Finding the Right Fit for Your Watch | Tips from Your Highlands Ranch, CO Watch Repair Professional

Photo By Kabardin’s photo at Shutterstock

One thing about time is that it never stops, which means your watch ticks more than 86,000 times each day, letting you know when it’s time for lunch at the corner deli, when your afternoon board meeting starts, and when you can finally get some well-deserved time with your family. Inevitably, there will be a time when your well-worn friend will let you know that it’s time for a trip to the watch repair shop. The signs might be subtle, such as time that seems to run just a little too slow or too fast, or you might be hit with an obvious problem such as a rattling inside the watch or condensation on the inside of the watch face.

The DIY Mistake

Whether you own a luxury Breitling or Omega watch, or a knockoff you got at a local Highlands Ranch, CO thrift store, you will want to take it to a professional watch repair shop for evaluation rather than trying to find an answer on YouTube so you can fix it at home. Even the simplest quartz watch can be difficult to open without damaging the movement–the part of the watch that contains the battery, coil and quartz crystal–or cracking the watch on the table inadvertently. Additionally, if you bought the watch with a warranty, trying to fix it yourself will void that warranty immediately.

The Fit

So, you’re having a problem with your watch, and you’ve realized that it’s one you cannot tackle on your own. Before you choose what watch repair shop to take your timepiece, you need an idea of what might be wrong with it and how extensive the repairs might be. If you have recently dropped the watch or knocked it against something, you might notice a problem right away. A rattle or noise of something moving in the watch is a sure sign that a mechanism was knocked loose or is broken. If the glass appears cracked, even if it is not broken through, it is possible that a shard of glass dropped into the mechanism. If the watch acts erratically and you have no idea why, there are a few possibilities that can be fixed easily with a trip to the local Breckinridge watch repair shop.

The battery is getting low. This is true in the case of a quartz watch, and is the primary reason you’ll have problems with it.

It has been magnetized. It doesn’t take a special occasion for this to happen, and it is more frequent than most realize as people regularly come into contact with electromagnetic devices during their everyday lives.

An internal component is dry. There are a myriad of internal pieces in the mechanical watch, and eventually they need to be oiled.

Your buttons may need to be cleaned or fixed. Sometimes, through wear and tear, or the accumulation of dirt or oil, the buttons will become stuck or stop working correctly. The spring may also need replaced.

Once you have an idea of what might be wrong with your watch, how do you decide the Highlands Ranch, CO watch repair shop to take it to? Being in the repair business and earning the status as a repair business is a difference that becomes obvious when you talk to the repair specialist.

Repair Options from a Professional Watch Repair Shop

Simple fixes for simple problems should be straightforward and easily completed within the day. But the repair person may ask you if you would like a full service of your watch. While you are under no obligation to have it done, it is recommended if you have had your watch for more than three years.

The best service options to keep your life running on point is to take your watch to a qualified watch repair center, where they can perform a full-service repair. Like a full-service car wash or filling station, a full-service repair involves a longer process of inspection. The repair person will take the watch apart, clean and oil the mechanisms, changing parts out as necessary, and then close it back, ensuring that if it is a water-resistant watch that the gasket and seal is fixed and secure for continued resistance. It is then polished and put through a pressure test and water-resistance test to ensure that everything is working as it should.

If your watch is luxury brand, make sure your watch repair shop is accredited to fix your watch by the manufacturer or if you’ll have to send it directly to the manufacturer for servicing.

Unless your uncle is certified by the British Horological Institute as an antique watch restoration specialist, you will want to take your vintage or antique watch to a professional with the tools and experience to know the common problems that particular watch is prone to as well as how to take it apart and fix it. An antique watch that needs a new part will have to be treated with especially nimble fingers, since it will probably have to be made from scratch.

Taking Care of Your Watch

Whatever the cost of your timepiece, it is important to treat it as you would a valued part of your wardrobe. Take it off when working where it might get hit on a hard surface or when working in an unclean or wet environment. While most luxury brands are water resistant, there is often a difference between water resistant versus water proof. If you regularly work in a high-humidity environment, it is possible for water to enter the watch if you don’t screw the crown down after setting the time or making changes.

If you damage the watch, take it for repair immediately. Waiting only allows loose parts to move through the mechanisms and makes it more likely that it could become further damaged.

Even if your watch is working beautifully, you will want to take it in for a full service every three to five years to ensure that everything is working as it should. This also allows the repair person to lubricate or clean the inside of the watch and re-seal the watch to keep it from losing its water-resistant feature.

About Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry

Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry has been providing quality products and professional services to the metropolitan Denver, CO area since 1951.  The very first repair and service facility ever opened in Colorado. Dan Matheu, watchmaker, pioneered watch repair and services in Colorado. Today, Scott Matheu is at the helm steering Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry. With his vision, Scott opened a watch store in Highland Ranch and has made Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry not only one of the largest watch stores to provide watch repair in Highlands Ranch, CO but also the entire state.

Whether you need watch repair, watch engraving, or even if you have an antique watch that you would like appraised, you can count on Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry to provide you with superior service each and every single time. All of our watchmakers are factory trained and we have CW21 Certified by the American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute (AWCI) on site. This certification has the most stringent standards for watchmakers performing repair, restoration, and service work on watches. With one of the largest service centers in the metropolitan Denver, CO we are not only able to provide watch repair in Highlands Ranch, CO but to the entire 50 states as well.

 

Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry is also a factory authorized service center for Cartier, Tag Heuer, Philip Stein, Swiss Army and many more brands. When you use Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry for your watch repair you can rest assured knowing that you will receive our (3) three-year warranty on major repairs that we provide. If you are looking for the best repair service center throughout the United States, you cannot go wrong when you choose Matheu’s Fine Watches & Jewelry. With certifications from not only AWCI but SAWTA too, we not only stand out from the pact; we lead it.”

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