⌚ WATCH SERVICE TRUTH! - Common Scam - Servicing - Myths, Tips and True Cost 

I don't know what you're talking about.. the dude at the mall replaced the battery in my Rolex without a problem = )

I've got a 1948 Hamilton Perry (982 movement) that might be worth between $250 to $300 on a good day. It needs to be serviced, have a pallet fork repair, crystal replacement and crown replacement. The estimate is currently at around $400, but I will pay it to get the job done correctly and I will count myself lucky since I'll be able to wear my grandfather's watch once again.

My local jewel shop serviced my husbands 40yrs old Favre chronograph, nothing wrong only clean. Now chronometer accurate. In dollars 300 . Here’s to next 40yrs ,great watch ( I bought it) . Lovely, informative video. Thank you ☺️

Another great video JP. Biggest challenge is where do you find a watch maker with excellent credentials without going door to door and asking for the guy's resume?

Young man, get to the point. Don't repeat what u said & don't try to make your video longer than is needed

Teaching myself right now.... Australian labour rates? I'd be happy to charge $50/hr without overheads... With a little practice I think I could get servicing of common movements down to under 3 hours... 8hrs is a ludicrous suggestion.

$200 for a good watch maker is crazy! I just paid $390 for a vintage Seiko chronograph. Granted it’s a chrono but it’s a Seiko. People that are trained and a skilled tradesmen are not cheap.

I had Omega Service Center mess up my Planet Ocean 2500C in summer 2016, the watch was 11 years old at the time and had never been serviced. I took it to them with a consistent - 3 s/d deviation and they gave it back with an erratic +15 / -15 s/d and a bent aluminium bezel. Thankfully they agreed to perform a second overhaul on the watch as part of the warranty and to replace the broken bezel without charge. It's been performing flawlessly since (+1.5 s/d on average). My lesson learnt: don't take your piece to any service centers in the middle of summer, wait till senior watchmakers are back from holidays.

What I do is take my 16613 Sub directly to the Rolex service center, not the AD. All the AD's in this region ship watches to the exact same service center. So that alone saves me time and money ,and the service center tech is happy to discuss what they found with the watch. They really love watches and enjoy talking about your watch. It's a very pleasant experience as opposed dropping your watch at the dealer and waiting for them to call you when it arrives back from the service center.

This is just the video I needed. Picked up a vintage manual wind 36000bhp king seiko and it's keeping wild time. Not sure what to expect in terms of servicing costs.

Fed said in an earlier video that all his watches which were 8 years old were still going strong without a need for servicing. THERE IS NEVER A SET TIME FOR SERVICING

I do work at a watch repair centre, we do serve around 30k watches a year and everything you've talked about is the standard procedure.. lol

I use a different mechanic for my Audi A8 than I do for my 82 Dodge 1 ton truck. A fine watch and a cheap watch are like that. Different skill set and tools and the price is reflected.

Try sending to Tag and they say it needs to go to Geneva. You say no and then it takes four months later and still no watch. Did they steal it? Did they lose it? Is it being held for ransom? Never do that again and I’ve learned to service them myself.

It would be a great help for new watch buyers, to be informed about the actual long term costs of ownership, and whether the particular brand or model has authorized service dealerships, or if only shipping the watch to one center will keep the warranty valid - if there even is one. I thought spending nearly the cost of my Seiko for service was absurd; but is $500 for a $5000 Rolex reasonable? I would never spend $6000, to do routine maintenance on a $60k car, but the cachet of owning an expensive piece of jewelry that is actually an anachronism as a timekeeping instrument turns out to be a pretty pricey indulgence, and many blow their wad on the device, then can't deal with the ownership. If you buy the horse, you'd better make sure you can afford the barn, and hay.

I just noticed your video on RU-vid. It sounds like you’re a knowledgeable watch collector. I would like your thoughts. I have a new in the box ROLEX, I bought this early 2005, Men’s: Datejust 36mm:116263: 36mm: 18k yellow gold Rolex jubilee bracelet. 18k yellow gold turn-o-graph bezel: Luminescent hands and dial markers, red second hand watch. With all the papers, cloths, box, etc. This watch sits in my safe. I’ve taken it out I’m guessing 3 times, wound it, then observed to see if it keeps perfect time and just to ogle the watch (I think it’s the perfect watch) never worn. My question is, Rolex states it needs to be serviced every 5 years, no matter worn of knot. Is this true, and why??

does a mechanical watch with a date cost more to service then just a watch only with no day or date? im thinking a watch only might be more easy to maintain since it has less parts and less things to go wrong. is this the case?

I remember taking a Swiss Made watch to a guy in a mall for battery change out, got my watch back and went swimming with it on and the watch was all fogged up and shit. Never again will I trust mall cart watch folks, but I was younger back then, and know better now. I send my watch to authorized shops thats listed in the back of the watch manual, and pay that extra $ .

I am just a hobbyist, loving watches but what you say is ridiculous. Oil pattern cannot be found? All the service manuals I saw have it, which brand and model you should use except really old ones and that’s where the watchmaker’s experience required. The price, I may agree with that partly, but thinking about the precision tools required for the job and the high cost somehow understandable but not $200 level. I assume a Rolex owner wouldn’t mind to pay $800 since it is luxury. Anyways, you sound like you know some stuff but not the whole thing. Most prolly you had a bad experience with a low level watchmaker, I hope you’ll meet a better one to change your mind and explain everything to you.

Good info. Thanks John P 🕵🏼‍♀️

I am one of those guys who takes his watch to the jewellery store guy in the mall 😂

Can I just remove the hands, dial, and balance then put the whole watch in the Sonic Cleaner without disassembling it?

Servicing a watch properly is a bit like taking your car in for a service, but the mechanic strips your engine down to the last nut and bolt, cleans every part, and fits it all back together again with the appropriate assembly lube, all the tolerances back to factory standard and ready to go until the next service. Imagine how much a car service would cost if that was the case? That's what happens when you service a watch. Let's say the average watch beats 19800 beats per hour. And most mechanical/automatic watches regardless of brand has a service life of 5 years as recommended by most manufacturers. I know there's some with more, and some with less. That's 3,326,400 beats per week 172,972,800 beats per year 864,864,000 beats in 5 years if my mathematics is roughly correct. That's a lot of work for something that small, with a drop of oil to run for so long and finally need a proper strip down service from a professional. Some folks have commented and said it's cheaper to just keep using the watch until it needs a service and just buy a new watch. In some cases that may be a wise choice. It makes financial sense, especially in the lower end of the market like a Seiko 7S26 movement for example. But watches are generally so much more than just a financial decision unless the watch means nothing to you other than an investment or a tool to tell time. In that case, buy a Casio and spend the other 75% of your $100 on taking your partner out to dinner. But in most cases, changing a watch or the movement like that kind of makes it no longer your watch. So if it means something to you, getting it serviced is ideal because what you get back is your old watch, but refreshed and ready to run again for another 5-10 years. A few hundred on a professional to do this is a small price to pay for continued and trouble free enjoyment of your existing watch.

Can Hans service the Breitling B01?

Let me offer a heretical opinion. An entry level or even mid tier watch doesn't need to be serviced. Either buy a new model when the watch stops working or just swap out the whole movement. Movements in this price range are mass-produced and there's nothing inherently valuable about them. When it comes to expensive brands only buy the watch if you're comfortable with selling it or disposing of it after 8 years or so. Authorized service costs are so ridiculous that it can buy you a decent new watch. I wouldn't do it more than once and the company would rather sell you a new model anyway. They market their watches as precious objects but during service they treat the parts like disposables and charge you more than it cost to make the watch in the first place. Spend your money wisely, just like the Swiss companies rip you off wisely.

Pricing @ 9:30

Hans is the man

And how much do the tools cost hmmmm ? I'll tell you *A LOT* it also costs so much cuz the time that goes into servicing a movement is long cuz You have to take your time with this ........ Conclusion 200$ for a full service is a good price for an basic ETA movements

I think it's the fact that they paid $500-1500 for their base ETA watch and the service is near the price of the low end watch. They don't think about the service being a skilled job and a means of keeping that watch running. It's really become the American way to search for and complain about the cost of having work done, but by God you better pay them. As a business owner myself, I'm sick of this attitude in people. If you don't like the price, do it yourself and shut up. God bless the skilled artisans like Hans. He deserves to get paid, cuz I know I can't fix my watches. Great video.

Hrm. Hans is very thorough and that commands a premium as does the confidence that comes with his resume. Assuming Hans is not exclusive to Delray, I also expect a few extra bucks to Delray for facilitating the service. My go-to watchmaker charges in the $200-$300 range for most overhauls of time-only ETA and Seiko movements, with the lower part of the range for less complicated manual wind movements (and with regular customers). I know the kind of quick-service jewelers that just oils the movement haphazardly and those are certainly to be avoided. Luckily, there are many very good watchmakers in San Francisco and the competition helps keep costs steady and relatively affordable.

6 hours for an eta? No way dude. Most I ever take on an eta is 2 hours. Albeit that’s after it being disassembled, that stage only takes about an hour and a half. And that’s with me checking all tolerances, adjusting them, regulating and casing. Not polishing though. I don’t polish at all. There is no independent watchmaker out there that can afford to take 6 hours on a basic eta movement. My dad can put together a Rolex 4130 in under 3 hours. Granted he’s probably done a thousand or more of them, and god knows how many other chronograph calibers. I think one time he told he had done at least 3 thousand Caliber 11’s, which I believe, cause they are so common. He’s known as a guy you come to for chronographs, we even get other 30+ year career watchmakers come and ask for help. The longest I’ve seen him take is 8 hours on a Rolex 4161 and a Rolex 4171, both yatchmaster Iis equipped with retrogrades, (the 4171 was a slight revision to fix end shake which was making the retrograde function twitch when moving the bezel into the retrograde function start position)and that’s only because it was his first time ever working on the watch (this was about 4 years ago, so there were no service manuals at all, and there wasn’t even 1 watchmaker other than us willing to do the watch, and the client had gone to over 5 here in downtown Miami. Also, we charge dealers 250$ to service any luxury time and date only watch. 500$ for any chronograph, with luxury chronographs such as Daytonas going for 750$+ depending on our relationship with you. And we had to FIGHT for us to get paid that much. Here, we have other watchmakers charging 80$! Almost everytime i tell them 250$, it’s accompanied with a look of horror and shocks, proceeded with a statement akin to “well, our old watchmaker charges us 80-150$!” When i hear this, I automatically go to my oil drawer which I have handy just for this reason. I show them all the lubricants we use. (9010,9020,D5,9415,HP1000,HP1300,JISMAA,9501,MOLYKOTE,KT22,8000,TEPA,LUBEta V105&V106) and that’s the ones I can name off the top of my head. Then I show them the epilame and the epilame frask. Almost everytime, I’m told they’ve never even seen such a thing. It’s very tough to be a watchmaker in Miami :(.

Umm there is no zodiac service center !!!

My local watch guy worked for Bulova for over 10 years in the 60’s and into the 70’s. Great guy, really knows his stuff. Long wait time to get a watch in, but totally worth it. I have a vintage JLC that is like to get serviced and he’s probably going to do it. It’s going to be pricy, but it will be worth getting it done.

What credentialing would you ask for?

How much do you charge to service citizens eco drive watches?

WE BROKE GODS LAW. 2000 YEARS AGO, GOD PROVIDED A SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST WHO SUFFERED AND TOOK OUR PUNISHMENT ON THE CROSS. THE BIBLE SAYS IF WE DECLARE WITH OUT MOUTH JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN OUR HEART GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD YOU SHALL BE SAVED. Romans 10-9. GOD WILL FORGIVE YOUR SINS AND GRANT YOU EVERLASTING LIFE ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS

But in previous videos, Hans says Rolex is his least favorite to work on. And you are asking for more? What kind of friend are you?!

Sorry guys but I never trust people who shout all about how good they are. Certainty some people are not good but people who talk loads about how good they are they usually want to cover something else up too.

how much do you earn for talking crap ?

You talk and act just like Fred. Lol

I realize it can be so expensive to service a watch. Automatic watches have a soul but for my bank statements sake I'll stick to quartz.

There is no cheap and fast way to properly service a watch. My two cents opinion.

When you see a watch service kiosk that also cut keys...

Awesome video. Not anybody with a white coat can do my prostate exam.

I bought a oil needle some watch oil (total $6) watched a couple RU-vid vids and disassembled and lubed my 17 jewel vintage mechanical watch. Was given estimates of $125-150. Took a couple hrs

I agree with you on that pay a little extra especially if it's a nice watch, like say my el primero a good watch maker is like a good mechanic . Have to have one you can trust to work on your car/ watch.

If you can't afford a proper watch service, don't buy the watch.

This is why intelligent people buy quartz.

The kiosk in the mall is good if you need to get your fake Rolex serviced!

I sent my Breitling super avenger ii in for service. They took my watch completely apart. And cleaned and service every single piece. I paid good money yes. But it’s a great watch and well worth being tuned up

Reliable watch servicing costs money, but is does not have to cost a fortune. Take for instance NOMOS. Their standard service which includes replacement of normal wear parts starts at $280 and tops out at $500. When looking to have a watch serviced, you will have to take into account brand and complications as this will increase the cost of service. A good watch maker is like a good woman, hard to find but a keeper once you find one..

And this is why people just buy a brand new movement instead of servicing their watches. Fraction of the cost and you get a brand new movement that's within spec.

I'm very new to watches so pardon my ignorance, but why would anyone pay $500 or less for mechanical watch? If it costs the price of the watch or more to have it serviced. For watches costing 5 and 10x that I understand. Why would anyone bother with lower-priced mechanical watches? I guess a passion for watches or sentimental value, but is there a logical reason?

Good vid JP and thank you for fixing the sound. Much much better. Watch repair 101, greatly needed. It's hard to find a trustworthy company, product, and service. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. Keep up the quality work. 👍👍👍

For years us computer engineers created a similar mystique, the myth that only us "qualified" people deserved to be paid large sums for something someone with 20 mins of show and tell could do for themselves. OK you got a Rolex, no way would I as an amateur touch or even sniff a Rolex, a Breitling or the other top brands because they do need the top notch chaps to do the business but the mid to low end stuff not a problem for us lesser qualified or experienced and I think this is where the distinction has to be drawn. For a Rolex etc you need an expert with extraordinary skills but for a bog standard old beater Seiko? The answer would be to aim your need appropriately, any shopping centre jeweller should be competent enough to handle a mid to low end piece with a good result and far lower price but if you have anything remotely exotic then it makes sense and investment sense to have professional high end experts handle it. You wouldn't take your Ferrari to some backstreet garage nor would you take your Ford Fiesta to a Ferrari dealership.

So trash it if it is under 1,000 bucks. No reason to spend that kind of cash to service a $400 mechanical movement. If it don't have a shit ton of sentimental value. You are better off to just replace it.

What is Hans’s favorite timepiece to service and which one does he find most challenging? Great video and have talked with Fed on this. You guys are very responsive and thorough in expectations! I will definitely send some of mine to you guys.

Broadly speaking, drawing on my personal experiences with watch-owning (for the better part of six decades) and watch repairing/maintenance (decidedly less than that, but most of it came about because I couldn't find people to work on it locally that could do better work than I could, with some learning curve failures priced in vs. the "ask" from so-called "experts") is that History will repeat itself as it did in the '70s-00s. Automatic watches will remain an (albeit appealing) niche and the vast majority of interest in it will be sustained (while being simultaneously reviled by well-heeled aficionados) by those of less than conspicuous consumption means. I think the "buy it, wear it until it needs servicing, throw it away and buy another one-or keep it for parts" watches will sustain the hobby/interest more than the hyper-inflated perceived niche will. The conspicuous consumption crowd (this goes for High-End Audio as well, btw) don't care about the widget in question, just the "Charlie the Tuna" factor. "I gots "good taste, see?" (Shoves watch at you...) Those often are also the folks who risk getting an arm cut off at the elbow for wearing watches that cost as much as a very nice home. I'm glad that those "ne plus ultra" watches exist. But the vilification of "homage" (not counterfeit) watches (as well as others that are lesser Plutonian offerings, but still of desirable quality) is a mistake. Saying "don't buy the watch if you don't want to drop a significant fraction of the cost of the watch on "maintenance" once every five years", will hasten the demise of the hobby. As it sits now, nobody actually NEEDS a watch anymore. The only reason to own one is that we like the tangible, tactile/sensory positive feedback of viewing and owning one. And that shouldn't be an experience for only the ".5 percent".

2 min of info in 12 min video.

Just got the invoice for servicing my Breguet, (gulp) $5000 AUD going for a drink and a sit down now.

How often do people take a nice watch with the original eta movement in to get "maintenance/ cleaned & lubed and get it back from the watch service guy it then has a chinese clone movement in it but the owner will never know?

Why do watch service guys have to be certified/trained by the brand manufacturers to service a movement when there are so many watch brands that use virtually the same movement design? Wouldn't it be in most cases be the equivalent to taking a chevy to a ford mechanic to change spark plugs and oil (the ford guy would be more than qualified to perform the job correctly).

Instead of paying for servicing a watch every 5 years you can just buy a new watch every 10 years for the same price :)

I've got a serious question...my father's watch is getting work done at a proper watch place. I've heard if it's a proper old watch they can switch the the old bits for new old bits. Should I be worried?

Prometo no volver a verte ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

My watch guy took my vintage Bulova automatic . $50 down . He took it apart . Cleaned it . Replaced the seals . Regulated it. It cost me $100 . I am happy . It is working good . It is not rocket science ! Lol

My favourite video of yours so far John. Servicing is probably the biggest point of stress for us watch enthusiasts. Thanks for ramming home what's involved in it. Just like the original watch purchase price, we really need to pay to play this game!

Just learn to repair your own watch and keep it for generations. Otherwise having a mechanical watch sucks if you are dependent on watchmaker.

If you need surgery done, then would you ask for some nutcase willing to cut you open for 200 bucks? If your life is more valuable to entrust your surgery to the very best surgeon money can buy shouldn't your watch deserve better?

Over here in Miami the watch repair industry is a fucking mess. There’s Cubans who come here off the boat and buy a tweezer and screw driver and tell everyone they’re the best. They do watch overhauls infield for under 100$. They end up just oiling some jewels, putting some 9010 on the pallet fork (you can’t do that, well not supposed to. ) I’m out here fighting to get paid 225-250 for a service on a Rolex. The only Watchs I can charge good on are pateks, cause no one would dare touch them. I’m so tired of it. Also 6 hours on an eta movement? Please bro. I really like this video but 6 hours on an time and date only eta is ridiculous. It should only take around 3 to 4.

To service a watch you must have knowledge of what you're doing. You must have the correct tools and the tools aren't cheap. Most tools can't cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The oils and greases used during services aren't cheap either, some may cost up to $100 for 5 mg. not talking about seiko movements which require special oils and grease that the manifacturer requires to be used That is why watch services are expensive. I say if you don't have the knowledge, experience and special tools to do the don't judge on the price for a professional watch movement service.

$450-$650 for a Rolex is amazing.Why is my JLC service going to be astronomical? SMH im going to lose my shirt on this novelty watch.

You started off by saying that people should get into watches, but the actual message message was totally opposite. My biggest takeaway from watching your video - you should stick to quartz watches if you do not want to break the bank... Paying 750 bucks for servicing a watch? Really? It is simply not worth it unless you own Rolex or Vacheron... According to your logic , it becomes not rational to service lower end brands like Tissot, Hamilton, Longines since the cost of service is rougly a cost of the watch . Does it mean that the watches of those brands become simply disposable watches? Or people who have those watches are not your target clients? In that case you offer a boutique service for the chosen few... Something does not smell right here....

Out side a battery replacement for quartz watches, should they be serviced over a certain period of time?

Or… you can spend the money and your own time educating yourself on your hobby and learn how to service your watches, buy the tools, cleaning machine like a L&R, get a ultrasonic cleaner, and yes you can find oil diagrams even on vintage. Start with cheap movements. It’s not rocket science.

Quite ironic that you're talking about a "scam" when you even don't know the difference between adjusting and regulating a movement. I started to get into watches only a few months ago but apparently know already more than you. I've already bought a timegrapher and used it to regulate my first automatic watch (Invicta which had an horrible beat error out of the box). You make it sound like it's rocket science when in actually about anyone could do it with proper tools.

So, John, how much does Delray Watch charge for full service in this basic ETA time only movement ie 2892?

Solar Quarz... Rest is beautifully built junk. He's convinced me.

Great episode John P. How much does it cost to service a watch like the el Primero? It would give some context to the talk.

Skilled labor isn’t cheap.

So... avoid the Seybold building.

I am learning watchmaking and I want it to be my future job but I only service my own watches

just because you were classically trained doesn't make someone good.

all movements are basically the same there are small differences

You have a striking resemblance to Ben Affleck.

Hi John, I have a Tissot Powermatic 80 purchaed in 2014 that is starting to lose time. This has the ETA 2824 bases movement without a regulating screw. Is this a watch /movement Hans can service? I prefer not to send to Swatch (wait time). Thanks.

don't need tools to open the back a non marring rubber can open it.

Plenty of talk here, but not much help. Oh well...

I believed every action had equal and opposite reaction. I believed this theory but now I think it was just my belief. When I was studying in 11th I didn't had an watch i worked and made 1000INR so I went into a shop near my school and Baught an second hand rough looking seiko 5 23 jewel automatic watch with it he told its 23 jewels and dial also mentions 23 jewel. I didn't got any use with that watch so Today I opened it and found it was actually an 17 jewel movement. That fraud watch seller guys children got into good standards they are now in Australia and Canada, he teached his children with scammed money.

John, it is my understanding that most watch companies and especially Rolex will not provide original parts to independent watch makers, if true, how and where do watch makers get original parts from, lets say for a Rolex? And once a watch is cased up after a service, is there anything a customer can do to assure that new/original parts were used for the service.

People actually use their watch to tell time?

THE WAY I HAVE ALWAYS SERVICED THE MAYBE 50 OR MORE SEIKO WATCHES I HAVE OWNED WAS SIMPLY TO THROW THEM AWAY. GREAT VIDEO AND THANKS FOR SHARING.

Ok…how do you become a watchmaker?

The dude at the mall will do the same job for $200 - $300 less, and yes, he will be just as certified and competent as Hans.

Just not replacing the proper gaskets and seals can destroy your watch and you loose it.... Thank you for the video. How often would you check a vintage Submariner to be sure it is watertight?

No one sprays oil in a watch.

Service is such an important topic when purchasing a watch - Its wonderful that your channel pays the proper attention to this topic. John - if you have a simple but high quality mass produced movement that is not to high in expense - eta 2824 , 2892 ,or eta manual wind - word it be reasonable to just ask to have the movement replaced outright - ?. Thanks again John.

Just a waist of time.🙄

The desk looks way smaller when Fed is sitting there.

So it begs the question what is a reasonable cost to service a time only eta? If you feed Hans redbull he can prob do it in 4.