HOW TO UNDERSTAND A WATCH ESTIMATE
We’re getting real customer focused today. One of the common questions I get from watch guys/gals is about estimates. Watch estimates are confusing for your average customer. You might not know what to look for. Hell, you might not even know what any of that sh*t means. I'll go over some of the nomenclatures we use such as dial, hands, bezel, middle case, bezel, etc. I’m here to decipher and explain exactly what it means.
HERE'S WHAT A COMMON ESTIMATE LOOKS LIKE:
Estimates will usually detail a couple things that I’ll go over.
JOB NUMBER:It’ll always have a job number that you can reference in case you need to call them. This is so that you can call in, inquire, and give them the specific job number to help you.
REFERENCE NUMBER:A reference number is the same as a model number. Some companies will use the reference number in the same sense as a serial number. Be very careful how you differentiate the two.
MOVEMENT NUMBER: Some movements are serialized! Brands will input any notes that they have on the watch during take in and the movement is no exception. This helps them document what specific movement and movement serial number was inside your watch. Movement numbers can sometimes tell us the batch in which the caliber was made.
CASE/SERIAL NUMBER: Case numbers here are used as serial numbers. Each case will be serailized to ensure a specific number of production and authenticity.A serial number is sometimes engraved onto the case to signify the batch and tracking of the watch. Think of it as a unique ID. Brands will often serialized the case so that they can track the owner, repair, and or timeline of the watch throughout it’s life. So say you bought a Rolex (or Patek Philippe, Omega, etc.) and the serial number is XYZ. The AD that sold you your watch will send the info to Rolex. Rolex now knows that XYZ belongs to you. If someone stole the watch from you or you lost it, you can call Rolex and report it lost or stolen. We know that a watch will eventually need service so if the watch ever gets brought into Rolex or any of it’s authorized jewelers, Rolex can flag it.
PO NUMBER: P.O. stands for purchase order. Most AD (authorized dealers) will create a purchase order for the watch before sending it out to the manufacturer. It just helps them organize what goes out of the company for repair and they’re using it as a transactional figure. Trust me, it sounds way more confusing than it really is.
MANDATORY SERVICE: Also known as necessary service. Mandatory services is exactly what the name implies. It’s the stuff that we need to make sure gets done. There’s no IFs or BUTs. Whatever is in the mandatory service need to be done. For example, if your watch has a cracked crystal and you send it to me for a service, I’ll make sure that a new crystal is under mandatory service.
The watchmaker doing the estimate will usually put what they feel is absolutely necessary in the mandatory service section. If anything compromises water resistance, functionality, and or time-keeping of the watch, you better believe i’ll be a mandatory selection to fix.
For your own good, try not to negotiate or complain about the necessary stuff. It’s akin to you going to the car mechanic for an oil change, only for them to realize that your brakes are completely gone. They make it mandatory to get it changed and you say no. Sure, you may have gotten your oil changed and declined changing the brakes but are you any smarter and safer for doing so? We’re the professionals. If you went to a qualified, competent, and trust-worthy watchmaker, then you should trust their professional opinion.
COMPLETE SERVICE: A complete service is where the watchmakers take apart your watch from A-Z. We disassemble all the wheels, gears, and jewels to ensure everything is inspected and cleaned. We adjust any issues or errors that we find to make sure it’s running to factory specifications. We clean the watch through several different types of solutions to ensure that all the dirt, grime, and debris are washed away. We then lubricate and reassemble it. By the time a complete service is done, the watch should be running back to normal.
BASIC/PARTIAL SERVICE:A basic or partial service is when we do only a minor intervention. This is more common in quartz watches than automatic watches.
For quartz watches, this would usually be changing the gaskets and battery. They would check the function of the circuit and the coil to ensure that it's running optimally. If it's not running optimally, they'll recommend a full service. But if the estimate says basic/partial service, they're not doing a complete service,they're simply doing a battery change and water resistance renewal.
For automatic watches, they may be a regulation. This is very seldom but it does happen. Say for example, a customer just bought a brand new watch. It's not keeping time. It's running slow and or fast. Customer sends it back to the manufacturer. Assuming everything is fine and they perform all their checks, they'll opt to simply regulate the balance rather than overhaul the entire thing. Now if the watch was old and hasn't been serviced for years, this would not be the case.
OPTIONAL SERVICES:Optional services are the stuff that we feel should get done but are not necessary. So say you have a chip on your crystal, it may not be deep or strong enough to impact water resistance but it’s still a chip on your crystal. It’s not good looking nor is it any cooler. Our job is to make your watch look as new as possible and that may include an optional crystal because of the chip. Most of the time you’ll see stuff like straps, bracelets, hands, bezel, bezel insert, and dials as optional.
CUSTOMER REQUESTS: Some companies will have customer request boxes where the customer can input what’s wrong or input a special request such as not polishing the watch, etc. It doesn’t mean that the company/brand will listen but they will definitely take it into consideration.
NOTES: This is the section where the estimator wll input their notes or findings about your watch. This may be a reminder or something as simple as letting you know that dents will be still be visible after a refinishing.
LINKS:Some companies will count the number of links on your watch. The industry uses this as an insurance. We've gotten plenty of customers who have complained that their watches feel tighter and have tried to point the finger at us.
HERE'S ANOTHER COMMON INDUSTRY FORMAT FOR AN ESTIMATE
HANDS
The hands are what tell the time and are the primary indicators of a watch. Hands get changed out for aesthetics. It’s almost always an optional because it’s commonly seen as an aesthetic component. The real issue is when the hands have luminous. Sometimes the luminous can crack, flake, and fall off from the hands and that will almost always make the hands a necessary selection to fix.
We have a hour, minute, and second hand. In chronographs, we have the split second chrono hand, minute chrono indicator, and the hour register indicator.Whenever the split chrono hand goes around 60 seconds, the minute indicator will move over 1. Whenever the minute indicator passes 60 total minutes, the hour indicator moves over 1.
PUSHERS
The pushers are traditionally at the 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock side. It’s the start and stop function of a chronograph. For quartz watches, there’re a bit more to it then just start, stop, and reset functions of it. We also use the pushers to align the hands after a battery change. When you change the hands on a chronograph quartz watch, sometimes the hands will reset. When the hands reset, you’ll need to realign them to 12 o’clock via the pushers.
Pushers commonly get changed out because of water resistance issues or because it's damaged and dented. It's not uncommon for customers to ding or snag their pushers at the right angle when they're wearing a watch. Pushers are also one of the big culprits of a chronograph failing a water resistance test.
CRYSTAL
I commonly hear this referred to as the “glass” of the watch. The crystal is the “glass” that covers the front of the watch. You’ll commonly see sapphire, acrylic, plexi, and mineral glasses on watches. Most modern watches today use sapphire for its toughness. Even though sapphire is strong, it can still crack and shatter.
Any issues with a crystal in regards to water resistance would mandate a new crystal. If a crystal is chipped, cracked, shattered, etc. it will mess with the water resistance of the watch. If a crystal is shattered or cracked, it will also mandate a complete service immediately. Small shards will always make their way into the movement and affect time-keeping.
MIDDLE CASE
The middle case is what many refer to as the “case” of the watch. It’s not often that we see a case exchange but it does happen. Most of the time I find that cases need to be changed because of unqualified, incompetent, and unauthorized work. I’ve seen case lugs destroyed, case threads completely grounded off, cases that were polished to the end of it’s life, incompetent lasering and jeweler work, and much more. If you don’t get your watch polished often and you bring your watch to a qualified, quality, and trust-worthy watchmaker, you should be fine.
Here is a great example of what a middle case looks like. This was a Rolex that was in for a service. Yes. The watch came in that dirty.
GASKETS
Gaskets are generally rubber sealants that makes a watch water resistant. This can include a crystal gasket, case back gasket, crown gasket, crown tube gasket, and pusher gaskets. They’re common shaped like an O-ring but there are other shapes as well (square, rectangle, octagon, etc.) Gaskets are almost always part of a complete service if you sent the watch to an authorized dealer or to the manufacturer. If you're having a watch serviced by an independent watchmaker, ask whether or not the gaskets are part of the complete service.
