Watch service cost for "high end" timepiece

[dennis.T]

Interesting article…good luck to Lange owner….

http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+Business+Times/Story/A1Story20091010-172902.html

So far I have send my Pam 111 to Richemont Service center for watch service due to mist/fog/ vapour whatever you name it. Yes, salt water “intrude” into my 4 years old + Pam 111 with 300m water resistant watch. What upset me most is I am not wearing it to diving or snorkeling… 

So what the damage cost?

Complete service - $490
Dial - $330
Hands (hour & minute) - $68
Counters hand - $39
Sapphire Crystal - $ 73

Total = S$1,000
Sound reasonable huh?



Now make a guess how much AP service center charging for AP Royal Oak 15300st?

Complete maintenance service of your time piece : Remove movement from the case, prewash the movement, exchange damaged movement components, preventive replacement of components subject to wear, washing movement components, movement assembly and lubrication, timing, cleaning the case, assembly of the movement and the case, and final control. If your watch is a waterproof model we will replace all component necessary to ensure the water resistance. - $ 1,252.35

Refinishing of your watch case with bracelet (xxx, polishing and satin finish) - $ 373.85
Crown, water-resistant, screwed-in, stainless steel, AP symbol - $ 108.00
Gasket, specific, moulded, black natural Therban 50 shore - $58.00
Screw, 18 ct white gold (8nos) - $96

Total damage is S$ 2,020.37 with 7% GST.


Ok I know you may say “got to pay to play” but with the service cost increasing significantly for example, 2-3 years ago a basic service for Rolex Sport model (non chrono nor vintage) with 3135 or 3130 has increase to nearly $1,000 now from $400-500.

Guys, share your thoughts…

[davidtth]

watch servicing is something always scare me the most, hence i always love Seiko watch, they are reliable and reasonable service cost in the long run 

[JPSP]

My servicing cost for AP ROO was S$2.7K and S$2K for PP 5711.   

Shit now you're scaring me. I can accept servicing cost that's around the range of what I've paid for the 2 watches. I cannot imagine paying $4K to service my Lange.

I've a friend who sent in his UN Freak for servicing and it costs CHF6K....

I've never factored in servicing cost in any purchase and I shudder to think how much is it to service a watch from independents especially when they don't have local service centres....I recall I've only seen in MIH's website that states very clearly how much it costs to service a watch but not others.

[CKL1213]

the writer of that article was like after buying a Bugatti Veyron and said "geez...i didn't know that the tires cost USD 50,000"

[hanz079]

As a rule of thumb, I always look at 10% of the retail price of the watch as the service fee.

Say if a particular watch retails at RM50,000... in the case of the Royal Oak, i think rm5,000 service fee will be about right.

Not right as in "RM5,000 is reasonable" (I don't think it is)
But right as in "RM5,000 is what I expected to be charged"
And if the service bill comes at more than that, then I might be unhappy.

But there are also cases where my usual "rule of thumb" is not applicable.
I think those that buy watches back in the day where prices are not as absurd as today... might balk at the service fee.

A person buying a Submariner a couple of years back for 23k and sending it for service that cost him 2.3k will feel alright.
It's 10% right?
While another person that bought a Submariner 15 years ago for 12k might just feel he's been taken for a ride paying 2.3k for servicing. That's closer to 20%.

And presuming you're the 1st and only owner of the watch, you might already thought about servicing which will mean treating the watch a little better in view of future servicing costs.

And there's another type of person who buys a watch brand new, once it's close to service period, offload it for another person to pick up the tab.
Buyer might think he got a good deal on something only to realize the watch needs servicing a couple of months down the road and after calculating all costs involved, he's better off getting a new piece.

Which comes to the topic of pre owned watches.
Sometimes when negotiating for a pre owned watch, always and ALWAYS (just stressing the point, not shouting) factor in servicing costs especially if watch is older than 5 years.

I always negotiate along those lines but unfortunately, it just never works.
If 2 pieces of the same watch are for sale but with 1 watch freshly serviced and one non serviced.
The non serviced piece will get sold due to the cheaper price.

And then a couple of month down the line, the buyer realized watch is in need of service and refused to foot the bill, so what does he do? Easy... sell it... let the next person handle it.

That's why I always go brand new... if possible.
And I am also a modernist.
After a few mishaps... I have given up going into vintage watches or preowned watches.
The only pre own watch I am willing to buy if the price is right is only Zenith and Rolex... for the reason that I know Rolex can be easily serviced.
And Zenith is the only brand I know that states their service fee on their website.
So in a way, you know what you're getting into.

[watzisname]

watch servicing is something always scare me the most, hence i always love Seiko watch, they are reliable and reasonable service cost in the long run 

How much to service GS SD do u know?

[engkow]

My rolex 1601 sent to rolex center in 2008, estimate normal maintainan service was rm 1250
plus others parts more than rm 5000, bought for rm 750 in 1991 sent to other to repair for rm 400
 change part mainspring broken into three parts.... now 6 years so far so good..

[dpkong]

So Dennis wants to let go of the 15300?? It's a white dial right??

    

[hanz079]

So Dennis wants to let go of the 15300?? It's a white dial right??

    

Blue dial I think

[dennis.T]

Yes. Blue dial. 15300st is a keeper for me. Bro Kong, u alrdy get used with ROO size so stick on it, RO too small for u

[1to12]

After a few mishaps... I have given up going into vintage watches or preowned watches.

Could you share the incidents with us... so that we can learn from it?

Cheers

[dennis.T]

James, another good news for you. The service cost for entry model like RM 010 are S$3,000 without parts and polishing. Polishing another S$1,500 addition. Turn around time is 16 weeks....Erm... Time to sell my RM huh...

[hidden830726]

As a rule of thumb, I always look at 10% of the retail price of the watch as the service fee.

Say if a particular watch retails at RM50,000... in the case of the Royal Oak, i think rm5,000 service fee will be about right.

Not right as in "RM5,000 is reasonable" (I don't think it is)
But right as in "RM5,000 is what I expected to be charged"
And if the service bill comes at more than that, then I might be unhappy.

But there are also cases where my usual "rule of thumb" is not applicable.
I think those that buy watches back in the day where prices are not as absurd as today... might balk at the service fee.

A person buying a Submariner a couple of years back for 23k and sending it for service that cost him 2.3k will feel alright.
It's 10% right?
While another person that bought a Submariner 15 years ago for 12k might just feel he's been taken for a ride paying 2.3k for servicing. That's closer to 20%.

And presuming you're the 1st and only owner of the watch, you might already thought about servicing which will mean treating the watch a little better in view of future servicing costs.

And there's another type of person who buys a watch brand new, once it's close to service period, offload it for another person to pick up the tab.
Buyer might think he got a good deal on something only to realize the watch needs servicing a couple of months down the road and after calculating all costs involved, he's better off getting a new piece.

Which comes to the topic of pre owned watches.
Sometimes when negotiating for a pre owned watch, always and ALWAYS (just stressing the point, not shouting) factor in servicing costs especially if watch is older than 5 years.

I always negotiate along those lines but unfortunately, it just never works.
If 2 pieces of the same watch are for sale but with 1 watch freshly serviced and one non serviced.
The non serviced piece will get sold due to the cheaper price.

And then a couple of month down the line, the buyer realized watch is in need of service and refused to foot the bill, so what does he do? Easy... sell it... let the next person handle it.

That's why I always go brand new... if possible.
And I am also a modernist.
After a few mishaps... I have given up going into vintage watches or preowned watches.
The only pre own watch I am willing to buy if the price is right is only Zenith and Rolex... for the reason that I know Rolex can be easily serviced.
And Zenith is the only brand I know that states their service fee on their website.
So in a way, you know what you're getting into.

Thanks for sharing. Learned something.

[JPSP]

James, another good news for you. The service cost for entry model like RM 010 are S$3,000 without parts and polishing. Polishing another S$1,500 addition. Turn around time is 16 weeks....Erm... Time to sell my RM huh...

goodness!! 

[Lazarus7247]

As a rule of thumb, I always look at 10% of the retail price of the watch as the service fee.

Say if a particular watch retails at RM50,000... in the case of the Royal Oak, i think rm5,000 service fee will be about right.

Not right as in "RM5,000 is reasonable" (I don't think it is)
But right as in "RM5,000 is what I expected to be charged"
And if the service bill comes at more than that, then I might be unhappy.

But there are also cases where my usual "rule of thumb" is not applicable.
I think those that buy watches back in the day where prices are not as absurd as today... might balk at the service fee.

A person buying a Submariner a couple of years back for 23k and sending it for service that cost him 2.3k will feel alright.
It's 10% right?
While another person that bought a Submariner 15 years ago for 12k might just feel he's been taken for a ride paying 2.3k for servicing. That's closer to 20%.

And presuming you're the 1st and only owner of the watch, you might already thought about servicing which will mean treating the watch a little better in view of future servicing costs.

And there's another type of person who buys a watch brand new, once it's close to service period, offload it for another person to pick up the tab.
Buyer might think he got a good deal on something only to realize the watch needs servicing a couple of months down the road and after calculating all costs involved, he's better off getting a new piece.

Which comes to the topic of pre owned watches.
Sometimes when negotiating for a pre owned watch, always and ALWAYS (just stressing the point, not shouting) factor in servicing costs especially if watch is older than 5 years.

I always negotiate along those lines but unfortunately, it just never works.
If 2 pieces of the same watch are for sale but with 1 watch freshly serviced and one non serviced.
The non serviced piece will get sold due to the cheaper price.

And then a couple of month down the line, the buyer realized watch is in need of service and refused to foot the bill, so what does he do? Easy... sell it... let the next person handle it.

That's why I always go brand new... if possible.
And I am also a modernist.
After a few mishaps... I have given up going into vintage watches or preowned watches.
The only pre own watch I am willing to buy if the price is right is only Zenith and Rolex... for the reason that I know Rolex can be easily serviced.
And Zenith is the only brand I know that states their service fee on their website.
So in a way, you know what you're getting into.

A lot of people don't know that they have to service their watches until after they bought them. Some of these services costs a lot for what it is.

[STeeLPrOpheT]

Interesting article…good luck to Lange owner….

http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+Business+Times/Story/A1Story20091010-172902.html

So far I have send my Pam 111 to Richemont Service center for watch service due to mist/fog/ vapour whatever you name it. Yes, salt water “intrude” into my 4 years old + Pam 111 with 300m water resistant watch. What upset me most is I am not wearing it to diving or snorkeling… 

So what the damage cost?

Complete service - $490
Dial - $330
Hands (hour & minute) - $68
Counters hand - $39
Sapphire Crystal - $ 73

Total = S$1,000
Sound reasonable huh?



Now make a guess how much AP service center charging for AP Royal Oak 15300st?

Complete maintenance service of your time piece : Remove movement from the case, prewash the movement, exchange damaged movement components, preventive replacement of components subject to wear, washing movement components, movement assembly and lubrication, timing, cleaning the case, assembly of the movement and the case, and final control. If your watch is a waterproof model we will replace all component necessary to ensure the water resistance. - $ 1,252.35

Refinishing of your watch case with bracelet (xxx, polishing and satin finish) - $ 373.85
Crown, water-resistant, screwed-in, stainless steel, AP symbol - $ 108.00
Gasket, specific, moulded, black natural Therban 50 shore - $58.00
Screw, 18 ct white gold (8nos) - $96

Total damage is S$ 2,020.37 with 7% GST.


Ok I know you may say “got to pay to play” but with the service cost increasing significantly for example, 2-3 years ago a basic service for Rolex Sport model (non chrono nor vintage) with 3135 or 3130 has increase to nearly $1,000 now from $400-500.

Guys, share your thoughts…

Sounds a bit high. of course, there are many alternatives for servicing of watches

[Lazarus7247]

Hmm how much does omega service costs nowadays ?

[dpkong]

Interesting article…good luck to Lange owner….

http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+Business+Times/Story/A1Story20091010-172902.html

So far I have send my Pam 111 to Richemont Service center for watch service due to mist/fog/ vapour whatever you name it. Yes, salt water “intrude” into my 4 years old + Pam 111 with 300m water resistant watch. What upset me most is I am not wearing it to diving or snorkeling… 

So what the damage cost?

Complete service - $490
Dial - $330
Hands (hour & minute) - $68
Counters hand - $39
Sapphire Crystal - $ 73

Total = S$1,000
Sound reasonable huh?



Now make a guess how much AP service center charging for AP Royal Oak 15300st?

Complete maintenance service of your time piece : Remove movement from the case, prewash the movement, exchange damaged movement components, preventive replacement of components subject to wear, washing movement components, movement assembly and lubrication, timing, cleaning the case, assembly of the movement and the case, and final control. If your watch is a waterproof model we will replace all component necessary to ensure the water resistance. - $ 1,252.35

Refinishing of your watch case with bracelet (xxx, polishing and satin finish) - $ 373.85
Crown, water-resistant, screwed-in, stainless steel, AP symbol - $ 108.00
Gasket, specific, moulded, black natural Therban 50 shore - $58.00
Screw, 18 ct white gold (8nos) - $96

Total damage is S$ 2,020.37 with 7% GST.


Ok I know you may say “got to pay to play” but with the service cost increasing significantly for example, 2-3 years ago a basic service for Rolex Sport model (non chrono nor vintage) with 3135 or 3130 has increase to nearly $1,000 now from $400-500.

Guys, share your thoughts…

Sounds a bit high. of course, there are many alternatives for servicing of watches

With some brands, the alternative options may not be advisable.

[el118]

I sent my Langematik Perpetual for complete service last year, was relieved that such complication watch service cost was only RM5,900, cheaper than AP Royal Oak simple three hands watch!

The current market price is in excess of RM300,000 new and the service cost seemed to deviate from the norm!

[D'Andy]

From experience, full servicing of the following watches would attract the following cost :

1) Rolex Datejust caliber 3135 : RM1,950 @ 2016
2) Omega Planet Ocean caliber 2500 : RM2,300 @ 2014
3) Omega Speedmaster Panda caliber 3304 : RM2,400 @ 2016
4) Tag Heuer Kirium caliber Ronda : RM800 @ 2016

The good thing about servicing vide the SCs were the additional 2-year warranty thereafter, plus the free gifts (watch pouch, etc). Watches operated like new after the full servicing. Smooth as butter.

[Watched]

I bought a pre owned Rolex

Should service it?

[D'Andy]

I bought a pre owned Rolex

Should service it?

How old is it? How is it running? If all is fine, then you probably could hold on for a while. But if you intend to keep it for a longer term, I see no harm in sending it for the full servicing for peace of mind, unless it's a vintage piece, in which then I would not go back to Rolex SC (they tend to replace parts with current stocks, so goodbye Patina lume) but source for professional restorers.

[Watched]

I bought a pre owned Rolex

Should service it?

How old is it? How is it running? If all is fine, then you probably could hold on for a while. But if you intend to keep it for a longer term, I see no harm in sending it for the full servicing for peace of mind, unless it's a vintage piece, in which then I would not go back to Rolex SC (they tend to replace parts with current stocks, so goodbye Patina lume) but source for professional restorers.

Just got few months

I think can on hold for years

[D'Andy]

I meant, how old was the watch (try checking the warranty card)?    If it was less than 5 years old, chances are that you needn't really send it in. In fact, for watches purchased after June 2015 that came with the 5-year warranty, they increased the servicing from every 5 years to every 10 years due to better quality of lubrication and all.

[Watched]

I meant, how old was the watch (try checking the warranty card)?    If it was less than 5 years old, chances are that you needn't really send it in. In fact, for watches purchased after June 2015 that came with the 5-year warranty, they increased the servicing from every 5 years to every 10 years due to better quality of lubrication and all.

It's 2005 but I think it's service by the pre owned shop before I bought it

U mean if I send in RSC they will replace the parts?