To All You Out There With Huge Watch Collections

[Jason]

I think the disposable term is a little misunderstood. Do I care about my watches? Absolutely! I am very disappointed if a watch dies on me, but if I am going to spend $100+ to service/repair a $200 watch that is over a year old it usually doesn't make sence. Especially if a newer model is availiable. Now my most cherished reps have not died yet so maybe I will change my tune. Most of the time by the time a watch fails it has fallen out of my top 10 favorites already so its not a big concern.

[fotoman]

its not that i consider them disposable

Ok - its like this, you buy a digital camera for 300$ then, they want to sell you an insurance contract for 75$

well - think back, i have owned 3 cameras and none of them have broken - the insurance is onlly for 3 yrs.

is it worth it to pay almost 1/3 of the price as insurance even though your probability of damage is low - AND there is a possibility of repair for around the same amount?

Its an evaulation of risk - i chose to postpone my risk, if i have a watch for 200 bucks, then i wouldn't spend 50% of the cost as an insurance policy, it may run for 5 yrs, it may run for 5 months.

I chose to take the risk on the backside.

none of my reps are irreplacable, or have had so much work as to warrent the service. the closest would be my 177h - but its going to be cheaper for me financially to take the risk and buy a new movement if this one fails and i'm still into it

I don't spend a dime on reps that i am not prepared to lose. - either by being cheated, confiscated or dying. I have never had any major problem like that, but it will come- if you collect enough of them

then you can sell them for parts

[RWG Technical]

I read an article once where a guy had a truck with 300,000 miles on it and never changed the oil. It ran as good as new. Some people say that the change your oil every 3,000 miles is [censored] marketing. I wonder if it is the same for watches to an extent.

Impossible on a combustion engine, the blow by gasses and deposits from the gasoline etc, all contribute and contaminate the oil, maybe with some of the new synthetic oils, or maybe if the thing burns oil like mad, and your adding a quart every 500 miles... After 10k or more, the oil filter would be in bypass and not even working... 300,000 miles on a jet turbine engine - yes, an internal combusiton engine - no...

My question to the experts here is: Does servicing your watch every 5 years really do much to add longer life to the movement or is just for the sake of keeping cosc time? It doesn't bother me if my watch is +- 30 sec per day. Can a movement really crap out on you totally without servicing and what are the chances of that happening?

Watch servicing has been around for 100 or more years, if servicing was a scam, I would like to think that someone, anyone, out there would have informed the masses, and all the watchmakers would be out of work years ago... As it stands, the quartz industry almost put the watchmakers out of business, but there is and continues to be a growning demand for skilled watchmakers.

The oils I use, except for one, are vegetable based, and they dry out and fail over time, about 5 years on average. After this, the oil is not doing anything, and becomes thick, sticky, and useless... Servicing the watch is mostly about cleaning it up, and restoring the oil and greases.

I see many vintage watches, and those that have not been serviced regularly are damaged as a result, brassing of parts, parts that break on removal or are worn out beyond repair, and finding parts is close to impossible for some models, paying the cost for replacement parts, if you can find them, is another issue...

So yes, a movement can indeed crap out and fail due to lack of service. When will this happen? I have no idea...

Those that brag "I have had this watch for 25 years, and NEVER serviced it..." remind me of my youngest son, after a visit to the dentist late one summer... He came out smiling and happy as a clam

"Good checkup?" I asked,

"Yes, not one cavity, and I DIDN'T brush my teeth ALL summer..." YEACH...not something to be proud of...

If it's a keeper, waiting for it to fail before servicing it, is like changing the oil when the engine seizes up...not a good idea... If it's considered a disposable watch, for whatever reason, keep your money for the new and better replica if and when it fails...and then send the scrapped one to me please...

RG

[jfreeman420]

For you disposable guys... Let me PM you my address so you know where to send those watches once you're ready to throw them away. I'll cover the shipping costs

I guess I was misunderstood when I said disposable. I simply meant I don't wear them anymore. My winder holds 8 with storage for 12 more, and I have two more boxes that hold 10 each. The winder gets the frequently worn watches and the boxes in the closet are the ones that are disposed of. I don't throw anything away. That would be inhumane considering the watches souls and all .

Right next to my retired watches I have 4 old surround recievers, boxes of old magazines, 2 tape decks, etc, etc.

Does anyone have any old factory Omega SMP's they're considering giving the heave-ho?

I have one with an electric blue dial that stopped about 2 years ago. I took the back off and popped out the crown trying to exchange the movement with a retired Rolex but gave up in the middle so there she sits. I still wish we had more time together though. It is sitting in the graveyard where it shall remain mmwahhahaha.

[ubiquitous]

I have one with an electric blue dial that stopped about 2 years ago. I took the back off and popped out the crown trying to exchange the movement with a retired Rolex but gave up in the middle so there she sits. I still wish we had more time together though. It is sitting in the graveyard where it shall remain mmwahhahaha.

If it's a keeper... I'll help you get it back together again

[JJFlash]

In large collections there are watches that are loved and worn frequently; and others that merely sit looking pretty and are rarely or even never worn. Owners gaze out and admire their flock of watches like blue herons on a sun filled beach. Yes, maybe some don't run - like that damn Daytona Black Widow. Sure looks nice, pain in the ass since the day I bought her. Hard time justifying in my mind a repair that costs more than the watch is worth, (Asian 7750, seconds @ 6pm), and will likey never run properly like it was designed. The best of the flock will be serviced and repaired as needed. Others will simply continue to look pretty in their cases, a reminder to me that they once had better days, and that now is long gone.

[Craytonic]

In large collections there are watches that are loved and worn frequently; and others that merely sit looking pretty and are rarely or even never worn. Owners gaze out and admire their flock of watches like blue herons on a sun filled beach. Yes, maybe some don't run - like that damn Daytona Black Widow. Sure looks nice, pain in the ass since the day I bought her. Hard time justifying in my mind a repair that costs more than the watch is worth, (Asian 7750, seconds @ 6pm), and will likey never run properly like it was designed. The best of the flock will be serviced and repaired as needed. Others will simply continue to look pretty in their cases, a reminder to me that they once had better days, and that now is long gone.

Very well said.

[flavor flav]

do we have reps with a movement that costs over $100 to replace? mostly no. why not just wear it most swiss will last 5-6 years running perfect maybe longer. i had a 1978 omega never serviced running strong and accurate after 28 years! my point is when they fail....if they fail we can replace the movement for not so much money. except 7750 or 2892-93 of course. what's the point?

[NRG]

I suspect people with large collections and walk-in-closets are obsessives and would factor in the servicing cost for certain treasured pieces in their collection. Just as they factored in the cost of the walk-in-closet and (I presume) the insurance needed to cover collection.

An old, unused/unworn or broken watch still has the potential to be service and repaired even it is not currently in use. I can see the logic in not bothering with a cheap watch unless you have some strong personal attachment to it...

[By-Tor]

I form some kind of "bond" with my watches. Reps or gens. After having them for years I'll be glad to service them or swap the movements. They have wear and scratches but they're my scratches. Every scratch tells a story.

Some reps are so nice (like the SMP chrono) that if the movement fails I'll definitely swap it with ETA. It costs maybe $300 - $400... so what? Yeah, it's still a rep, but for some strange perverse reason I get a kick out of the good reps more than gens.

PS: I also try to keep my collection small. But more because I can't justify owning watches that I never wear. It's probably some kind of practical character feature in me. 10 watches is absolute maximum for me. But then again... year ago it was 5-6.

[baltic]

This is one of the reasons I rationalised my collection from 12 to 6. All the PAMs have been serviced, the PO will be next, the gen Speedie will be serviced in 5 years. These are the watches I want to last and keep that's why I got them serviced. If another watch catches my eye and it is likely to be a keeper, it'd get serviced too.

[Devedander]

I see many vintage watches, and those that have not been serviced regularly are damaged as a result, brassing of parts, parts that break on removal or are worn out beyond repair, and finding parts is close to impossible for some models, paying the cost for replacement parts, if you can find them, is another issue...

I know I didn't clarify but in the world of reps at least does this still really apply? I mean with genuine Rolex quicksets and Breitling Calibur movements you have no choice if they break but to replace them with expensive parts etc... the option does not exist with them to simply drop in a $20-200 movement to replace the broken one entirely...

So considering that do reps warrant the same level of consideration?

I mean to take it back to the car/oil analogy it really should be more of a car/major overhaul (since that's more along the lines of what's really happening and a bit closer to the actual price ratio) so it would be like:

Get a Lambo kit car for $10,000 when the real one costs $180,000

Looks very much like the real thing and has a pretty hefty engine that performs near Lambo standards but is a generic fit with generic parts

At 150k miles it's time for a major overhaul by factory standards... because on your $180k Lambo a $10,000 service is a no brainer and if you ignore it you may be in for replacing piston rings at $3k a pop

But now your kit car... at 150k it's time for an overhaul... but does a $10,000 stil make sense when piston rings for the generic engine only cost $150 a pop? And at worst you need to drop in a new engine (possibly an upgraded engine) for only $3k?

That's where I think the difference is... with gens where replacing a movement is VERY expensive and parts are very expensive (or non existent thus requiring a whole movement replacement) service is a no brainer.

But the same restrictions don't exist on reps... at least not ones with movements that can be swapped out easily.... reps movements are "disposeable" in my book because often the replacement movement will cost about the same or even less than the service...

What do you think?