I love having my car’s engine rebuilt. I love repainting my house. I love visiting my doctor when I’m perfectly healthy.
What kind of idiotic masochist takes pleasure in such activities? They’re a lot of effort and are definitely not cheap, so why do people seemingly look forward to those tasks/events? Well, they don’t, at least in my experience. Have you ever seen someone smile whilst painting their house? No, because it’s a lot of damn work, but a necessary evil.
So why, why on this beautiful Earth do people love servicing watches? I’m not talking about watchmakers or repairers, because fixing a watch is oftentimes quite fun, but rather the owners. On that other platform it seems like someone asks if they should service their watch every day and the topic has been done to death. I will walk over to the dead horse and beat it some more. That other platform put the stick in my hand.
It annoys me, because I have the ability to repair watches. I know my work is not the best, but I believe I have made the most of the opportunities I have been given and done well for a guy who essentially taught himself. There are worse repairers for sure. I know the effort that goes into servicing a watch. The cleaning takes long; the troubleshooting takes aeons; oiling can make or break your work; imperfections aren’t always visible. The list goes on. If the stars align, I can service a movement in an afternoon, but, realistically, especially if parts need to be sourced, it takes longer. I can work at my own pace, because I don’t have a backlog of watches to fix. I have my Hermle mantel clock that needs a clean and re-oil (I was probably a bit too liberal when oiling it.) Other than that, I have nothing to fix that doesn’t require expensive or hard-to-find parts, which is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing now, because the holidays are over and I’m back at school with twenty-something days until preliminary examinations begin. I don’t have time to fix watches. During the holidays, it’s different. I need to work on a movement just to keep sane, even if the movement is junk. Professional watchmakers don’t have to worry about voltaic cells and Othello, so can work on watches 09:00 to 17:00. They advertise their services and so on, so I understand why many of these shops have backlogs at times.
What I do not understand is people wanting to service their watches prematurely. It will surely benefit the movement, but the benefit is tiny and downright microscopic when compared to the costs incurred and the wait time at many professional shops. A watch is not a car. It does not come with a booklet with little places for stamps and mileage or time intervals. A car needs a service as preventative maintenance; if an engine runs without oil, horrible damage is done. A watch is not the same. If a watch is without oil or its oil has coagulated or dripped away, it will simply not run. If it does run, there may be extra wear on the pivots due to increased friction, but it will run with such poor performance that you will notice. Besides, pivots can be polished, fixing any of that damage without causing tolerances to slip too much.
I understand people budgeting for servicing, because lubricants don’t last forever. The truth is, dust is the biggest enemy of a watch, as it will form a grinding paste when it meets the oil, causing wear. Modern cases are worlds more dustproof than old ones. My Hermle mantel clock is not dustproof at all, which means that it does need something of a service as preventative maintenance. Some shops recommend cleaning and oiling the pivot holes annualy. I have no experience yet, but I’m willing to bet one could stretch that to three or five year intervals without much detriment.
A Seiko 5 with 30m of water resistance is great. Sure, people who pretend to be active will cry and urinate themselves in protest of not being able to swim with it, but that 30m is excellent insurance against dust. That movement may last decades, because synthetic oils last very long and do their job well so long as they are kept free of dust. Modern watches, even those with press-backs are usually incredibly well-sealed compared to vintage watches, so there really is nothing for these people to worry about.
My recommendations on servicing are as follows:
- Don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.
- Don’t practice on your own watch; leave it to the professionals.
- Leave the caseback alone and in place. If removed for something like a battery change, ensure it is well-fitted once closed.
- If your watch sees the elements, check the gaskets regularly. An annual check and gentle lube with Vaseline works wonders.
I know why certain enthusiasts want to service their watches prematurely: to feel special. Servicing a watch is a unique “struggle,” so I wouldn’t be surprised if it contributes to a feeling of superiority in some people, making them feel richer or more successful or something. Otherwise, they could either be paranoid or mis/disinformed. Luxury brands love the idea of servicing every three years, because it’s as close as anything mechanical can get to planned obsolescence. If a watch brand can’t engineer a movement to last for more than three years without maintenance, they are debasing you as a customer and every engineer who developed modern synthetic oils. Most movements will last more than three years, but they won’t tell you that, because they want to make a profit even after you’ve bought the watch.
I possess some degree of self-hate and masochism, but I am not stupid. I would never make my life worse by just voluntarily spending money on nothing. If you want to throw your money away, go to the casino, brothel or bottle store.
The Escapement Room 