My watch dealer Raffi (who took a link out of my Seiko SUN019 today) explained that he sends automatic watches to an authorized tech who charges about $200 for a basic service on a Swiss ETA. Chronos can cost a lot more, around $350 or so. The waiting time is 3 weeks. These ETA movements sometimes need a service only 3 years but he's seen 8-year periods. In contrast, he says in his experience Japanese movements last longer. He has customers with Seiko 5s, for example, who have never done anything to their watches in over 15 years.
While the cost and incovenience of servicing a automatic watch puts me off somewhat, I own and love my four automatic watches, a Seiko SRP307, Orient Saturation Diver, Benarus Moray Dart, and Seiko Sumo. I feel confident that the movements will last me a long time before I need to service them.
I've been thinking about service costs lately because I love the style of the Zixen Nitrox LS with the stainless steel bezel, the same Zixen Jonny owns. But I'm afraid of that Swiss ETA movement. It's failry ubiquitous. You'll find it on Hamilton, Oris, and many others.
For my next watch fix, I may be looking at a Citizen Attesa or Citizen Promaster Fly. We shall see. And lest I forget, I will be getting a Benarus (with Miyota movement) Megalodon with carbon dial and stainless steel bezel sometime in 2015.
Those prices you quote are actually cheap compared to in-house services. For instance, if and when I get my Omega chronograph serviced, it would cost around $700 to have an authorized Omega watchmaker do it.
Now if you're talking services for high-end watches like Patek and Vacheron, cost can be in the thousands, especially if there are complications in the movement.
Anyhow, the reason people with Seiko 5s don't get them serviced is that those are throw-away watches. Meaning, they just aren't worth servicing. To be honest, I wouldn't bother servicing anything under $500, maybe not even anything under $1K.
Posted by: jonnybardo | December 15, 2014 at 05:54 PM
Japanese movements don't have the same cachet as their Swiss counterparts, so they have to sell on quality and reliability alone. We're taught that even Swiss quartz movements are superior. I have a Seiko 5 that out of the box does -3 seconds. Pretty impressive for something disposable. I guess when you get a Swiss movement serviced you're also paying for it to be stroked lovingly and kissed goodnight.
Posted by: Ulysses | December 16, 2014 at 02:47 AM
Back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, my boss had a Jaguar coupe. He paid $1200.00 for the 30,000 mile service at a time when this service on many other cars (including some luxury cars) was $400.00 - $600.00 tops. Sometimes, I think these services are priced for what the watch shop or company thinks the owner can afford----not what it really costs to adjust the watch movement. I have an old Omega with the bumper movement. It still works and keeps great time----but I've found I have to shake it a little harder than I used to for it to start. A local watch shop quoted me $100.00-$200.00 for the service. They also couldn't guarantee that the bumper mechanism would be flawless when they were done---said they might have to adjust it so that it winds like a normal watch. For now, I'm standing pat with it. I'm not going to let them open it and lose a function for $200.00 Might wear it today in fact.
Posted by: Angelo | December 16, 2014 at 04:47 AM
Probably a good analogy is the difference between getting your car worked on at a local garage vs. the dealer. The dealer is always more expensive, might or might not be better, but at least gives you a baseline of quality of service.
I think the same is true of getting your Swiss watch serviced by an authorized watchmaker.
As for the whole Japanese vs. Swiss movement thing, cachet is one thing, quality another. I'm guessing that you're getting better bang for your buck with Swiss movements, but of course any watch above a $20 quartz isn't exactly about economizing. In other words, as soon as you go above maybe $50 you're going beyond utility, so it really isn't about bang-for-buck, it becomes more about finding the watch that you love and then trying to get the best price for it.
I would also suggest that while "Swiss" is overblown a bit, there is something to it. When I got my first Swiss watch, the Oris, it opened my eyes to a new level of craftsmanship - and the Oris is considered more of a pseudo-luxury watch than a true luxury watch. I think the closest thing to it among my Japanese watches are the Orient Saturation Diver, Citizen Signature, and Seiko Sumo. But the Oris - and more so, the Omegas - had something extra that is hard to define. This isn't only about cachet, in other words.
Posted by: jonnybardo | December 16, 2014 at 08:01 AM
Jonny,
I'm curious why you think Swiss movements give better bang for your buck. I'm more inclined to say Japanese movements give better bang for your buck, for the reasons Ulysses stated.
Posted by: Gary | December 16, 2014 at 03:45 PM
Gary it was a misprint. Better bang for your buck with Japanese movements.
Posted by: jonnybardo | December 16, 2014 at 04:47 PM
But truth be told, there are a couple Seagull movements (China) that are accurate and durable, on par with reasonably good Japanese movements. If you have a watch you like with a Seagull movement that works year after year with no problems----it's a value equation that beats the Japanese, just as the Japanese value equation beats the Swiss. But there's a point where as a collector----you want what you want---maybe more for mystique than for performance.
Posted by: Angelo | December 17, 2014 at 04:37 PM
Well again, if we're talking simply about "what works" then might as well stick with $30 battery-powered Timexes. But fine watches aren't about that - whether we're talking about $1-500 fashion watches or $10K+ high-end luxury. You're buying something much more than utility. It is a combination of aesthetic, craftsmanship, and a conceptual gestalt of a brand name, a legacy, an idea.
Posted by: jonnybardo | December 17, 2014 at 04:49 PM