A Quality Watch Deserves Timely, Quality Maintenance!
March 4, 2012
Like any other machine, a watch movement needs period overhauling and lubrication. Many of my New York customers have fine automobiles like BMWs, Mercedes, Cadillacs, and Lexuses. They take those fine automobiles in for period maintenance as well as cleanings, but don’t take in their fine Tag Heuer, Breitling, Rolex, Hamilton or other fine luxury watches. Watches – like luxury cars – are quality machines, that need regular maintenance!
What are the usual steps to maintaining a fine luxury timepiece and thereby preventing a more expensive watch repair? Cleaning a watch movement generally includes washing the parts to remove any foreign matter, such as lint and dust. These small particles will stop the watch because they will clog the tiny teeth and pinion leaves. Do you jog? Take the subway? Clean your house, or go to the gym? Think of all the dust that accumulates in your house or car; think about how dirty you can get just with a jog through New York’s central park. Some of that fine dust and grime gets in your watch, and over time can damage the mechanism.
Second, oil that has dried and become gummy acts as a further hindrance, so that the mainspring’s power can no longer overcome the resistance offered by the combination of dirt and gummed oil. When this happens, the watch must be dismantled and each part washed, dried, reassembled, and lubricated. Just like a car, a watch needs some oil changes and oil replacement.
How Often Should You Service Your Luxury Watch?
Customers who really cherish their luxury Breitlings, Tag Heuers, Rolexes, Hamiltons or other watches ask me how frequently they should have their fine timepieces in for service. Here are the answers. Mechanical and quartz timepiece should be serviced every 4-5 years. Older vintage wristwatches should be serviced every 1-2 years and old pocket watches every 12 months.
Customers ask me for the cost of repairs on their Tag Heuer, Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and other luxury watches by email and over the phone all the time. That’s difficult. For more regular maintenance, however, I can usually give a pretty good phone estimate; and for customers with whom I have a longer relationship, we work very well together.
Buying a Luxury Watch is an Investment in Quality
Luxury watches are just that, a luxury. Nowadays simpler and cheaper watches will keep time; you can even keep time with your cell phone. What a luxury watch does is communicate style, affluence, grace. It’s really not that different from cars. A simple car – a Honda, a Chevy, a Toyota – will definitely get you from point A to point B. But a luxury vehicle like a Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes communicates your sense of style. So it is with a watch – a simple watch can keep time, but a luxury Breitling, Tag Heuer, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines or other – those communicate your sense of style.
Now take that investment in quality further. How ridiculous does it look to have your luxury BMW stuck on the side of the expressway? To be stuck in a BMW, a Lexus, or any luxury car is just not that impressive… Similarly, if your luxury watch stops working, it needs repair and even though my watch repair shop is convenient to midtown Manhattan and anywhere in New York City, you’re still out the watch while it is being repaired. Regular maintenance will keep your watch in tip-top condition, and it will not let you down. – Ron Gordon
About Ron Gordon Watch Repair
Ron Gordon Watch Repair is located at 280 Madison Ave, Ste. 510, New York, NY 10016. We provide watch repair services throughout New York City, Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, Downtown and the boroughs of New York, NY. Read our Google Places, Insider Pages, and City Search Reviews, online.