Unless they hold any sentimental value, just use them until they fail and just buy a new one.

 

^^What he said

Or, alternatively, chuck them in a bin when they die, and the next time you travel to a country like China, India, etc where labor is cheaper, root out a local watchmaker and see if they can't fix a few for you before you leave again.

 

Welcome to the forum.

That is your call alone, if an affordable watch of mine packed up then it would go in the drawer for dead and dying…unless….it was a favourite watch, or had a story with it that made it irreplaceable to me.

An example would be my fathers watch, a cheapish Citizen, was badly damaged in the car crash that killed him.

I spent 3x what it was worth to get it repaired and serviced, and then gave it to my younger brother as I knew what it would mean to him.

 

An example would be my fathers watch, a cheapish Citizen, was badly damaged in the car crash that killed him.

I spent 3x what it was worth to get it repaired and serviced, and then gave it to my younger brother as I knew what it would mean to him.

I am so sorry to hear that BigClive, but what a wonderful way to honor your father’s memory.

 

If i like a watch, the value of it contra the cost of a service it totally irrelevant.
If i can get an identical watch new by the time I need a service, i might go for a new one if the first one was badly scratched or damaged in any other way.

Otherwise, I'll pay what a service cost.

My Oris has almost cost more to service than the purchase price of about $3k (in today's money) over the 20 years I've had it. Next service will break the barrier. Should I throw it away?

 

You can go through watch servicing/repair books and try your hand at them. Or use Yelp and Google Maps to locate a local watchmaker for a quote.

Likely not worth it if the watches have little to no sentimental value and you’re not planning to tinker with them yourself.

 

It doesn't make sense for Seikos for sure because you can purchase a brand new nh35 /36 movement, regulated to +/- 6 seconds a day which is basically chronometer spec accuracy for around $60. Doesn't make sense to service these movements when they can be replaced with brand new ones for cheaper - particularly if you know how to do it yourself and don't have to use a watchsmith.

I have a bunch of watches with Seiko movements and when the movements crap out I can simply replace the movements for less than it costs to fill my gas tank.

 

It doesn't make sense for Seikos for sure because you can purchase a brand new nh35 /36 movement, regulated to +/- 6 seconds a day which is basically chronometer spec accuracy for around $60. Doesn't make sense to service these movements when they can be replaced with brand new ones for cheaper - particularly if you know how to do it yourself and don't have to use a watchsmith.

I have a bunch of watches with Seiko movements and when the movements crap out I can simply replace the movements for less than it costs to fill my gas tank.

If you are not up to the task of replacing the movement yourself, would it be cheaper for a watchmaker to just replace the movement, including the price of the movement itself, than to have it serviced?

interesting conundrum… I like the idea of modding watches etc., but so far it has not been nearly as easy as some YouTube videos make it out to be. For example, replacing the bezel on my Orient Ray II. Was impossible to get off… I even got pissed off and took a hammer to it… In the end I took it to a watchmaker and had them do it for me.

I am accumulating a lot of watches with NH35s, so eventually I guess I will have to try my hand at it just for the heck of it…

 

I’m in the ‘let it run until failure’ crowd, but if you wear an old diver like a skx007 in the water, it’s worth getting the seals checked/lubricated and water testing the watch. If you really Iike the watch, or if it has been discontinued, can usually replace affordable watch movements at a local watch repair place for a reasonable price.

when my SKX movement failed, i tossed the watch.

 

I would definitely service an affordable if a) you can’t buy it new anymore, b) it has sentimental value, or c) some combination thereof—that is, if there’s some kind of romance about the watch that prevents you from, or otherwise makes it difficult in, parting with it. And I’m assuming that “servicing” for the sake of argument includes dropping in a new movement.

 

All my automatics are affordable at this point and I plan to simply swap in new movements when they need a service or fail in use.

 

Wear it until kaput. Movement swap if that's what'll keep it going.

 

This to me seems the most sensible. I’m attached to all of my watches. The innerds aren’t what does it for me—it’s the outside. Now let everyone tell me how sexy that ETA 2824 is and how wrong I am.

 

Whatever works best for your needs is the way to go.

If you have any older one of sentimental value, those I would most certainly have serviced.

Everything else nowadays is more or less disposable, IMHO.....

 

IMO. If you love them, take care of them. The most important part is the sentimental value not the monetary value.

 

Recently, I took an old Tissot PRX that I bought my son when he was 10 for a battery change. They wanted to charge me $180 for the full service! I paid $150 for it new so I laughed it off and told them “that’s hilarious, no thanks, I’ll take the watch back”. They called me the following day and told me they would do it for $120. I said again no thanks. They called me again the day after that and told me $60. I said ok. $60 might still be a little too much but what the hell!

 

I see everything is negotiable, heh

 

Depends. I don't particularly enjoy throwing away something perfectly repairable. That said, I'd only pay a third of the purchase cost to repair it or try to do it myself and use the extra expense as a learning cost.

 

For watches with NH35 (or similar) movement, you might have fun doing the service your self. You can basically swap the movement for ~$50. But I certainly wouldn't pay someone $200 to do it.

 

Financially - doesn't make sense. But neither makes financial sense buying any watch more expensive than 20 dollars Casio.

Having said that - I have many watches in my collection that were more expensive to service/repair than the purchase price.

Greetings
Eryk

 

I dont 'service' any of my watches, unless they are broken or tell incorrect time.

 

You'd be surprised how long Seiko movements last. 5 yrs is still fairly new in my opinion for an affordable. Depending on how much you wear them maybe look into the 15-20 year service. A lot of watchmakers offer a cleaning and gasket change which isn't quite a full service and can save you on cost.

 

I have a Seagull M182SK with bad seals and a movement that stopped, and a M201S with a bad rotor bearing. The M182SK I don't actually wear anymore but I "fixed" it by lubricating the pallet jewels with a toothpick (mixed some light oil, silicone oil, and tungsten sulfide powder for lubricant, it's just what I have around). The M201S I want to try a rotor bearing replacement using an Aliexpress tool when I get around to it, but it also needs a beat error adjustment and possibly more lubrication and I'll probably just buy another movement for it.

I used to not want to venture into this because I have enough time consuming DIY hobbies but after researching watches for so long I feel pretty confident I know how watches work and that I'll be able to work on my cheap watches leaving only a few scratches here and there

 

My Old Citizen Quartz divers are inexpensive to service, typically $100. I perfer these to the newer Citizen divers so they get serviced when I bust them.

 

Service! I have loads of watches worth less than the cost of a service lol, I still have them done.

 

I have an skx031 that needs servicing. It’s only an old 7s but to me it’s worth it.

 

I usually hate waste but it’s hard to argue against replacement if the cost is the same / less than a service.

 

Why does servicing in your country cost so much guys?
In mine, a full servicing cost almost only 20% of the watch's value, even cheaper in some cases.

 

Why does servicing in your country cost so much guys?
In mine, a full servicing cost almost only 20% of the watch's value, even cheaper in some cases.

In the United States, watchmakers are a dying breed. Where I live in the southwest there are practically none, and the few who are still in business only work on high-end movements because it provides the most revenue. A micro-brand watch with an NH35 or 9015 movement? Forget it — they won’t even accept them for service.

It’s one if the primary reasons I shifted my collection from Seiko and micro-brand watches up the price ladder to established Swiss brands with robust service networks. Even then the AD ships the watch to a regional service center for the work, which takes months to turn around and costs a pretty penny.

 

My grandfather's 1950s watch was just serviced for 30€.

 

I agree with many posts here, but here is another situation that warrants a service.

Sentimental or not, if you like a design of a watch enough to want to wear it on daily basis, and will have difficulty finding a replacement model for, then i would consider servicing it.

i love my hammy khaki mechanical. Should hamilton discontinue my watch, with a subpar replacement model, i will attempt to service my khaki, or at least attempt to franken it with a fleabay eta 2801