Immediate movement service required?

[CJR]

Hey guys. I'm continuing to read reviews and am still in the "shopping" phase (do we ever get out of that phase???) for my first purchase through a RWG dealer but have been reading more and more posts about the need to service a rep's movement from day one. Is this as common a practice as the posts recommend? The thought of shipping out a recent purchase for service as soon as it arrives seems like a real bummer time-wise not to mention the cost to have a friendly watchsmith service it. Do any of our dealers have good enough suppliers such that this type of expense could be put off for 6 months? a year? From what I've read I'm certain movement longevity can vary from watch to watch, dealer to dealer, and production batch to production batch but what is the expected norm from purchasers here? On a related topic, what is the typical longevity of a rep these days? Will they easily last 5 years? With service, 10? I'm sure the Zigmeister's watches last a lifetime but what about us mere mortals? For those who don't go down the immediate service path, how long did your rep last? After all, from what I've read, a service is almost equal or half the cost of another watch. I do wish to get several years worth of wear our of my rep purchase so if this is a common practice to assure reasonable service then I guess I'll just bite the bullet and budget this cost into each purchase.

Thanks for your thoughts.....

CJR

[paneristi_man]

I think you can find information on this forum about the different movements. From my experience, it's not

always the case that you need to service a rep watch immediately. Most of these rep watches are alright.

Best to get ones with ETA movement and perhaps not get the complicated movements for starters if you

are worried. Chronos are more prone to problems from my limited experience with them.

I've had a rep watch that I wore for 5 years without breaking down or needing any service. Your mileage

may vary of course.

It's hard to predict how long rep watches last,it's bit of luck of the draw.

[nakortheblue]

Check out ZM's articles on movement reviews and care of movements.

Also, gen ETA may not always mean a new movement, though.

[maxman]

Check out ZM's articles on movement reviews and care of movements.

Also, gen ETA may not always mean a new movement, though.

This Is true, It seems like most ETA are not new but refurbished. So they will need servicing at some point In time. The rule of thumb I believe is to service your watch with In a year If you would like to keep it for as long as possable. This will also keep your watch running at It's very best. Mike

[spooky driver]

it the same as a car would you drive your car for 5 years without a service and oil change?

[Toadtorrent]

Welcome to the forum CJR. As others have said, the info has been posted on various threads on the forum, but if you're new to this place it can be a bit overwhelming to get the info you need...so, we're all about community here so I'll give you a quick overview here.

There are a few expense scenarios:

ASIAN NON-CHRONO

COST OF WATCH: ~$180 (incl shipping)

COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $15 - 40

COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75

CONCLUSION:

On a cheap Asian, servicing is not possible as no replacement parts exist and replacement movements are so cheap that would be the only route to trouble shooting if the root cause of a problem is not immediately apparent. A movement swap is doable if need be, but can be expensive to have a watchsmith perform it given the initial cost of the watch. Many have had cheap Asian reps last years with no problems. I have a couple that are a couple years old that are going fine after minor repairs ($20 if paid for but I do them myself).

Consider them disposable...or do what many do...buy one, to test the waters on a the quality of the case (the movement may or may not be good), get yourself a beginner toolset from Offshore here on the forum, and do a movement swap yourself to learn the skills.

ETA NON-CHRONO

COST OF WATCH: ~$300+ (incl shipping)

COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: $100 - $120

COST OF SERVICING: $150

COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$75

CONCLUSION:

Many have found ETA's from China to be surplus and dirty so not as reliable as a new one from a North American supplier...so an unserviced movement may not have the traditional reliability of a new-from-the-bubble-wrap movement.

Either way, they are serviceable, with parts readily available...and any watch repair person should be able to work on and repair these. It's not worth a movement swap (unless you get the Asian ETA clone)...but servicing can cost about $150...a little less than the replacement movement + the swap...so you can go either way on choosing to service or swap...but remember...repairs can be done...so you may not need a servicing for many years.

Mechanical watches should all be serviced every 5 years...ETA or not. Many don't do this and have had watches run fine for DECADES...so YMMV!!!

ASIAN 7750

COST OF WATCH: ~$200+ (incl shipping)

COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$150

COST OF SERVICING: $200

COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100

CONCLUSION:

If you get a cheap one like the Skyland linked in my signature, you can have yourself a great, well built disposable watch that can last many years unserviced if you're lucky. Unserviced, the movements have been known to fail anywhere from 6 months to 4 years or longer. So, if you're lucky, you may have a well running watch that lasts as long as a gen unserviced.

If you're not lucky, you may replace the movement yourself to save the swap money after it fails the first time, and then get another dodgy unserviced movement (as new Asian 7750's are still from shoddy clone factories with poor QC) that fails prematurely...making it a costly watch due to repairs.

You could swap it out for a $350 - $450 gen Swiss ETA which will be serviceable by SOME repair guys who can work on complex mechanical chronos (not all can)...that can make for an expensive watch...costing close to $1000.

You could service the watch after a year or so (the recommended initial cycle) and you should get yourself a watch that is as reliable as its gen counterpart for $200. The problem with A7750's is not their reliability after servicing, it's finding somebody who can work on them and not bugger them up because there are some idiosyncracies with the Asian version of the 7750 compared to the Swiss 7750...so finding somebody who can work on a mech chrono is one thing...on an A7750 is another!!

REMEMBER...ALL mechanical chronos should be serviced every 5 years...INCLUDING gen ones...and the cost of gen Swiss servicing is the same as an Asian 7750 as they are mechanically the same.

• Initial cost - ~$200 minimum (depends on the watch)
  
• Initial service - $230 (with shipping)
  
• Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $430
  
  
  SWISS 7750
  COST OF WATCH: ~$700+ (incl shipping)
  COST OF REPLACEMENT MOVEMENT: ~$350-400
  COST OF SERVICING: $200
  COST OF MOVEMENT SWAP: ~$100
  
  CONCLUSION:
  
  • Initial cost - ~$700 minimum (depends on the watch)
    
  • Initial service - $230 (with shipping)
    
  • Cost of watch after 7 years ownership with servicing - $930
    

  Initial premium for the watch is high and you will still possibly get an unserviced or dry and dirty Swiss 7750 that needs servicing before the usual 5 year cycle. SO, you end up paying for the Swiss movement and still have to pay for servicing so it's expensive.

  The big push to go Swiss is that they are serviceable by more people because of the availability of parts.

  Hope this helps.

[ubiquitous]

I would suggest wearing and observing a new purchase for a small period of time- Say, perhaps 3 or so weeks. If the movement exhibits problems like poor time keeping in egregious amounts (e.g. you're losing 10 minutes an hour), has a short power reserve (after a full wind, the watch only runs for a few minutes or hours), or there are other problems like hands rubbing (causing the movement to stop), chronograph subdials or counters that don't zero out, etc. it may be in your best interest to have the movement addressed.

If your watch is losing a few seconds per hour with decent power reserve, I'd recommend wearing for a few weeks to see how the movement adapts to your wearing patterns; watches will behave differently depending on how it's positioned over the course of a day on your wrist, overnight while on the night stand, etc. You may find that over a few days/weeks, time keeping may improve or decrease based on your wearing habits. At this point, you can get the movement timed and regulated by a skilled and knowledgable watch repair technician. The beat/timing of a watch can also tell you a lot about the condition of the watch as well (the knowledgable watchsmith should be able to elaborate on that depending on what's observed).

I should also add that some loss of time is perfectly acceptable; if you are within COSC specs (10 secs per day; +6, -4), that is really GREAT time keeping. If it's close to these specifications, that's still very good, and nothing to worry about.

Good luck!

[maxman]

Or you could just buy a quartz and disreguard most of the above. The quartz will also be a much more accurate time keeper. But where Is the fun In that?

[nakortheblue]

I think quartz movements also need to serviced at some point in time.

[maxman]

I think quartz movements also need to serviced at some point in time.

Well I dont think there Is any movement to service, not In the traditional sence anyway. As far as I know you just change the batteries and replace the gaskets(seals) and your good to go. This Is the reason so many people like quartz watches, very low maintenance. The more time you spend In salt water the more you need to be concerned with the above. I could be wrong but this Is what I have been led to believe. Mike