My automatic Seamaster needs a service as it is dropping 15 seconds a day and I haven’t had it done for over 10 years.

Can anyone recommend anybody?

Just been quoted over £500 by the local Omega dealer.

If you look up the Omega website and see what the £500 service includes, it starts to sound like good value tbh. It’s a total strip / clean / rebuild / replace / re-polish. I imagine a cheaper service elsewhere will be less comprehensive.

My Speedmaster is due a service, I keep putting it off because £500 is still quite a lot of money even if it’s good value !

Pricing is on their website from what I can see?

I know Cartier do their own send away service, and I am sure it is less than £500 !

Just phoned a local “Level 3” (whatever that means) Omega approved repair centre.

£270 inc VAT for a full strip down, service, lube, recalibration, main spring replacement, ultrasonic clean, steam cleaning of the case and a buff.

That’s more like it.

The Haterz will bother though. Everyone knows that.

Damn them with their cheap watches.

You could buy a nice watch for £500.

I know Cartier do their own send away service, and I am sure it is less than £500 !

I think it was somewhere under £300 when I got the wife’s Cartier serviced by them.

My Breitling is now over 10 years old and has never been serviced. It has now started to loose 5 seconds every day so it’s time to cough up and get it serviced. They recommend a service every 3 years so I reckon I’ve done pretty well.

Had mine done via omega. The need to replace crowns and fingers always seems a bit excessive but hey that’s what they do. What calibre is it as some seamaster can only be done properly by omega..

My Rolex was 400 quid, and like Sundayjumper said, it’s for a full rebuild. My car’s first service is next week and I won’t be at all surprised if it’s similar money 🙁

There’s a couple of jewellers just down from the Millstone on Thomas Street, Alfred Mutters used to be a service agent I think.

We used a place in Midd when I worked at Mays, but looks like it’s gone now.

Middleton? I wouldn’t wear it there, let alone leave it with any of them.

Mine was around £300 when I took it into the shop around the corner from St Annes Sq – the one that used to be Habitat? Anyway came back very shiney :o) They did want to replace the strap though which would have almost doubled the price iirc eeek!

http://www.russelltalerman.com/watch-repairs/3451520

Very good service and used to be reasonable.

I took my Tissot into Beaverbrooks as the price direct with Tissot was horrendous. They still shipped it back to the Tissot facotory for its service but was half the price.

i take my automatic Dunhill back to Dunhill. They do a complete strip, recover the radium dial etc. Check it for a week, if it’s still loosing time, they start again.
Think the last was £200.

Don’t forget the 24 month warranty you get with the official Omega service. My Speedmaster started losing again after about 6 months so they took it in for another full service FOC.

This has a 2 year warranty also.

Talking to them they said that the High Street shop that I won’t mention were charging above the Omega official rate or they had got my watch mixed up with a more complicated model.

It has now started to loose 5 seconds every day

Check it for a week, if it’s still loosing time

All this time that gets loose? Does it go somewhere? Is there another dimension where all these loose seconds from expensive timepieces starts to form a new timeline?

Do all “high end” jewellers employ pompous arseholes to answer their phones or is it just the ones that I’ve been talking to?

I’ll be sending it away to the Omega 3 approved service centre in an industrial unit in Warrington rather than handing it over to some sneering git in a shop.

The Omega Boutique (shudders) off St Anne’s Square wouldn’t even give me a price. They send it away to Omega who will assess it because “All watches are different, Sir”.

They send it away to Omega who will assess it because “All watches are different, Sir”

Because, once they’ve got hold of it, they can tell you x y and z need replacing at a cost of gazillions, and no they won’t put it back together with the old components.

My thoughts exactly.

Hater content:

NEVER NEEDS SERVICED!

NEVER NEEDS SERVICED!

Ideal. Never be late for a DHSS interview. They’ll sanction your benefits 😀

Ah, the Bin Ladin special. Very nice.

JSA job printouts in hand.

Upmarket Casio

The Watch Guy

Do my Omega and Oris, and MrsDH’s Raymond Weil, great service, warranty and affordable!

It looks like Gates has got the nipples of a cat.

Anyway… Clear off to your own thread.

It looks like Gates has got the nipples of a cat.

And who is picking their nose behind him, double finger bogey action?

Hater not hating:

Serious service: Alpina calibre 592

That’s a satisfying read.

Ha! I’ve just spotted Bill Gates is wearing my watch! It’s not a F-91W, it’s a GW-M5600:

http://www.casio.co.uk/products/timepieces/g-shock/origin/product/?v=GW-M5600-1ER

(Note extra button on top right of watch – i.e. two silver buttons facing Gates’ hand)

It’s great, solar powered so hasn’t needed a battery for the 8ish years I’ve had it, waterproof, shockproof, keeps perfect time because of the radio sync thing, has the glowy backlight if you need it. I wear it practically all the time, which is a bit of a shame because (yeah OK, haters gonna hate etc) I’ve got a lovely Tag that I inherited from my father-in-law.

To actually contribute something useful to the OP – don’t take the Omega to the “recommended” Omega guys in Burlington Arcade, London. They were shambolic and totally cocked up my mum’s vintage (well, old but in good nick) watch, lost one of the arms, fitted the strap back on back to front. And kept her waiting for literally months and charged hundreds for the privilege!

Maybe I got the Omega Boutique on a good day then as they were really helpful. When I didn’t want a new strap Omega put the old one back on too. Odd.

Anyway, minefield of FWP.

£500

£270 inc VAT

around £300

the last was £200

Spit coffee on keyboard thread du jour

The omega service is a real work-over – the watch comes back looking like new – they got a reasonably deep scratch out of my case which the sales girl reckoned they might not be able to.

I believe that these guys do most of the servicing for some of the big brands :

http://www.twrwatchrepairs.co.uk/

Duncan at Genesis comes highly recommended:

http://www.genesiswatchmaking.co.uk/

If it’s losing time the oil is thickening and service time looming, but if it’s still a repeatable loss, same each day, maybe just get it regulated and wait a little longer? Probably a tenner for a competent watch guy to regulate, done in a few seconds.

Omega servicing costs are on the website somewhere. £500 sounds like they think it has complications, is less than that for standard mechanisms, or was when I last looked…. Admitted I’ve not checked in a few years.

If you are anywhere near the Midlands then Griffith’s in Cradley Heath will service Omegas for the princely Sum of £50-£80 for a simple strip, clean and oil. He’s about 80 and has been servicing Omegas since the start of time and has masses of NOS Omega parts from ancient history.

£500 sounds like they think it has complications

They didn’t ask, they just said that the base price was £500+.

It turns out they aren’t even an official Omega service centre either.