Investing in a luxury watch – new or secondhand – can be one of the most rewarding, but also challenging, purchases you can make. Amid any pressing watch repair qualms, waiting lists, discussion forums and countless hours of research all come into play. It can be a signifier of a big promotion, a life milestone, or the ultimate break up ‘new me’ purchase. A grail watch… nice! But what if something goes wrong?
Oliver Pollock started Luxury Watch Repairs in 2015 after realising he could fix a gap in the market. At the time he was running a fashion brand and was dabbling in trading watches to pay the bills. “Naturally, I needed to service and repair some of the watches and it soon became clear that there were two obvious ends to the watch repair market,” he says from his 3,000 sq ft service centre in Hatton Garden.
The first tier were the independents who, “will get the watch ’ticking’ again for a cheap price,” says Pollock. “Without a warranty and using generic parts.”
“The other end is the manufacturers, brands and large authorised retailers. Traditionally the timescales can be long, the price can be very expensive, but at least you know the job will get done properly.”
Pollock’s business sits somewhere in between. “It’s cost effective, efficient and clear in communication,” he says, and is officially backed by 11 of the big Swiss labels, including Cartier, TAG Heuer and Omega. They opened a space on Madison Avenue in New York last year, alongside pre-existing locations in Canary Wharf and Harvey Nicholls in Manchester.
“Our brand accreditations set us far apart from 99 percent of the watch repair companies in the UK,” says Pollock. “In order to gain access to the brand parts and materials, you must be authorised by the brand. This is a very expensive and complex process. Your service centre must have the right ventilation, the correct tooling, the correct lighting, equipment, the flooring must be the right material and the watchmakers must have received the brand specific training and become certified by the brands. Everything you would expect at the brand's HQ is expected of our service centre.”
Benedict Sheppard, a London-based partner at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, told The New York Times that only about five percent of all luxury watchmakers are exploring how to use technology to build stronger relationships, build revenue and delight their customers. Sheppard co-authored an article where he describes the often-frustrating experience customers go through when having their grail watch officially serviced. After dropping four-figures (at least) on a dream piece inside a polished marble boutique, the after-care experience can result in vague waiting times, unclear prices for repair and spotty communication. Your watch goes off… somewhere, and might be returned… eventually. Sheppard’s article imagines a future customer journey where live tracking, video calls with technicians and dedicated updates help to put a client’s mind at ease.
In recent times brands like Hublot, Panerai and IWC have explored online portals and modernised tracking that aim to keep their customers up-to-date on their watch’s warranty and status. Christoph Grainger-Herr, IWC's CEO, has even made his personal contact information publicly available as a signal of the brand’s approach to transparency.
“If we have to manufacture new parts – which we do on a daily basis – this can take time and lots of patience, often with lots of ’trial and error’ with extensive testing periods,” says Pollock after asking around his team about the biggest challenges they face during a repair. “The other watchmakers say the more complications the watches have can pose more challenges: a moonphase or power reserve etc.”
Gold watches often result in a more expensive repair, as the brands typically insist on replacing the crown and pushers. Unsurprisingly, that 18k gold doesn’t come cheap!
Elsewhere, know that seals and gaskets should be replaced every two years and, finally, don’t push down the chrono pushers on your Rollie Cosmograph Daytona while swimming… and make sure the crown is locked in place. “We receive huge volumes of water damaged watches, due to the water entering through the pushers,” says Pollock.
Unsure? Maybe leave that one in the safe while you take a dip this summer.
