Beware Of Catrier Watches!!

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#32
babyclouds said:
When you bring your watch in for a tune-up/overhaul they take apart the whole watch, replace any gears/parts that need to be serviced, lube it so everything runs smoothly inside, reseal it so it is watertight again and then clean it up hence the huge $$ involved. It is a time consuming process and is very labor intensive. The place I work at guarantees their work for a whole year.

When you take it to just any old repair place to put in a new battery your watch is no longer water-resistant (because they opened it up and never sealed it correctly or at all) and is more susceptible to water/moisture damage and THAT is a very costly repair. You could save money this way but I have seen OLD watches (owned by customer's grandparents, etc) that still look fabulous TODAY because it has been well cared for. Another plus for taking proper care of the watch, the value increases unlike cheaper watches on the market. Just a FYI :flowers:
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This is absolutely correct in the UK too,the watch gets a maintenance tune up,any moving parts etc changed so they don't become stretched and worn.Its a complete misconception that quartz watches have no moving parts,and if its explained to you by a trained SA it can save all the upset and heartbreak I'm reading on here.

Ok,I'll try and put it as easily and un-patronisingly as I can,if I fail feel please feel free to pull me up and I'll remember next time I'm relating info.x

Quartz and automatic watches both tell the time by moving hands around the dial, sometimes a date display( that is actually a disc with all the dates on round the edge that is joined to a gear that goes round 1 date place in every 24 hours) and very often a second hand too.
All the hands and forms of date display are governed by a set of cogs up or down geared depending how quickly or slowly they need to go for the job they have to do,seconds=very quickly,date=much more slowly.This is exactly the same for auto or quartz watches.So they both have a certain amount of moving parts to drive the hands.

The biggest difference between the two movements is the actual power source that moves the hands and other related parts. In an automatic,its power source is a mainspring,a very fine strip of temepered springy steel,if you see one in the flesh,it actually looks not much bigger than a wound up cat whisker! Its this spring unwinding and delivering power to the cogs who then adjust the speed and amount of power they need by up or down gearing to suit! The automatic part means it has a free spinning rotor weight inside it keeping it (the mainspring)wound so you don't have to do it every day if you wear it all the time.

In a quartz, the principles are almost the same as far as hands etc go,its just that the power source is a cell,or battery,but its not just this that makes it go there is a little peice of kit in there thats a bit like a transformer etc, not forgetting a quartz can have well over two hundred internal parts,some move,and some anchor the moving parts in place.
I hope this alleviates a bit of worry that some of you seem to be experiencing,as a general rule of thumb manufactures recommend that watches should be serviced every three to five years to maintain optimum running,rather like a car.If this was covered and servicing costs etc were related at point of sale it would be less of a nasty shock,and spoil the experience for you. The thing I mind most when my Rolex goes for a service is the length of time,not really the cost,but I know its been taken care of by the right technicians(who take three or more years to qualify) and I won't have to worry about my lovely timepeice again for 4 and a half to five years,not really that bad for a couple of hundred quid,or dollars to you ladies on the other side of the pond? I really hope this helps you.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
:love::love: PS I know this is long winded,and I hope you have managed to get this far,sorry!
 
#34
Re the long post about watch repair above, I knew there was some good reason I was paying Cartier $400+ every couple of years. But... my SS/18K Santos has lasted around 15+ years and all it's had to have replaced is the bracelet (clasp broke after 15 years.) Hey that was only $1000(wow what a negative hit that was.) But these watches, like Leica camera and certain cars, are meant to last a lifetime IF they are well-maintained. Definitely not the modern day philosophy of "disposable society:" Buy cheap, then throw out and get a new (cheap) one which you will then have to throw out again soon. This is why my shoe repair guy in Memphis went out of business!! People just were not buying and maintaining their shoes, instead buying and throwing away. So now I have to trundle the Jimmy Choo, Manolos etc to NYC via mail. It hurts to think this is the kind of society we have become.:nuts: Sorry about the soapbox factor.
 
#35
Wow...I did not know this.....

Of course I wouldnt mind the maintenence every 5 years or so...but that is a steep price to pay for such a thing....ughhh....Im having second thoughts about the whole lux watch thing...

I have a concord that is about 13 years old, never did anything but change the batteries and its great....although going to a dealer is better because like someone said, when they sealed it, they didnt do it right and now water does tend to get in the watch once in a while...still...it runs great...

Now Im really worried about my GP watch, although its automatic....
 
#36
Another negative for battery watches (and this is true for all watch brands) is that if the battery goes dead and you don't take the battery out, after a few years of negligence, it may leak and destroy the watch.

This is true if you have many watches and don't really pay attention to the older ones. Battery destroys it. That's why Automatic is so great. It can be ignored for decades and the only thing to worry about is winding it up again.
 
#37
i am totally aware of that about Cartier. My tank was in the shop routinely every 3-4 years. Although it is water resistant, moisture can harm parts of the watch and it's advised not to wear it to shower/swimming which I wasn't aware of.
 
#38
catabie said:
i am totally aware of that about Cartier. My tank was in the shop routinely every 3-4 years. Although it is water resistant, moisture can harm parts of the watch and it's advised not to wear it to shower/swimming which I wasn't aware of.
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Mmmmmmmmmmm,its an annoying thing called thermal shock,you can get it on holiday from sunbathing and your watch getting very hot and then jumping in a cold pool.......... a real pain in the bum, you can sort it out by leaving the crown(winder) of the watch out for a couple of hours till it dissipates,this should stop any rust forming on the movement. Just don't forget to put your winder back in before you start to wear it again!!
 
#40
I have an 8 y/o Santos and it's my everyday watch. Except for the battery changes, the only major expense I've had is when I brought it in for buffing/cleaning 4 months ago, and it was less than $100. But the technician advised me that it's up for resealing (?) and that would cost around $200. I'm postponing that, anyway I take care of my watches and make sure they don't get wet...like taking it off and putting it in my purse when it rains hard, haha!
 
#43
Shari said:
That's why bags are perfect - no ongoing costs! :p
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Hahahaha!! I love that sentiment because its so true!!! Unfortunately expensive things such as cars and watches need maintenance(and I hate walking) I accept these costs as part of forstalling even bigger costs caused by neglect!! Still hurts though! And now I can buy even more bags guilt free!!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
#44
That sucks Jill.. but that seems to be the nature with the higher end watches that need regular tuneups. I used to work in a jewellery store and there were always watches that were being sent out to have their movements "greased up"
 
#45
hulksmash99 said:
My gosh, Cartier and Quartz??


Automatic all the way. Seriously, never buy a lux watch that uses , gasp, batteries.
shudder.
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What wrong with battery Cartier's?

Not all Cartier's are auto. Usually only the larger faced watches are auto and I prefer the smaller Cartier's which happen to only come in battery.

As far as maintance for any lux watch its going to cost a lot of $$$. Its not just Cartier.
 
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