What european brands are nice to work with and we can still access parts from the factory?

[gkmaia]

I really like fixing and restoring the TAGs from the 80s and 90s but my parts dealer just told me TAG will stop providing parts to independent watchmakers in the end of 2022.

What I like about TAGs from that era is that parts and models are ver well catalogued and you can still get parts from the factory at a very reasonable price. Often much cheaper than eBay. So I focused on THs for a while, but guess will have to look for another brand moving forward.

What european brands are nice to work with and we can still access parts from the factory? Are there any left?

[Paul80]

What parts supplier do you use.

Thanks.

Paul

 

 

[utzelu]

As a beginner hobbyist watch tinkerer, the unavailability of parts is the most annoying. I simply do not understand what are the brands thinking when they decide to restrict access to parts. Do they really think they would benefit from it and that customers will send their watches to them for repair? I'd suspect it's more likely that customers will become frustrated, stop buying mechanical watches and switch to smart watches. At least with smartwatches you know what are you getting into.

[nickelsilver]

I don't know the answer to the original question, but I do know that Tag Heuer for example are in a similar situation as the average Joe trying to buy parts- they are having a hard time themselves. Many original vintage parts are simply non-existant now, and the explosion of watch repair as a hobby probably hasn't helped, as the demand from outside for parts has certainly gone up. Yes, a company like TH can have parts re-made as needed. For that matter, I make a lot of parts for vintage chronos that probably are available if I spent the time to search them down but I spend the same making them, so. Not defending TH or especially many other makers who restrict parts that they certainly have plenty of, even to professionals with proper papers and all. But for older stuff there's the simple fact that parts are quickly drying up.

 

A company I do work for (as an outsider), has me reuse mainsprings if at all possible; many are not available from GR anymore, and they have no stock. I needed a balance complete for a watch, they sent me a balance with broken staff and a hairspring from another balance. A staff made and about 16 tiny holes drilled in the balance rim later and I had a working balance complete for this watch from the 70s. No. Parts. If they don't have them to supply to themselves, they aren't going to supply whatever little else they have to Joe Blow who, if they read some of the forums, gets irritated because their parts aren't coming out clean in a 15 dollar jewelery ultrasonic and some Ronsonol.

 

I'm not harping on hobby watchmakers, just to be clear. I know many hobbiests strive toward and attain a level that many pros would be happy to have. The writing started getting written on the wall in the 70s with the quartz crisis and, I think especially in the massive U.S. market, with watchmakers going from doing the best work possible, as they were taught in school, to finding any and every shortcut to get watches in and out, while cutting prices, dropping quality, and besmerching watch repair from any source that wasn't "factory".

 

So no help on your question, but if it's any consolation Tag has a hard time too with their vintage stuff.

[utzelu]

If they have no parts available for themselves, what stops the brands from publishing the blueprints to the public, in the hope that someone can manufacture them? There's a lot of harping about how mechanical watches are forever and they last generations, yet it seems it's all marketing BS with no real substance.

Some say that the secondary watch market is going to grow bigger than the primary one. How are the brands planning to support that market, if they have no parts available?

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, utzelu said:

As a beginner hobbyist watch tinkerer, the unavailability of parts is the most annoying. I simply do not understand what are the brands thinking when they decide to restrict access to parts. Do they really think they would benefit from it and that customers will send their watches to them for repair? I'd suspect it's more likely that customers will become frustrated, stop buying mechanical watches and switch to smart watches. At least with smartwatches you know what are you getting into.

The problem is the average Joe nice watch buyer probably has no idea what is coming. 

Just now, Neverenoughwatches said:

The problem is the average Joe nice watch buyer probably has no idea what is coming. 

 

2 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

I don't know the answer to the original question, but I do know that Tag Heuer for example are in a similar situation as the average Joe trying to buy parts- they are having a hard time themselves. Many original vintage parts are simply non-existant now, and the explosion of watch repair as a hobby probably hasn't helped, as the demand from outside for parts has certainly gone up. Yes, a company like TH can have parts re-made as needed. For that matter, I make a lot of parts for vintage chronos that probably are available if I spent the time to search them down but I spend the same making them, so. Not defending TH or especially many other makers who restrict parts that they certainly have plenty of, even to professionals with proper papers and all. But for older stuff there's the simple fact that parts are quickly drying up.

 

A company I do work for (as an outsider), has me reuse mainsprings if at all possible; many are not available from GR anymore, and they have no stock. I needed a balance complete for a watch, they sent me a balance with broken staff and a hairspring from another balance. A staff made and about 16 tiny holes drilled in the balance rim later and I had a working balance complete for this watch from the 70s. No. Parts. If they don't have them to supply to themselves, they aren't going to supply whatever little else they have to Joe Blow who, if they read some of the forums, gets irritated because their parts aren't coming out clean in a 15 dollar jewelery ultrasonic and some Ronsonol.

 

I'm not harping on hobby watchmakers, just to be clear. I know many hobbiests strive toward and attain a level that many pros would be happy to have. The writing started getting written on the wall in the 70s with the quartz crisis and, I think especially in the massive U.S. market, with watchmakers going from doing the best work possible, as they were taught in school, to finding any and every shortcut to get watches in and out, while cutting prices, dropping quality, and besmerching watch repair from any source that wasn't "factory".

 

So no help on your question, but if it's any consolation Tag has a hard time too with their vintage stuff.

Good information thank you nickelsilver. I can see why you might have a need to be worried. Striving towards being able to make any watchpart must be on the minds of many pros to be able to survive. There must be others just waiting to step into the big boys shoes and I'm not saying its that simple, very far from it. But some hope maybe ?

[gkmaia]

With Tag I can still get any of the parts for any watch from 80s forward. This means I can restore the watches to a much higher standard when compared to scavenging what ever is available on eBay. And I think if I can restored the watches to a higher standard then more valuable the collection will become. The other thing... is on eBay people are asking $250 for a strap that from factory costs only $80. Or asking $400 for a 20 year old second hand dial, with oxidised markers... you could get new from the factory for $225. Crowns, bezels... 

So I guess what to me is a perfect win situation, for them it is not a viable business model. 

I do love restoring the old lemanias, landerons, venus chronographs. 

So both experiences are valid. They both show appreciation for watches. 

But I guess my question is more about recommendations from you guys regarding other watch brands (at similar price range) I could restore the watches and still have access their factory parts as in independent restorer. 

[grsnovi]

SWATCH Group is no longer making their parts available outside of their group:  including ETA, Blancpain, Breguet, Glashütte Original, Harry Winston, Omega, Longines, Tissot, Mido, Hamilton, Certina, and Rado.

What has a lot of folks worried is that ETA is/was used as a base movement is the watches made by other brands.

There are now so-called clone movements for many made by ETA. These clones often aren't exactly the same but they will typically fit, have sub-dials in the same places and holes for main dials placed correctly. These may be made in China or Switzerland.