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Some things are practically inevitable in life. Among them is that if you own a timepiece, then at some point, it will need watch repair. Be it a Rolex, Cartier, Piaget or something as simple as a Timex, any watch will eventually in its life need to be adjusted or fixed in some way.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what this whole watch repair concept actually means, and how it applies to different types of watches that you presumably want to keep functional and healthy for as long as possible. We’re also going to explain how to find an ideal repair solution for your dear little device, regardless of brand or price.
Service Intervals
If you happen to have the sort of job that means exposing that watch to hits, grazes, bumps and ugly weather, repairs might become necessary a lot quicker than not. If on the other hand you treat your watch carefully and take it off when doing something that’s dangerous for the little machine, repair might only be necessary once every several years.
Aside from the above conditions the need for repair is obviously less likely to come soon with better made, high-end watches than cheaper ones, though, on the other hand, pricier watches tend to have greater complexity, which can increase the odds of something breaking inside them. In the case of quartz timepieces, even proper care won’t change that you’ll probably have to replace the battery after anywhere from two to 10 years.
Overall, for almost any watch, you’re looking at service intervals that regardless of brand or model will range from every 3 to 5 years if you want to keep your timepiece in good running order. These are in fact the service time intervals that manufacturers recommend for most watches.
Seems like something of a slap on the wrist? All this trouble for a little device that modern cell phones have largely replaced as a necessity in daily life. Well, maybe, but for a bit of perspective, keep in mind that even your average low-price wristwatch usually needs to be fixed far, far less frequently than just about any other mechanical or electric device you’re likely to have on you. And never mind cell phones, which with all their complicated electronics, seem to find their way into a repair lab at least once a year.
In other words, compared to most other things we use daily, watches might just be the least repair-prone items of them all, especially if we’re talking about high-quality models.
Now, here’s a breakdown of the two main watch types and what repairing each kind usually means.
Quartz Watches
First and most commonly, we have quartz watches. These are the most affordable and typically worn timepieces on earth and among them are included compact digital watches along with models with mechanical hands, or a combination of both.
In the case of almost all low-cost quartz watches, their main defect will be that they simply stop telling time properly one day. And the single most common cause of this is that the battery is dying or already dead, meaning a need for watch repair and battery replacement in Vail, CO.
It’s a simple enough thing to do and usually very cheap in terms of price, but in the case of most quartz watches, fixing a dead battery still requires the hands and tools of a professional repair shop or jeweler.
Despite their fairly simple functionality and cheaper prices, many quartz watches are still complex enough to need delicate workmanship.
Mechanical Watch Repair
With mechanical watches, what we’re usually talking about are the higher-end models and the ultra luxury watch market. Mechanical watches don’t necessarily need to be expensive, but among antique watch editions and among all the world’s top timepiece brands such as Cartier, Rolex, Piaget and others, mechanical devices dominate.
The main thing about mechanical watches is that they’re made up of many, many individual precision moving parts. Therefore, they naturally have many more things that could fail inside them. This might not happen for years, and with well made mechanical timepieces, it could take years for a failure to occur, but it’s a particular risk for any mechanical watch.
Mechanical watch repair is usually imminent when one of these precision gadgets starts to either slow down or speed up from its careful timekeeping.
If this should occur, taking your mechanical watch to a professional specialist in precision watch tuning becomes a necessity. If not done, the internal mechanical parts that are causing the little machine to run slower or faster will eventually lead to worse failures.
The average mechanical watch contains over 180 different parts that precisely mesh together for extremely precise functionality. Some watches can even have many more parts. With so much precision packed into such a deceptively tiny wrist device, even simple things like internal lubrication getting old can quickly lead to a repair.
It’s also worth noting here that this isn’t a task to be taken lightly with any mechanical watch worth its salt. As everyone knows, some models of quality mechanical watch can easily cost more than a brand new car. Since most people probably wouldn’t drive any pricey BMW until it dies completely after they notice something strange about its performance, the same rule should apply to any well made mechanical watch.
Furthermore, If you own a high-end or heirloom mechanical timepiece, it’s not something you’d probably want to try fixing on a DIY basis. Taking the device in question to an actual professional service shop is essential. When it comes to something with nearly 200 or more individual, extremely tiny, moving parts, expert hands that know what they’re doing become essential. They will also have the tools to open and precisely manipulate such a tiny gadget.
What Watch Repair Means for You
Getting your timepiece fixed isn’t necessarily an expensive thing, especially if we’re talking about something like simple quartz watch repair, which can cost as little as 10 or 20 dollars for a battery change. However, if what you want to restore is a more highly complex mechanical watch or similar device, then things might get complicated.
Watches like these sometimes need what is called a full service mechanical overhaul and its price can vary. If the watch in question is a common mechanical model, the cost for an overhaul watch repair can be quite reasonable, but if we’re talking about an older, possibly even antique mechanical timepiece repairing it will be a fantastically delicate process that can become expensive in some cases.
In all cases, whether we’re talking about fixing your favorite little quartz watch from Seiko or restoring grandfather’s 90 year-old Rolex timepiece, keeping the tiny gadgets in working order will almost certainly mean a visit to a professional at some point. Watch repair experts such as those of Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry in Vail, CO, will know what they’re doing and have the specialized tools on hand for getting the job done correctly.