Watch Servicing
Recently I sent my neo vintage GMT for servicing caused it was running slow. After the initial diagnosis, the watchmaker said that the oil had run dry and some parts needed to be replaced. I have more watches than I need, so I only service/repair my watches when they start showing sign of problems.
My question is do you follow the manufacturer’s recommendation to have your watches serviced say every 5 year or are you like me?🤣🤣
49 comments
Sort by
Benny
A vintage Rolex fanboy…..And a mixed bag of everything else.
Singapore
Member since
Last active: 12 min ago
Is that a Bakelite Bezel insert?
Nope. It’s from the 90s so a aluminium insert.
My oldest watch is 4yrs old. I’ll probably service it when it starts to act up. If it ain’t broke don’t need to fix it.
Beautiful piece, don't ask to get it fixed unless it isn't running in spec
Only when they show signs of wear. Newer watches have synthetic oils so should last a lot longer than watches of the past.
No, only service when they need it.
My oldest watch is 4yrs old. I’ll probably service it when it starts to act up. If it ain’t broke don’t need to fix it.
Agreed!
Beautiful piece, don't ask to get it fixed unless it isn't running in spec
Thanks. This one needs fixing. Ran 3 minutes slower…a day😜
Only when they show signs of wear. Newer watches have synthetic oils so should last a lot longer than watches of the past.
Most of my watches are 20-40 years old. So I get a little nervous.
No, only service when they need it.
Haha. Seems like everyone is of the opinion to do servicing only when they start acting up.👍👍
Thanks. This one needs fixing. Ran 3 minutes slower…a day😜
Oh yeah 👍
With the price they're asking, I'm not surprised they recommend to service it every 5 years. They would tell you to send it every year if it wasn't so suspicious. 😂💸
With the price they're asking, I'm not surprised they recommend to service it every 5 years. They would tell you to send it every year if it wasn't so suspicious. 😂💸
That’s why I don’t send my watches to Rolex Service Center. The fee they are asking I can buy a few very nice Seikos.
Haha. Seems like everyone is of the opinion to do servicing only when they start acting up.👍👍
Unless there's some sort of warranty condition if it ain't broke, don't mend it!
Like most mine only get attention when they stop working properly. I'm sure this is the most cost effective maintenance schedule.
Servicing?
Nope! That’s a complete waste of money. Servicing (especially a Rolex) a perfectly running watch isn’t gonna make it last any longer. All my friends with Rolexes have never serviced their watches, some are on 20 plus years. I serviced mine at 17, kept superlative time but was losing power reserve.
I tinker with mine like every other day on the timegrapher, does that count? Lol.
I don’t have anything that has a movement worth servicing yet, when my Seiko starts loosing crazy time or shows signs of neededing service, I will be replacing the movement myself. If I had a nice Swiss run watch, I would likely take the recommended interval to heart. As a mechanic I understand that ignoring maintenance will cause bigger issues down the road.
When there is a problem I get them serviced..Not before. Like you I have plenty of watches I can get by while it is being serviced. I wore a Date/Just two tone for almost twenty years befor I had any issues..
If it's not broken, don't fix it
Just dropped off my oldest watch, Hamilton Jazzmaster, for service this past weekend. It’s about 8 years old, never been serviced. Recently it was acting up so brought it in. I don’t have a ton of watches but enough I can rotate in while it’s away.
It depends what's included in the service.
Major luxury brands include the price of replacing worn parts in their basic service for most three-hand watches.
Zenith offers partial service on their chronos, but if it's worn, you're going to be paying for a full service.
Moat modern lubricants are going to go 5+years, but older watches or local watchmakers could be a different story.
Interestingly, new IWC as an example, have an 8-year warranty and don't recommend service until performance suffers. Water resistance tests excluded, of course.
I use the spinning plates while juggling method to keep my watches serviced. It's always just one exciting step away from catastrophe!
I’m ashamed to say I had a speedmaster date that I never serviced in the almost 20 years I owned it I never had it serviced and it was still running better than my new speedy pro at about 2 seconds a day. Mostly sell on my watches before they need service but now as my collection is getting to the place where I don’t want to trade up anymore I will need to service the ones I keep eventually
watches are like cars on a macro level and both need oil changes to prevent damage to the engine. Rolex repairs cost as much as a car repair if you don't service it. Don't forget seals die at 6 years killing water resistance. Let your car go without servicing to see what i mean
I have taken pictures of measurements done with a Timegrapher of all my watches. I have saved these photos under each watch name on my server. If I feel that a watch needs service, I can rerun the test and then compare against the results when the watch was new.
I don’t service my watch until it starts to loose time. By the way, nice gmt on leather. My bracelet is so beat-up, so I have to wear it on leather. (Don’t want to spend the money to get another bracelet from AD)
I'm going to have my Rolex serviced in keeping with their recommendations.
Is that a Bakelite Bezel insert?
No
Like you, I fix only what’s broken 🤙❤️