I recently met up with Paul Walker & we had a good old chat about all things watch & car related.
He told me some of those he likes working on & some he hates.
Which parts are still available post ETA supply madness & which aren't.
I've recently been looking at Ebel 1911s and there's such a choice of movements from 7750, El Primo the "in-house".
Its got me wondering how much we should be considering future servicing & parts availability as part of our buying choices?
If it's going to be a watch you keep post retirement definitely (unless a very large pension will be paid). If I keep my black bay eta, I know I can buy a watch with self same movement for a couple of hundred new, and replace if necessary. Might not be the same grade, but as my bb has been back to rolex twice for regulation and is still +8 seconds a day, I probably won't do badly.
Yes, i don't let it drive my purchases but i definitely take it into account.
it's one of the reasons i've avoided grand seikos.
Yes, it's put me off owning too many autos and is one of the reasons I've allowed myself Grand Seiko quartz.Originally Posted by flareslove
I had 35 automatic. Am down to 15 plus a G Shock. I don't factor in cost of servicing per purchase but as long as I get the numbers owned down I'll deal with it as it arises. As a % of amount I spend on watches it's acceptable. Like servicing your car. It's also a bit like affording a Ferrari but not being able to afford the petrol or insurance
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it's one of the reasons i've trimmed my collection from 20+ down to 8 watches, two of which are quartz and one a vostok. i might add another couple soon though..
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Depends, I might like a model because of the movement, and then I accept the additional servicing costs that go with it etc.
It's just a matter of time...
Anything mechanical carries an ongoing cost these days, so I think we forget to take it too much into consideration, but it doesn't bother me. A £20k watch requiring a £500 spa every five years is reasonable in my opinion.
That's a fair point, its all relative & I don't begrudge spending that on a £5k watch.
With the Ebel we're talking a £1-2k watch.
One movement would cost circa £200 to service the other £500+
What happens to the £300-750 microbrand watches when they need servicing?
It didn't used to be but having owned a number of expensive watches and some that needing servicing the £400/500 bill made me think how often i wear them etc.
As a result i am now down to 2 expensive watches to own/service and have moved on to other watches i find interesting like Citizen GPS watches and Casio atomic etc.
Never used to, but I do now.
Nope, I know the cost, but accept that it will be a bill that will eventually hit me...
Factored into the purchase price if showing signs of needing a service but the majority are worn infrequently on rotation and I'm inclined to service when timekeeping/power reserve goes awry rather than by a set schedule. I like autos so some service cost is inevitable and I'm ok with that, especially for the longer term keepers.
You don't service them (unless you know a good independent). You simply buy a new £200 watch with the same myota/seiko/eta etc movement, swap it over, and sell the remains. You may even come out of it all with a profit!
Last edited by Evanssprky; 11th August 2017 at 16:18.
I wouldn't service them, but if you have a few you're only wearing them on occasion so it doesn't matter if the timekeeping is a few seconds out, or they don't look like new.
As far as servicing expensive watches, the maintenance, insurance, combined with my salary is enough to put me off having a load of them!
Being economically challenged, Yes! I did consider splashing out on a Breitling Chrono quartz advertised on SC (can't resist black & white Panda dials!), but when I discovered that I'd need to fork out £100 each time for a new battery, possibly every 3 years - and that was from a cheaper Watch Repair Centre rather than an AD - I decided that I couldn't justify that to myself.
A colleague bought an AP thinking it would cost about £400 as that's around Rolex charge. Found out after the purchase it's more likely to be £1,400+ and now he's looking to trade it and go for a PM Daytona
I imagine they appear on Ebay as "bargains"
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I don't know where you're going to be buying £200 watches with ETA movements in the near future unless you're looking at Chinese clones!
Very easy, virtually any near new microbrand.
Most microbrands for awhile have stopped using ETA movements and those that do are priced higher.
Indeed, I recently bought and flipped a colt ocean. It had recently had a maintenance service (battery change, reseal, pressure test, case clean, no movement service just parameter check) and the receipt was around £180.
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Yes, but you could still buy a new or nearly new watch with ETA movement for a few hundred quid. Factor in selling everything else off (your old movement that requires service but still hopefully running, new watch case, hands, dial, bracelet, box etc etc) and it still looks a cheap option.
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Last edited by Evanssprky; 11th August 2017 at 20:25.
I personally don't care about it, how you know you can make it alive till the watch service time? Just buy what you like.
A brilliant viewpoint, so important in all areas of life. Thank you.
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A brilliant viewpoint, so important in all areas of life. Thank you.
Unfortunately, yes. I was considering purchasing an openworked AP royal oak in 2014 but the Audemars servicing costs deterred me. Frustratingly the watch has doubled in value and you now can't get one for less that £35k, eclipsing any servicing costs I would've incurred...
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