I am rarely in this forum, but I thought I should pop over to ask a question about two watches I'm having serviced. I am just curious if anyone has had a watch repaired at their boutique, and, if so, how long did it take? I ask because I sent my watches to my local boutique to be repaired nearly two months ago, yet I was quoted two to three weeks as the time it would take to finish the repairs. I have already messaged my S.A. and repair specialist several times to enquire about the progress of the repairs to little avail, so I would just like to hear about other people's watch repair experiences. Is this normal?
Cartier Watch Repair Dilemma
- Thread starter r luvs h
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My recent experience with Cartier for watch servicing and rhodium plating over my 18K WG Tortue was about 2-1/2 months. It came back looking brand new and well worth the wait.
I also want to share a funny experience with Cartier that happened at least twenty-five years ago with my Tank watch, which had the original style deployment buckle. This required custom watch bands to be made. I waited, and waited and waited for the call to let me know my new watch band was ready for pickup. After at least five months, I called Cartier in Manhattan for an ETA. I was told that I should be patient because it was being imported. I asked where it was coming from. The answer . . . Florida!
I also want to share a funny experience with Cartier that happened at least twenty-five years ago with my Tank watch, which had the original style deployment buckle. This required custom watch bands to be made. I waited, and waited and waited for the call to let me know my new watch band was ready for pickup. After at least five months, I called Cartier in Manhattan for an ETA. I was told that I should be patient because it was being imported. I asked where it was coming from. The answer . . . Florida!
How funny!
Five months is a long time to wait, so hopefully I won’t have to wait so long. Thank you for sharing.Cartier has been having so many issues with shipping! My sister recently purchased a Ballon Bleu watch from their Chicago boutique in January and they offered to send a leather strap as well. As of now, nothing!! I just ordered a tank francaise from online, and cs said it might take 3 weeks even though I get express shipping. I have no idea why they are so unorganized, it’s very disappointing
I dropped of my Tank Louis Cartier at my local boutique in late January this year and it was ready to be picked up at the end of May. On average, int the past before Covid, I frequently had my watches back from the boutique in 6-8 weeks (which is unusually fast in my experience dealing with other watch companies. I'm not sure why your boutique told you 2-3 weeks. That's simply not a realistic estimate at all. Before, Covid would say, 12 weeks is an average time frame for several brands. However, I've heard of times such as 6 months or more for some very high end brands. Hopefully, your watch will be back soon, but I would say 3-4 months is more realistic time frame.
I couldn’t agree more— the disorganisation is quite surprising for a company of this scale. As far as I’m concerned, having to wait five months for just a plain leather strap is unacceptable. Hoping yours and your sister’s items are delivered soon!
You are very welcome! To be honest, 4 months was the longest I've ever waited for a watch to be serviced by Cartier. I think just as in a number of industries, since Covid, they have had a shortage of employees/watchmakers, which has increased the wait times for getting a watch back from service. Hopefully, in the future they will be back to where they once were with watches getting back into the hands of owners after 8 weeks or less, for most watches.Thank you so much for sharing! I suppose I should not be expecting my watches back anytime soon then.This is my first time using the Cartier repair service, so I guess I now know what to expect in the future.
I just wanted to update this thread to let anyone interested know that I finally received one of my watches (Santos Galbée) earlier this week, but I am still waiting on the other!
This was my grandfather's watch, so it's nice to see it restored to its former glory.
This was my grandfather's watch, so it's nice to see it restored to its former glory.
Thank you for the kind words! Yes, it was my grandfather’s. Hopefully I have the chance to pass it down to my children or grandchildren one day!
