Servicing questions.
Sorry, I know this question will have been covered before, but to be recent and for new members, I was wondering what is a reasonable price to pay for a service. Of course a Rolex will be more expensive than a Seiko (I believe Seiko just change the movement on a service).
I do have a local watch guy but to be honest he is a bit of a nark. I am based in the UK. I heard Timpsons did watch servicing (sorry non UK peoples) and went in for a price, and they basically said we send away the watch and they will get back to you with a price!
So if anyone out there I was wondering what you paid for an
A: Seiko/Citizen/Orient etc.
B. Mid range Longines/Hamilton etc
C. Higher range Rolex/Omega etc.
I do not mind paying a good price for a good service, forgive the pun, but I do hate to be ripped off. It would be interesting to see the different prices you are all paying.
Thanks in advance !
From the UK, I am a watch nut, from the age of 18 been putting £5ish aside each week to fund my watch passion and never stopped.
It really depends on location, complexity, and level of service. Outside of a Seiko movement swap (~$150) all my servicing has been on non-running vintage. It was about $2k for an 1800's pocket watch from some defunct Parisian maker, ~$800 for a bumper automatic. That was a boutique type place obsessed with replacing anything with any wear. Then I found a guy that is less persnickety with lower overhead and it's been a godsend as he is usually around $85 for handwind three-handers. He always says three weeks and it ends up being more like four months, but the price is right.
Seiko's service depends on the movement. The basic 7S, 4R and 6R movements get swapped out for a new one, change of seals and gaskets are included in the service price. Depending on the movement, it is anywhere between 120-260 USD. Additional costs will be included like replacement of crown and crystal etc if you request. The 8L/6L/8R and spring drive movements get a complete service and these are between 400-540 USD. With Seiko movements (except spring drive), you can easily get it serviced anywhere without any issues and the cost will on the similar side. Citizen and Orient are also similar to Seiko in terms of serviceability except these both have a very limited official service centre.
Every entry-level Swatch group brand watch with a Powermatic movement (which is almost all the models these days) will cost you 190-210 USD depending on the Powermatic variant. The service prices are the same across all the entry-level brands. Longines and Rado are around $250. If you have older ETA 2824-based movements then you can do them outside but for anything with a Powermatic (H-series for Hamilton), then you are stuck with the Swatch service centre. Chronograph movements will be slightly more expensive to service but they can be serviced outside since most calibers are still based on older ones. The new Longines L888 movements can be serviced outside to an extent but in most cases, you have to resort to Swatch.
Luxury brands will be anywhere between $400-1000 depending on what you want to get done and additional costs for other services.
If you are doing service outside then the cost will depend after taking a look at the watch based on replacement parts since they give you a basic quote plus other extra services you have requested.
Look for the right value based on the watch and the duration of service, in most cases with the official service centre you get a fixed price, a list of basic things that will be carried out during the service and will receive the watch back in 4-12 weeks. Plus you get 1-2 years warranty on the watch after the service is done. When you do it outside, the timing can be a big variable.
Longines ran me about $350 to do my Master Complications chronograph. Haven’t serviced my TAG or Tudor yet. JLC charges around $900.
My old Sub 14060m was $900 and my Speedmaster will be the same - if I go through Omega. When I first bought it, service was much closer to $500. Fun times.
My explorer 2 from 2005 cost £690 but that did include a new crown from a Rolex AD , completed may 2023
Had my 16710 for service at an AD here in Germany and it cost me 810€ including a new Inlay.
Bit late to the party here, I've got a local guy who does all mine and charges between £60 and £70 pounds for a basic automatic service, not including parts of course, and he's serviced everything from my rubbish ebay finds to omegas. He's swiss trained and done it for years so If your stuck for a good decent repairer drop me a pm and I'll pass his details to you (he's on holiday till the end of the month) but he should be able to help after that. It will involve postage as he's in North Nottinghamshire.
Bit late to the party here, I've got a local guy who does all mine and charges between £60 and £70 pounds for a basic automatic service, not including parts of course, and he's serviced everything from my rubbish ebay finds to omegas. He's swiss trained and done it for years so If your stuck for a good decent repairer drop me a pm and I'll pass his details to you (he's on holiday till the end of the month) but he should be able to help after that. It will involve postage as he's in North Nottinghamshire.
Cheers that would be great !
Cheers that would be great !
Look up Spencer Phillips of Retford, he's very good and very reasonable in pricing. It's just him so not a quick turnaround but he's a proper watchmaker and won't rip you off, send him an email and I'm sure he'll help.
Look up Spencer Phillips of Retford, he's very good and very reasonable in pricing. It's just him so not a quick turnaround but he's a proper watchmaker and won't rip you off, send him an email and I'm sure he'll help.
Cheers Rob, thanks for the Info. Nice collection BTW, love the Seiko Cub, should have got one when I had the chance.
Cheers Rob, thanks for the Info. Nice collection BTW, love the Seiko Cub, should have got one when I had the chance.
Thankyou , that seiko cub was still available a week or 2 ago (try CW sellers) for retail without the ridiculous pricing on ebay.