To service or not to service.

[RichardHarris123]

Another post on here lead me to this question.  If a used watch runs and runs well straight out of the package, do you service it anyway?  I can see the reason for doing so, preventative maintenance etc but is it always necessary?  

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Another post on here lead me to this question.  If a used watch runs and runs well straight out of the package, do you service it anyway?  I can see the reason for doing so, preventative maintenance etc but is it always necessary?  

Unless you were sure it had been professionally serviced fairly recently i would say yes. And to know that for sure you would want to disassemble it and check for yourself. So you may as well service it considering you were already halfway there .  I've been lucky and bought quite a few that work ok, i wear them for a few days to get a feel for if i like it then put it away to service it another time. 

[eccentric59]

If the watch is 10+ years old and valued at more that $20, then probably. Even NOS watches' oil will dry out.

[Waggy]

This is a great question and one that I often struggle with, the engineer in me wants to fall back to the engrained "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality, but then how many watches have I opened that looked in great condition, only to discover a 'can of worms' once I started taking them apart.

So now my default thinking is that there is no down side in servicing a watch (unless it is beyond your skill set or you accidentally break something) but there could be a downside in letting a watch go un-serviced which has an undiscovered issue. In addition to this, this whole hobby (for me at least) is about taking watches apart and putting them back together and learning from the experience, so now my default position is to always service.

[JohnR725]

Another thing would be how often do you use the watch. For instance from one of my uncles he was unhappy with his Rolex it wasn't working so I traded something and acquired a Rolex. Fixed all the problems restored it back to new condition. Only ward occasionally and I believe 25 years later I serviced it again. Didn't see any issues at all. But it only came out of hiding occasionally usually on holidays when I wanted to impress people with luck I have a Rolex watch.

Then I purchased a really nice Hamilton 992B pocket watch that looked nice on the timing machine looked nice inside and zero idea When it was last serviced so I just ran it until It had an issue. I suspect the Canon pinion is loose as to why the hands are not tracking but I just haven't got around to servicing its. We'll find out if running a watch without servicing was an issue of eventually if I have time.

It also depends upon type of watch like of the automatic watch with a lot of metal on metal parts that I would get serviced more often. If it's something that's supposed to be at water resistance like the automatic watch I would be concerned about the gaskets after several years because moisture getting into wristwatch would be extremely bad. With that kind of damage not necessarily showing up on a timing machine until the watch is disintegrated.

So basically there's a lot of variables here plus if you have a lot of watches then you basically run out of time for servicing all of them especially if you do not run them on a regular basis.

 

[Waggy]

One thing I forgot to mention was the amount of DNA that came free with the watch - if it turns up with a lot of arm cheese then a good clean of the case and bracelet is a must before I could touch it without a hazmat suit, and if you need to take it apart to do that (ie you don't trust the seals) then you are most of the way to a service anyway. Actually, after seeing the condition of the cleaning solution after an apparently clean bracelet and case is cleaned I cannot now bring myself to wear any watch that hasn't been sanitized  and like I said if you have invested that much time and effort you may as well go the whole hog and service.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Waggy

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, Waggy said:

Actually, after seeing the condition of the cleaning solution after an apparently clean bracelet and case is cleaned I cannot now bring myself to wear any watch that hasn't been sanitized  

I totally agree. Deep cleaning the case and replacing or deep cleaning the strap is a must.


Some of the alien life forms that come out in the cleaning process, would make Berk shudder.

Edited October 11, 2023 by AndyHull

[RichardHarris123]

Interesting replies.  I  tend to take into account how often I will wear the watch and the time available.  I don't have much free time at the moment, so servicing a running watch can wait. 

As a couple of you have mentioned though, one thing I won't do is wear a watch without a deap clean of the case and bracelet. 

[Waggy]

I literally have this at hand when doing my watches.

[JohnR725]

45 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Interesting replies.  I  tend to take into account how often I will wear the watch and the time available.  I don't have much free time at the moment, so servicing a running watch can wait.

One of the minor problems of lack of availability at time would be conceivably might end up with not finishing the job and not having your watch for a while. So easy to get started on something other than a distraction comes along and it's really best if you can wait until you have time to do a proper servicing

46 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

s a couple of you have mentioned though, one thing I won't do is wear a watch without a deap clean of the case and bracelet. 

This an amusing concept where I work. When they change a battery of quartz watch if it has a metal band they offer to clean it had a fee of course. The basically say the normal fee is this but because you're getting a battery will discount it to this. We make more money this way. On the other hand it appears to be that some metal bands have wormholes to another universe filled with a lot of dirt and those metal bands can hold a heck of a lot of not very nice stuff. Then the other thing that happens they often will point this out to the customer the bands are on the verge of disintegrating because of all this Grimes it's in there does speed up the wear of a metal band. Then typically we do clean it it makes the watch look like new. Typically what they do is they do remove the bands and it goes into an ultrasonic machine.

[VWatchie]

Here's a post by @nickelsilver that I think will add to the discussion:

 

[rehajm]

Great answers and I agree, service unless it is something you're not winding and wearing all the time. There's grit and dried oil in there and you could be doing damage...but I have struggled in a few cases...

- Grandpa's Hamilton pocket watch still runs flat and strong on tg after at least 33 years without a service but I just received the pack of bushing screws to replace the one missing in the balance cock. What to do? I expect grandpa would have maintained discipline and dropped it off at the local jeweler if has and they were still here, so...

-I had a dog's breakfast of a Waltham military what needed several new parts so I acquired a cheap and ugly EBay donor which upon winding ran flat and in beat in EVERY position. Clearly it had received careful attention from a considerate bench. I considered leaving it alone...then stripped it like it was a heap...

19 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Here's a post by @nickelsilver that I think will add to the discussion:

 

...and that's the best scenario to leave one alone- when the service history suggests it isn't time...

...and OT but related I suspect we've all had to make adjustments to an assembled watch what require partial dismantling. I struggle with what is acceptable to avoid cleaning it all up and stating over. I've seen Kalle and other quality makers backtrack significantly without beginning again...

Edited October 11, 2023 by rehajm