Just had this one done, have it done whenever it needs a battery change, my watchmaker does an excellent job, he always polishes the case and the bracelet as standard.it its not a fortune neither .

 

Quartz doesn't place nearly such a heavy load on the gears, shafts and jewels (if there are any jewels), so wear on moving parts is minimal to almost non-existent. Mostly, service is replacing the battery and checking/replacing the seals, maybe even a pressure test.

 

I had one done after about 10 years. On top of the battery change, there was a pressure check, gasket change, a good cleaning of the bracelet, some scratch repair on the case, and a replacement of worn parts associated with the stem (don’t remember the details). It was right at $300 as I remember it.

 

Full service from Longiness is 300 CAD = 203 Eur.
Partial (essentially new cell, new gaskets, pressure test and warranty) 120 CAD= 81 Eur.

Where you getting 500?

It as former US president used to say "fake news".

 

Website Omega: 500 EUR - for quartz
700 EUR - for mechanical.
All watches have a warranty for 5 years period.

Imagine, battery is stopped after 3 years. I send it to omega service, they will ask me for 500 eur? Of what?
They don’t have on their website “battery change” price, they have 500EUR.

If you need this service every 3-4 years your quartz Watch be will be more expensive than your mechanical and it’s not an idea of quartz at all: simplicity, durability, cheap service. With this money it’s better to get a mechanical watch.
Sorry for asking so many questions, I am just trying to understand

I know as well a lot of watches with simple battery change and they run for 20+ years with battery charge just perfect

and then you see company charge that amount of money

I don’t know exactly how much the quartz mov costs? $5-20?or maybe 1-3 for q&q? They are cheap.
Ok, maybe for Longines/Omega $100-200, but not 500.
That’s what I am trying to understand

 

It will generally involve the following at a brand service center:

Disassembly of the watch
Cleaning of the case
Refinishing of the case
Replacing all the seals (this may require replacement of items like crowns, pushers, etc.)
Electrical checks on the movement - base consumption, overall consumption, function of EOL, checking the lower working limit, checking coil resistance.
Assembly of the watch head and pressure testing - if it's a watch rated for more than 120 meters for Omega, it will include high pressure wet testing.
Cleaning of the bracelet, including checking and replacing worn pins/tubes, springs, etc.
Refinishing of the bracelet.
And yes, a new battery...

Cheers, Al

 

Thank you!
Imagine your battery is for 3 years. Do you actually need all that? The watch may spend 2,5 years in the box and just 6 months in real use. I am not sure whether you need to polish the case/bracelet after 3-4 years.
Especially, if we are talking just for 2 hander and 3 bars.

My idea is it possible to service Omega/Longines just with a battery service, without all that above (which is necessary maybe after 10-15 years of wear). ???

 

I change my batteries as needed. If the watch continues to work as it should, I wear it.

If the battery change does not fix an issue, then I take it to my watchmaker, but otherwise most quartz are very tough, robust, and long lasting watches, that don't require a lot of servicing needs, IMHO.

 

Quartz watches have parts too, and parts require maintenance

Your average Watchmaker can easily, and happily open up a quartz watch, change the battery and gasket, close it up and pressure test it for you. And in most cases, that's all you will/would need of a good Quartz Watch Servicing.

That said, there are plenty of proprietary movements that require additional support. Seiko Kinetic watches, for example, are know to have to need their capacitors replaced on occasion and that module replacement would obviously cost more in parts and labor.

I have a Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre S and I SHUDDER at what the service/repair for THAT is going to run, if and when it comes to that:

 

$10 battery changes work for me, unless I am diving with the watch.

Most Quartz movements are cheap when they die, about $20, but they are typically due for a crystal replacement & full rebuild at that point. Citizen does the rebuild service for $100-200.

 

Buy a cheap watch case opener and learn how to replace a battery every 3 years.

It is not rocket science.

I even replaced a sapphire glass recently (with a cheap Chinese made crap press). Although it took me a while to source the glass (single doom 31.5mm x 1.2mm). There was only 1 seller in the UK on ebay (no luck with cousinsuk). Post #10 here: link to thread on WUS

Of course if you need a case polish or hand replaced, new crown etc you better send it to Longines or and independent with a parts account.

 

I get confused a little bit about service charge in quartz like Longines/Omega and others..

As others have said, the average quartz "service is a battery change and case gasket. However...I have a late 1970s Omega quartz that is 17 jewels and a 1990s JLC Mecaquartz that is 25 jewels - those were (supposedly) disassembled and lubricated like a mechanical watches (and the service bill proved it).

 

Manufacturers service intervals are a joke, at best but quartz? I had no idea people were falling for such a sales pitch. I find it ridiculous to service a quartz watch. You just change the battery. If you want the bracelet and case polished and feel the need for a new gasket for some reason, that's another story but it certainly shouldn't be called "servicing" the watch and set you back $300. And you can do that yourself.

 

Sort of defeats the purpose of a quartz watch if you have to service it to get a battery change.

 

There is difference in type of service performed.
Like with the car there is oil change and there is engine overhaul. You don't overhaul engine each time you change oil. Same here.
OP just likes to over dramatize his POV and neglect quite obvious discrepancy between what he saying and what respected watchmaker said.

What he is quoting is full service which is not required each time you change battery. Full means full. You will get new movement or old will be taken apart and cleaned /oiled etc, full clean of bracelet etc. It sure cost more than just dropping new cell. But it's not needed. Like each time you change oil you don't take whole engine apart. In most cases battery, light clean, gaskets and pressure test runs for 50-90$ depending on place. He could of asked Omega, do they bother to perform such service or what they will tell him to do in case he just needs new battery. Instead we have this thread.

I brought pricing from Longines (which he mixed with much more expensive Omega) and there is difference between quartz and non quartz, type of service and work performed. Which was ignored by OP since it not aligned with his narrative.

There are plenty of threads here discussing battery change price of service etc. and plenty of very solid advise to refer to. And frankly first stop should be to drop line to Omega and ask them. Hey, how much will cost to change battery? Sure OP claims he spoke with service centre, but i doubt Omega will charge 500 EUR for battery. There is always a option they just don't want to deal with it directly and that their way to sent him off in a certain way. Never dealt with Omega can't say what their service is. It will be nice to see original replay and know more about watch in question.

What more without knowing all details all i can say it all looks odd and there is no point in guessing.

 

$500 is robbery for what is essentially a battery change. Now, if the watch doesn't function even after a battery change, then I suppose it is warranted. So, I have to assume that Omega includes movement replacement in the cost of servicing.

 

My experience of Brietling is that for the standard service price they’ll do whatever is necessary to return the watch to a given standard - plus a new battery. In the case of the Aerospace which I wore for two decades this included at least three new movements. Sadly the last battery they installed leaked and killed it.

 

What I've seen over the many years (decades) I've owned quartz watches "service" for a quartz watch is new battery, inspect and replace (if needed) the rubber O-ring on the case back and maybe clean or buff the case & bracelet.

 

Service on a Seiko 9F movement includes cleaning and lubrication of the mechanical components in addition to gasket replacement, WR testing, timing adjustment, battery replacement, and polishing. In that sense the servicing is similar to having a mechanical watch serviced. That being said I don't plan on doing anything beyond battery replacement in mine.