How much does the average watchmaker charge per hour?

[mbko923]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone could let me know how much a watch maker charges per hour (a fair price and a range of prices). As a tangential question, does anyone know of a reliable watchmaker that would be willing to install an ETA 2836-2 movement into my Alain Silberstein replica?? Please let me know & thanks so much!

[RollyPolly]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone could let me know how much a watch maker charges per hour (a fair price and a range of prices). As a tangential question, does anyone know of a reliable watchmaker that would be willing to install an ETA 2836-2 movement into my Alain Silberstein replica?? Please let me know & thanks so much!

I'm not sure you would get a watchsmith to work by the hour, unless he were building a movement from scratch.

My watchsmith did a 2892 franken AirKing install for me which included the hands, the ring and a full service for $95.00

That was flat rate.

All in Canadian funds.

R.P.

[HauteHippie]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone could let me know how much a watch maker charges per hour (a fair price and a range of prices). As a tangential question, does anyone know of a reliable watchmaker that would be willing to install an ETA 2836-2 movement into my Alain Silberstein replica?? Please let me know & thanks so much!

Here are some rates: http://www.The Zigmeisterinfo.com/clist.pdf

[Cucumber_Jones]

I dont use average watch makers.

[Watchmeister]

Exactly right. No one charges by the hour. It is based on the services provided. Ziggy provides wonderful service at better than fair prices. After numerous poor experiences with local watch smiths and well over 50 watches taken care of by Ziggy I highly recommend him.

[RWG Technical]

A cut and past article from TZ written by Walt Odets:

. . .Talking of "overhauling" a watch is little different than talk of "overhauling" an engine. There are a lot of ways to do this in terms of procedures, care, inspection, and replaced parts. In the case of watches there are also the issues of care in cleaning, care in lubrication, and timing and adjustment.

The differences in how a watch is serviced are immense. These include:

1. How much is disassembled for cleaning. The proper way to do this is almost complete disassembly. There are a few parts that clean perfectly well in an ultrasonic cleaner without disassembly, but only a few.

2. Whether pivots, bearings, pallets, escape wheel and balance are really inspected for tolerances and damage or they are simply assumed to be acceptable.

3. Whether parts such as mainspring, seals, case gaskets, cracked jewels, damaged or worn pivots are replaced or reused.

4. How carefully lubrication is done in terms of points lubricated, quantities and type of lubrication, including the quality of the lubricant. To give you an example, the factory service "lube sheets" on a JLC 889 movement are four pages and include five different lubricants used in different parts of the watch. One lubricant, Moebius 9415 is used on nothing but the pallets. One lubricant (9010) is used on the center and third wheel bearings, a different one (8514 or 9020) on the fourth and escape wheel bearings. This issue would be an article in itself.Your $120 repair is being done with a "lube rinse" in the ultrasonic cleaner. This is comparable to pouring a few quarts over the top of an engine, hoping that some of it will flow into the right orifices and into the engine.

5. How carefully parts are handled to prevent marring, scratching, and other damage. Proper handling means that a balance [censored], as a single example, is wrapped in a fold of watch tissue before being placed in a clamp for adjustments. That quadruples the amount of time it takes to perform that one task.

6. How carefully timing and adjustment are done. This job can range from five minutes to many hours over a few weeks. (I will be discussing this in detail in the Mark XII Part Two piece next month. After overhauling and switching the 887 into the Mark XII, I spent two weeks timing it, keeping complete records on the performance and adjustments done).

7. Whether the watchmaker has the proper tools to service a particular watch or whether he makes do with what he has, which often means not performing certain tasks or performing them very badly. Some watchmakers use a $15.00 wrench to open a watch. I use a $600 wrench. Some people (including Jack Freedman, incidentally) use a $5,000 vacuum opener. The back of your watch will tell you what was used.

8. Whether the watchmaker has access to parts and is willing to go to the trouble of ordering them. Otherwise, damaged, worn, scratched, and bent parts are simply replaced.

Because I am not making a living at turning out watches, I can lavish attention on them. Doing that, I spend about six to eight hours on the service of one simple automatic watch from disassembly to finished reassembly; I can spend as much time again on the timing. While no one doing commercial work could afford that, it gives you an idea of the range that a service can require.

A proper service on a watch is about the same amount of work as a 30,000 mile service on a Mercedes. Do you think the watch should be less expensive to service because it's smaller? I think a very skilled local watchmaker can do a C+ or B- service for $150.00. In all likelihood, your $120 watch service is being done in about an hour and rates a solid C-. Think about it.

All I would add is that indeed you do get what you pay for when it comes to watch servicing.

Anyone who claims to have serviced a automatic watch for less than $100...is doing a swish and dip, or nothing at all...

I do this as a hobby, which is why my prices are what they are. If this was my day job, they would be twice the amount.

RG

[t]

40 - 60euro per hour in germany for a master watchmaker