its coming from a company who stands to benefit financially b/c they are the only ones who can service it. Some companies have crazy recs like every three or four years . . . nope. Just bring it in maybe ever 8 to 10 esp. if you aren'y wearing your watches everyday due to cycling through a collection. Put some $$$ in a high yield account for the purposes of repair and maintenance (and if there's any extra? Hey, new watch!)

This is a big reason, service costs, why I decided to stop buying and just enjoy the nice automatic watches I already have in my collection. I didn’t want things to get too overwhelming cost wise. The implementation of in-house movements throughput the industry offers a very lucrative side business, maybe main business, for many makers. The marketing departments convince buyers that in-house means better, snob appeal in my mind, and they now have a captive audience for serving.

As a middle class guy myself I limit my collection to a manageable number of watches with a mix of quartz, solar, and mechanical movements. Right now I have an 8 slot watchbox and 3 slot travel roll giving my collection a maximum total of 11 watches but truthfully the watch box isn't even full yet...

Since it takes me time to save up for my watches I'm picky about what I buy 😉

Less expensive automatics are nasty, they cost a lot to repair relative to what they cost new. That 300$ Seiko service for a 900$ Seiko is more expensive than the 800$ Rolex service for a 8000$ Rolex.

If you're budget constrained (but also if you aren't!!) it can be rewarding to learn the basics and change the Seiko and Miyota movements out yourself. The labour the expensive thing here, a Seiko movement is not expensive. I certainly want to learn that, maybe even basic servicing of a SW200... 😂 another reason to buy watches.

I’d certainly try to make the movement repair on my own, but no way I’d ever get the watch moving again(even with training). I’ll leave it to the pros.🤣Crazy that Seiko servicing costs so damn much considering the affordability of those timepieces.🤦🏻

Do consider to have quartz watches in your collection, and learn how to open and replace batteries. No big deal. Mechanical, leave it to the pro´s. Keep only a few and service when they do not work anymore.😎

I currently have 8 watches, 7 quartz, and 1 automatic. The automatic is an homage watch with a Seiko NH35A movement. Those things don't need servicing. If it malfunctions, spend 60 bucks and buy another movement, and swap it out.

One thing I have begun to realize: Paying $17 every time I want the local jeweler to replace the battery on one of my quartz watches is not going to fly! 🤣 Thankfully, my 16-year old son has taken an interest, and has purchased for himself a watch tool kit, and has already mastered the battery-change process, as well as how to remove / adjust watch bracelets and straps. He has the proper tools to safely (without scratching or gouging) remove the various types of casebacks, as well as the proper tools to remove metal pins from bracelet links. So now, if I need a battery, I just buy it, and let my son swap it out. At some point, when I have time, I plan to sit down and learn to do these things myself as well; but right now, I have too many irons in the fire.

Of my 7 quartz watches, only 4 of them are more than a year old (My Marc Ecko Encore is my oldest watch, purchased in 2005, and the Seiko Y121E movement inside still runs like a champ, without ever having been serviced. The second oldest is my Stuhrling Raceway, purchased in 2014, and the ISA 9238/1970 movement inside has never been serviced, either, and like the Ecko, keeps accurate time / runs great. My Casio SGW-100, which is at least 10 years old, recently had its battery replaced, and it runs like new / keeps accurate time. The reason I'm not sure how old it is, is because it was originally my dad's work watch, which he gave to my son, who promptly lost it, and I found it years later while cleaning out the garage, and since he already had a G-Shock by that point, he gave the watch to me. I estimate the watch to be between 10-15 years old. Lastly, my Tissot Classic Dream, which has an ETA F06.115 quartz movement, very rarely loses time, and operates consistently well above the minimum specs. It was purchased in December of 2021.)

One of the watches in my collection is non-functional; I bought it on EBay, un-tested, and I haven't had the time yet to see about getting a battery for it. It's old (1979) so the battery might be hard to find.

The other 2 quartz watches (Casio Duro, and Invicta Sub-Aqua) were both purchased this year; thus, as far as "servicing the movements" goes, it seems to be a non-essential thing for quartz movements. I suppose I would happily pay to service one or two of them, if the need should ever arise, but so far, it hasn't.

Yet another reason to own quartz vs automatics. Luckily, most of what I own are Casios and Casio G shocks, but I do own 3 automatics which two need costly servicing.🤦🏻

Interesting discussion. If I get the watches i'm currently planning to buy, then three of them will have the same ETA movement. At that point, I feel like it's worth it to (and i'd be interested in) learn how to service them myself. Though I know i'll need to get some old / spare movements to practice on first.

As for the other watches, they are my own "big hitters" and will likely go to the manufacturer for servicing - 2 x Longines (with specific Longines ETA movements) and a Rolex, hopefully.