Reply With QuoteIf it’s keeping decent time still I’d maybe leave it a bit longer.Originally Posted by watchstudent
STS are good though. Not sure if the £80 saving is worth it compared to going direct to Omega though.
I haven't been very active in the "watch talk" part of this forum for awhile (funds won't allow it!). Would you believe my collection is now just a Speedy, Apple Watch and a G-shock.
Bought my Speedy in 2015 so it is due a service I guess (worn sparingly). Omega will charge me £630 by the looks of it which is a bit eye watering.
I seem to remember Genesis watchmaking was the default place for TZers, is that still the case? Prices on their site are £550, a bit better. Same price for Swiss Time Services.
Any other suggestions?
If it’s keeping decent time still I’d maybe leave it a bit longer.
STS are good though. Not sure if the £80 saving is worth it compared to going direct to Omega though.
If the watch has been worn sparingly there’s a good chance that it doesn’t need attention yet. Its worth checking it on a timegrapher to see how its running, if the watch is lacking lubrication it should be evident from the figures and the stability of the traces.
The hand- wound 1861 is straightforward to service, on a watch of this age that’s been worn sparingly its unlikely that anything needs replacing, but the whole movement has to be stripped down to clean and re- oil correctly. It’s always good practice to replace the mainspring, especially on a hand- wound watch, a new one is under £20.
The standard Omega service at £600 is a ‘one size fits all’ process. The hands, pushers and crown get replaced even if they don’t need replacing. On a 20 year old example that’s had a hard life this makes more sense but on a 7 yr old watch it is overkill in my opinion. Swapping the O ring seal in the crown is advisable but its unlikely the pusher seals will have deteriorated or worn. Pressure testing can be carried out to confirm this.
The Omega service will include full refinishing, that’s factored into the price whether the owner wants it doing or not. As far as I know there’s no discount for not refinishing. However, it’s always worth having the acrylic crystal repolished or replaced.
Well exactly. I was quite surprised by the lack of price difference to be honest. I suppose they are an official service centre.
Was hoping for a better saving though!
Yes, I do wonder if it really needs a service to be honest, going to wear it all week and see what the timekeeping is like. I am definitely someone that likes to take a "preventative maintenance" approach but maybe not as necessary on a watch as it is a car?
I'm in the "if it aint broke camp" on watches. If it's running okay and you don't want it cosmetically faffed with, why go to the expense? I've got watches that are 40+ years old, used sparingly, and keeping perfectly acceptable time without any interventions.
I have used both in the past (albeit for a c861) and in my opinion you won't go wrong with either.
I may be wrong, but perhaps if the watch needs any case or bracelet refinishing work, STS may have facilities/ tooling that other independents don't?
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Refinishing a Speedmaster case to a high standard doesn`t require specialised equipment. The awkward part is refinishing the case sides, that applies to any chronograph because to do it thoroughly requires the pushers to be removed and that can be difficult. On the Speedmaster full-sized models the pushers are screwed into the case but light application of heat is needed to soften the Loctite on the threads. To avoid potentially damaging the crystal it needs to be removed too. The bezel has to come off to polish the lug tops properly and to refinish the brushed effect on the inside sloping sides of the lugs, same applies to Seamaster Professional models.
Refinishing can be more involved and time-consuming than movement work, people don't realise this, but a refinished watch should look virtually new again and that's an effect I find v. pleasing on a watch........that's how they're supposed to look!
STS do laser welding. I’d always prefer that to just traditional polishing if there was a sufficient ding.
Laser welding is a brilliant technique for restoring gouges on case edges, the majority of scratches don’t need it. A scratch in metal is like a ploughed furrow in afield, the metal protrudes above the surface and makes the scratch look deeper. Levelling tge scratch carefully takes this off and only a minimal amount needs removing to restore the finish.
My sdvice to people is to look after expensive watches carefully, don’t get them battered to a state where they are v. difficult to restore!
Unfortunately my experience is that many watchmakers/polishers lack your ability to re-finish watches the traditional way without removing too much metal. Not even Rolex does a particularly great job as part of a service imho.
What about Duncan Thewatchbloke ? highly recommended.
The prices listed below cover most popular calibres but if yours doesn’t fall into any of these categories please ask.
Some vintage and premium calibres may also have to be quoted for such as Rolex, Patek, some Omega and Breitling calibres or Seiko 6159, 6217, 6215 etc.
Movement Type Price Manual wind date/no date shock protected £127 Manual wind date/no date non shock protected £137 Automatic date/no date £137 Automatic date/no date GMT £147 Manual wind chronograph date/no date £222 Automatic chronograph date/no date £252 Modular chronograph (Dubois-Depraz etc) £332 Alarm watches £182 Seiko 6138 twin register chronograph £182 Seiko 6139 single register chronograph £157 Premium brand* manual/automatic date/no date £172 Premium brand* Automatic date/no date GMT £202 Quartz date/no date £127 Quartz chronograph £242 Seiko 7A28/7A38 quartz chronograph £182 Battery change from £40
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