The Serious Risk Of Wearing Fake Rolex Etc Watches

Garmin Fenix 5x

Currently telling me that:

- my average resting heart rate is 48bpm over the last week:cool:
- I've done so little since catching the lurgy at the start of December, that I'm "de-training" :(
Feeling the pulse in my wrist over a set period of time would give me my average reading of the set time and keep my brain active working it out.
 
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Feeling the pulse in my wrist over a set period of time would give me my average reading of the set time and keep my brain active working it out.

Only when you do it though; watch does it all the time.

Also, it's the difference between knowing the lake is 7 degrees C, rather than knowing "it's f#####g cold!"
 
Only when you do it though; watch does it all the time.

Also, it's the difference between knowing the lake is 7 degrees C, rather than knowing "it's f#####g cold!"
Got a big toe for that. ;)

Seriously though, we managed all these things before the advent of electronics, and were no worse off for doing things manually.
In fact I had my first manual job when I was about 4 I was the remote control for turning the TV from BBC1 to ITV. :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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I have a Omega SMP.
Stunning watch but went in the drawer a good few years ago because it needed servicing.

Fast forward to last year and i had it serviced by a local chap and it looks super.

However, the watch game has gone mad. It's worth more than i paid for it and i no longer feel comfortable wearing it out or around the house.
In the few years it was off my wrist, i got used to the phone for time.

Watches are big business now.
Which really isn't the point of them.
 
I have a Omega SMP.
Stunning watch but went in the drawer a good few years ago because it needed servicing.

Fast forward to last year and i had it serviced by a local chap and it looks super.
How much did you pay for your service? I have a SMPC. It started running slow about a week or two before the guarantee ran out. This was at the beginning of the pandemic and they were closed but they sent me a case to put it in and send off to them when things opened up. They fixed it, fully serviced it and gave me another two years guarantee. Omega charge £590 for that now.

I‘ve also had a Speedmaster ‘57 for 6 years now and it’s probably due a service. Omega want £825 for that one. I might start looking round for a good independant watchmaker to service them. You can normally find some recommendations on the watch forums. Usually works out around half the price Omega charge.
 
How much did you pay for your service? I have a SMPC. It started running slow about a week or two before the guarantee ran out. This was at the beginning of the pandemic and they were closed but they sent me a case to put it in and send off to them when things opened up. They fixed it, fully serviced it and gave me another two years guarantee. Omega charge £590 for that now.

I‘ve also had a Speedmaster ‘57 for 6 years now and it’s probably due a service. Omega want £825 for that one. I might start looking round for a good independant watchmaker to service them. You can normally find some recommendations on the watch forums. Usually works out around half the price Omega charge.

I paid €580 which was a full 10 year service, new crystal. New bracelet links, repolishing of the existing bracelet (no idea how he did this tbh. Looked like new).
Also some major internal work as the watch was always a bit slow to start and eventually stalled permanently.
This was after warranty work by Omega who's local rep probably did more harm to it than good.

Omega wanted €1500.

I got the watchmakers name by local recommendation. He was great as much as i can tell.
 
I paid €580 which was a full 10 year service, new crystal. New bracelet links, repolishing of the existing bracelet (no idea how he did this tbh. Looked like new).
Also some major internal work as the watch was always a bit slow to start and eventually stalled permanently.
This was after warranty work by Omega who's local rep probably did more harm to it than good.

Omega wanted €1500.

I got the watchmakers name by local recommendation. He was great as much as i can tell.
I’m assuming that when you have a service, on top of the service price, any parts replaced are chargeable too?
 
I’m assuming that when you have a service, on top of the service price, any parts replaced are chargeable too?
Correct, which is why i was impressed with the price.
(€580 lol, who am i kidding ffs)

The service costs kinda kill the buzz a bit for me as well.

What's the point of coughing up ~50% of the watches value to service it?

Bonkers.
 
I have a particular liking for the watch movements developed by Eterna, and sold, in various and modified versions, under the ETA brand to most manufacturers including IWC, Hublot, Omega, Tag Heuer, Raymond Weil, Breitling, Cartier, Longines, Bremont and Christopher Ward. Some of the watches are quite gaudy, or festooned with dials, bezels and buttons, but my own preference is for a simple gold or stainless case.

The ETA brand is now owned by Swatch, and no longer connected to Eterna. The factory that used to make the movements for ETA now makes them under a different name, as the patents have run out, and continues to sell them in vast numbers to smaller Swiss and international watch companies, including Eterna itself, so the wheel has turned full circle.

Part of the mystique of the watch trade lies in convincing customers that the name printed on the dial increases the "worth" of the watch tenfold and more.
 
My SMPC has the 2500D movement that was based on the ETA 2892. It was the last of the ETA based movements used in the SMP's before they went to their own 8800 movement. Swatch own both Omega and ETA. I bought mine in the changeover period and chose that movement as the 8800 with its crystal caseback felt too thick to me.

My '57 has Omega's own true in-house 9300 movement and something I’ve just learned from this video is that the servicing length is doubled. As I rotate between my 2 main watches, that should mean I don't need to worry about servicing for at least another 6 years. :giggle:

BTW, if you’re interested in what is done in a watch service, look at this video. It’s a bit more than a blow out and a squirt of oil!
 
Part of the mystique of the watch trade lies in convincing customers that the name printed on the dial increases the "worth" of the watch tenfold and more.
Rolex are particularly good at that. Like DeBeers do with diamonds, they deliberately restrict the supply of their Subs and Daytona models to increase their 'worth'. Plenty of mugs out there prepared to pay above retail to own one so the price of secondhand is driven up too.
 
My dad's Omega has never been serviced.
My brother uses it daily and as far as I know it's never lost any time.
Why would you pay thousands for something that needs expensive maintenance to do the one thing it's designed for???
I have a cheap citizen, a timex, a bulova and a seiko.
None of them ever been serviced and they still give accurate time.
I would feel cheated if I paid £10k for a watch that can't give the correct time.
 
I would feel cheated if I paid £10k for a watch that can't give the correct time.

If you want a watch that will tell the time accurately, a quartz watch from a reputable maker will do that better than a £20k mechanical.

The cheapest quartz watches from a market stall may not keep such good time, apparently the crystals are sorted and the less accurate ones rejected or sold more cheaply.

If you buy an expensive quartz watch and send it to the makers for repair, they will almost certainly throw away the movement and fit a new one. Fresh from the factory, they cost less than an hours wages.

If you buy an expensive mechanical watch, they may do the same. It costs less than a day's wages, and far less than they charge you. Or they might fit a recon movement and send the old one back to be reconned at the factory. Some collectors of vintage watches have been upset to find they get filled with new parts.
 
My dad's Omega has never been serviced.
My brother uses it daily and as far as I know it's never lost any time.
Why would you pay thousands for something that needs expensive maintenance to do the one thing it's designed for???
I have a cheap citizen, a timex, a bulova and a seiko.
None of them ever been serviced and they still give accurate time.
I would feel cheated if I paid £10k for a watch that can't give the correct time.
It’s just male jewellery and/or an appreciation of precision mechanical movements.
 
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