Cars cheaper to Service and battery change than watches!!!

[abmunro]

Yesterday my Tag Carrera made an odd noise as I tried to shake it to wind it up. So I decided it needed a service.

My Wedding is 1st July so I thought I will have to wear my Longines, got it out the case and the Battery was flat.

Went to Beaverbrooks today £275 for service on Tag

Then £70 for new battery for Longines

Neither will be back before wedding

I had a look round Metro Centre for new watch for wedding, may have picked out a Rado

But I'm sure I could get new battery and service on my Lotus for less than £345

[tigerdog]

Shees! Now I know why I stopped wearing a watch. These days, I just look at my mobile phone. More accurate and I never have to adjust it when I get off a plane. More money for the Lotus!

[muley]

..but the Lotus has a clock as well. Not that you can see it.

Good luck on the 1st

Jim

[RayD]

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£70 for new watch battery


Ray

[dapinky]

My Rolex keeps perfect time, twice a day it's right! - what do you expect for $4 in H.K. (battery did last 4 years though)

My TAG is fine all the time - but that one was quite expensive at $8 (Dom Rep) - on it's 3rd battery - 69p each

[abmunro]

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£70 for new watch battery


Ray

I think the cost is in resealing the case to keep waterproof..

[dapinky]

Okay, I'll be sensible this time (see what I did there ), i had to pay about £40 for a battery in my diving watch - and as said, it is the cost of re-sealing it which gives the biggest outlay. It isnt just a case of screwing the back on and hoping for the best. Anything decent will then have to be tested at it's rated presure, and that can be a fraught experience in itself.

Whilst many/most owners would consider 'waterproof' to be getting a bit damp in the British summer, or a splash in the swimming pool on holiday, some of us use these things as tools not just ornamants.

If a watch is rated to 200m it only proves that it will stay waterproof whilst 'static' at that depth/pressure - if you actually move it around (like wearing it!) it will only be rated at 50-100m - so you can virtually ignore what it says on the watch face!

My Citizen is actually rated to 300m USE (but would have 1000m as it's static rating) - as such it is pressure tested in a barimetric environment at 1000m when refitting the battery.

The whole cost involves not only the materials, labour and testing but also includes an element of 'insurance'. No-one is going to fit a battery for a fiver if they stand to lose hundreds or thousands of pounds in repairs if it should leak in normal use.

[addict]

i like cristopher ward watches u should check them out

[Monty]

If i was you i`d just SORN the watch

[abmunro]

i like cristopher ward watches u should check them out

I liked the look of one but its only available to pre order, so i would have it for wedding

I only ever wear the TAG so I,m not going to buy another watch even though id like too.

[GeoffSmith]

Shees! Now I know why I stopped wearing a watch.

I never replaced my watch battery many many years ago. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm tired and the sun is not in the sky, I go to bed. If I wake up and the sun is up, I get up. It's good to be released from the shackles of the clock and a good job I work flexible hours...

[RayD]

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£70 for new watch battery


Ray

I think the cost is in resealing the case to keep waterproof..

I understand what you’re saying Tony,

My sons watch never gets near water.

On the occasion of it needing a new battery we take it to Goldsmiths.

They charge £10 and point out on the receipt it’s not guaranteed to be waterproof.

I imagine they still do as good a job of sealing the back case as they would if they were carrying out a full water-proofing operation.

I always think if they let water in it wouldn’t be through the back cover.

Ray

[ashm]

I believe some watches are also nitrogen-purged, like telescopes, which must involve some specialist kit.
My last service on my Oris was £165, and they had to replace the crown, strap and a couple of other bits - not bad value considering. I'd recommend Oris actually - seems to be about the best value "proper" watch brand, and the UK service centre do a quick turnaround.
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[wayne]

Not sure if I have been out of the UK for too long or I am a bit of a "cheap scate"

I rarely wear a watch... Although I have been tempted many times to buy a Rado. I just love the look of them

My dive comuter (and my wifes) For the last 10 yearsI have always changed the battery myself. Untill recently it was my only option here.
A local dive shop recently bought the test equipment to check them (basically a liquid filled chamber with a pump).

But at the end of the day I figure that after 10 years of cleaning and re-greasing "O" rings in the camera and no problems down to 40M or so then why pay
for someone to certify it to 200 Meters??

Unless you are a comercial diver or some kind of adrenolin freak.... then you will not be heading to several hundred meters below sea leval.

Regular usage will take you to only a few meters below sea level. As a recreational diver I have rarely exceded 60M.

Here a regular watch battery costs less than £2. So sad to see the rip off in the UK

[dapinky]

But at the end of the day I figure that after 10 years of cleaning and re-greasing "O" rings in the camera and no problems down to 40M or so then why pay
for someone to certify it to 200 Meters??

Unless you are a comercial diver or some kind of adrenolin freak.... then you will not be heading to several hundred meters below sea leval.

Regular usage will take you to only a few meters below sea level. As a recreational diver I have rarely exceded 60M.

I fully agree with your sentiments on camera 'o' rings and my dive computer - both only get used for recreational diving - however the watch has been with me far beyond the depth that i would dare to take my olympus digital camera, or use the computer as it allows for various O2 mixes, but would laugh at me if i asked it to perform calculations involving Helium.

At 168m i want to rely on EXACTLY how long I've been there - an extra minute can add 2 hours to the decompression times