Unless money is no object to you, you’ve likely saved for a while to invest in your favourite luxury watch. The fact of the matter is, they don’t come cheap. So, let me ask – if you’ve spent a lot on a special timepiece, why not invest in the time and care required to maintain it? If you’ve been asking yourself the question “Do I really need to service my watch?”, then the answer, in short, is yes. After all, you wouldn’t invest in a car and not get it serviced. That’s because a watch, like a luxury car, is made up of many intricate parts that need to be taken care of to ensure they work harmoniously together. The longer you go without maintaining a car, the bigger the job to fix it, so it makes perfect sense that you should view a luxury watch in the same way.
When you choose to purchase your dream watch, the initial buying process is not the end of your investment. If you don’t keep your watch in good condition, it can eventually turn out to be a costly affair. So in this article, we’re going to run through what a watch service is, why you may need one, and why the watch services we offer here at Charles Martin are a cut above the rest.
What is involved in a watch service?
Have you ever marvelled at your timepiece and wondered what it actually takes to service something so intricate? Well, it takes a keen eye and a steady, experienced hand. Servicing a luxury watch is no easy task and it requires time and considerable effort to ensure each element of the timepiece is correctly handled with care and respect. If there is one aspect to owning a luxury timepiece that you don’t want to cut corners on, it’s sourcing a quality service. You have to trust that the specialist handling your watch knows what he or she is doing.
There are several important steps in carrying out a watch service. The first is to take the watch apart step-by-step. A great level of care is required during this procedure to ensure there is no risk of damage to the timepiece. Once the watch is broken down into individual pieces, it’s time to clean the parts, applying a polish where needed. The elements of the wristwatch are then closely observed to see if any damage requires a new part or if any rusting has occurred. Anything that is damaged is then replaced with parts that are sourced from the manufacturer directly. Following this, the components of the movement are then put back together, ensuring that it performs as expected once reassembled. The movement is then regulated to ensure supreme mechanical efficiency. An inspection of the entire case is also performed by a watch service specialist. Any dents or scratches are removed – a process that requires a great level of skill and patience. Once the service is almost complete, an entire deep clean is performed on the watch case before meticulously putting it back together.
Of course, one of the key elements in any watch service is the testing process. This penultimate step ensures that the watch is ready for wearing again. Several tests are carried out to ensure its quality, including accuracy tests, pressure testing and water-resistant testing. The final assessment of the watch is the last stage of quality control. It requires a final check on timing accuracy and the watch’s overall appearance. Once the watch service is complete, it should be returned to you with paperwork detailing the process and any additional work that was undertaken.
The importance of a reliable watch service company
It goes without saying that only those with the knowledge and experience in watch servicing should be trusted in servicing your watch. In a vastly oversaturated market, it can be difficult to sift out a reputable brand amongst those companies willing to cut corners. To avoid encountering companies that are not reputable, you should look for a specialist repair shop with an experienced team of workers. It really pays to do your research here. It’s a good idea to check out reviews when you look for a repair shop that is local to where you live. The information on the company’s website should also be clearly listed and prices should be transparent. Even if your watch needs several areas of repair, the key to ensuring your watch is in safe hands is thorough and regular communication with those looking after it for you.
About watch services at Charles Martin
As already mentioned, your cherished timepiece needs the care and service it truly deserves. A watch service should not be carried out by just anyone. This is where our service at Charles Martin can help. The company, founded by Martin Cleaton, aims to keep a once-dying industry alive by offering a service that is both transparent and authentic. Our team comprises experts who have been in the industry for several decades and includes specialist polishers amongst a family of workers who all share the same passion for watches and the same vision.
In addition to this, we also offer a professional Omega watch service. From a partial service (where the case is dismantled and the movement is regulated) to a full Omega watch service (requiring a full movement clean) – both underpin the level of care promised by Omega experts themselves thanks to becoming an accredited service centre for the brand. The same can be said for Longines, Tissot and Rado watches too. One particular advantage of having your watch serviced at Charles Martin is that it cuts out the “middle man”. Instead of sending your watch off to a brand for a full service, we have a skilled team on hand that can carry out the most intricate parts of the process with confidence. This means we don’t put any additional charge on sending your watch off to a major brand and receiving it back for you. All our watch repair and servicing work is carried out in-house because we have the know-how and the expertise to do so.
How often should I get my watch serviced?
A lot of manufacturers recommend a period between 4 and 7 years for watch services. This depends on the brand. While Rolex suggests 7 years, Cartier and Jaeger Le-Coultre offer an 8-year international warranty. Breitling, however, offers 5 years. The warranty on a luxury watch brand denotes the bare minimum time that a watch should last until issues are put down to “wear and tear”. Generally, a 4-7 year interval between watch services is now considered reasonable, since many newer watches are lubricated with synthetic oils. Synthetic watch oils can dry out over time. One advantage to this is that they don’t gum up the internal workings of the movement like animal-based oils once did. Nevertheless, these oils will eventually evaporate, causing wear and tear on elements of the movement like the gear train and pivots. The build-up of debris and dirt needs removing after several years, so it’s always a good idea to keep as regular as possible with watch services. Routine maintenance does, after all, prevent foreseeable damage from recurring. In addition to this, the water-resistant rating of a luxury watch that hasn’t been serviced for years is likely to have degenerated. When gaskets dry out over time, they should be replaced to ensure that the possibility of water damage occurring to the inside of the watch is eradicated.
If you own a vintage watch or have had your timepiece for more than ten years, servicing your watch could be even more important than ever. If you aren’t sure how old your watch is, you can always bring it into our store here at Charles Martin, where our team will be more than happy to take a look and advise you. It can be incredibly hard to source individual parts for a vintage watch if something breaks. This is one of the reasons why maintaining your watch is important. Services on a vintage watch where a part has already broken are more costly compared to regular maintenance. But if you get your vintage watch serviced whilst it’s running okay, the repairer still has time to access and fix an area needing attention to prevent a breakdown in the future.
Signs that your watch needs servicing
If you’re unsure whether your watch needs a service, there are a few key things to look out for. A sign that your watch could need servicing is if you notice any water damage. This includes condensation collecting under the glass of the watch, as well as signs of corrosion or rusting. Surprisingly, the smallest amount of moisture or water can affect the workings of your watch in a big way. If you hear a rattling noise in the case, rogue parts of the movement like a screw or gear may have come loose and require attention promptly. Of course, the main sign of needing a watch repair is a loss of timekeeping accuracy. This could be down to several factors including; a build-up of dirt around the mechanism, watch magnetisation, a deterioration of lubricating oils, and general wear and tear of components. If you’ve had an accident whilst wearing your watch, it’s also a good idea to get it checked over, especially before you put it at further risk by exposing it to moisture or water.
Why brand services aren’t always the best option
You would be forgiven for thinking that sending your watch off to be repaired directly by the manufacturer is the best option. Here at Charles Martin, we’ll provide some perspective on that. If you can get your watch serviced in a reputable workshop for half the waiting time, would you? It certainly makes sense to. When you send your watch for a service with the manufacturer, you can often incur a long waiting period. That’s not to mention the fact that more often than not, you’d need to return your watch back to the retailer you purchased it from and get them to do it for you.
The way manufacturers work is by supplying their service stations with the most common internal movement parts so that when a watch comes in, the company has the parts ready and waiting to be fitted should there be a problem with the timepiece. That’s not such a great thing if you haven’t serviced your vintage watch for some time, however. If a watch needs a less-common part, the manufacturer will likely send it to Switzerland or return it to you unrepaired. The key to preventing this problem? Get your watch regularly maintained by a reputable watch servicing company like Charles Martin that you can trust to do the job.
Conclusion
All in all, the key thing to remember about servicing your luxury watch is that maintaining its health is a preventative method to encountering problems further down the line, particularly if you have a collectable timepiece or a vintage watch. Also, remember that the general belief that sending your watch back to the manufacturer is not always the quickest or easiest solution. If you’re looking for a reputable watch service company and you haven’t yet checked out Charles Martin Watch Company, you may want to.
Our impeccable watch servicing work covers all top brands, as well as being one of the very few certified Omega watch service and repair centres in the UK. It goes without saying that our accredited service centre for Omega, Longines, Tissot, and Rado is an invaluable amenity to devoted luxury watch enthusiasts far and wide. As a leading centre of excellence in all the work we carry out at Charles Martin, our growing team of enthusiasts and experts continues to uphold the beliefs that we feel are important to you as a customer – trust, reliability, credibility and professionalism.
If you’d like to hear more about the services we offer here at Charles Martin, you can contact us today on 01889 560002 or email us for more information at info@charlesmartinwatchcompany.com
