Cost to service a Tag Heuer watch?

[strawrose]

Hi,

My husband’s Tag Heuer watch’s automatic movement is loose. I was quoted $275 to tighten everything, in SF Bay Area. Is that normal? Thanks in advance.

 

[Bron357]

Actually that’s a good price. It’s a time and skill equation. They have to disassemble the watch, clean and re oil and reassemble. It’s not like a quartz watch which is a 5 second job to swap a battery,
Hubby pays $500 for a Baume and Mercier service, I’ve paid over $500 for a Rolex.

 

[OoohShiny]

But if the movement is just 'loose', it will only be a few tiny screws to tighten up on the movement holder tabs and then a re-greasing of the seals on the caseback, surely??!

 

[strawrose]

@Bron357 thank you for giving me a range. The components are delicate, so I’m sure it takes lots of skill. That’s why I didn’t go to my regular jeweler, who mostly changes batteries.

 

[Bron357]

But if the movement is just 'loose', it will only be a few tiny screws to tighten up on the movement holder tabs and then a re-greasing of the seals on the caseback, surely??!

Not so simple. With an automatic movement (like my Rolex and Hubbys B &M) the winding occurs by an oscillating weight, if this part is out of balance, the watch won’t wind correctly. The watchmaker has to establish why this fault has occurred and fix it. Generally they will clean and grease the whole movement in any regard. Experience and labour costs. And if you have a watch with many complications ie a Hublot, a service starts in the thousands of $$$$. Just like servicing a Bugatti vs a Toyota.

 

[OoohShiny]

Not so simple. With an automatic movement (like my Rolex and Hubbys B &M) the winding occurs by an oscillating weight, if this part is out of balance, the watch won’t wind correctly. The watchmaker has to establish why this fault has occurred and fix it. Generally they will clean and grease the whole movement in any regard. Experience and labour costs. And if you have a watch with many complications ie a Hublot, a service starts in the thousands of $$$$. Just like servicing a Bugatti vs a Toyota.

Of course

I think a lot will depend on what exactly is wrong - I was going with the whole movement being loose, but if the rotor is loose, that is perhaps a few more screws (although maybe just one!)

$275 is a bargain if they are doing a full strip down, clean and rebuild of the movement, but very expensive if they are just taking the back off, doing the movement tabs up and/or the rotor screw, and then putting the back on again... lol