Services

How long will the repair take?  Subject to availability of materials as mentioned, repairs are usually turned round in 5 working days. I have access to the country’s biggest material dealers, who can usually supply most materials ex-stock for next day delivery. I hold good stocks of generic spares for most recently produced watches. 

Quality - Every watch is repaired by me - to the highest standards. Watch cell replacement will necessitate cleaning the case before opening to prevent dirt from entering, causing future problems. Water resistance will very likely be affected if case seals are disturbed and these should be replaced.

Where requested cases can be tested using the latest programmable test equipment. Service and repair is usually necessary when the tiny quantities of oil applied at the last repair have dried up or degraded.

If untreated, the long-term future of the movement will suffer. If water has penetrated the watch, rusty parts will have to be replaced. Running a training school as I have done, keeps you bang up to date with the latest technological developments in watch movements and test equipment. I have a state of the art watch repair facility approved by the Swatch Group, Omega / Longines, and LVMH, Tag Heuer and Breitling and a materials account for Rolex and offer a 12months guarantee on all serviced repairs.

Service and Repair involves a complete strip-down, examination of each part, replacement or repair as necessary, ultrasonic cleaning, re-assembly and re-oiling, using up to 5 different grades of oil, testing and regulation, casing and 24 hour final testing before dispatch. Experience shows that there are no short-cuts to a reliable repair.
- Watch Cell  replacement   For preference I supply and fit ‘Renata’ Swiss cells, there are equivalent alkaline cells available but these, although cheaper, are not suitable for watches. Changing watch cells is hardly rocket science, but there are pitfalls and it is best left to a qualified professional. I get lots of work putting right watches where the cell was changed badly a few months earlier and the watch has now stopped again, needing full service to correct the fault!
- Water Resistance   This is not a permanent condition in a watch case. Seals harden and degrade with time and use. Where a watch is regularly exposed to water, water resistance should be checked frequently and seals replaced. A waterproof test is like a car’s MOT test – what passes this month may fail next month! Hence new seals are used where a case part is disturbed. Case parts, [bezels, shaped crystals, crowns with motifs etc], are often a unique and expensive design element of a watch and generic parts will not be available or suitable.  These are the parts of which many agents restrict supply [see spare parts], -‘return to agents’ is the only expensive option.
- Spare parts.  Many agents watches use similar generic movements or modules for which spares are readily available. Others agents have their own unique manufacture - spares might be restricted. Parts are usually available for generic mechanical watches for at least 15 years after the calibre goes out of production. For quartz watches, [battery watches] it might be as little as 5 years before obsolescence. Some less expensive modules are ‘non serviceable’ and the entire module has to exchanged.
- Case cleaning.  The case and bracelet will always be cleaned during a service and disturbed seals changed with any job. Any used/exchanged materials will be returned with the watch.

Guarantees     All watches serviced by me carry a 12 months guarantee. If I assess that a movement or case is in such poor or aged condition, that repairs will be unreliable, I will decline the repair at this time. Since rejecting a watch in this way will produce no income for me, you can be assured that this decision is carefully considered.