Question--Watch Overhaul

Can't answer the question about "standard." My dad was a watch maker/repairer in Germany, so I know a little about watches. He worked most of the time on mechanical watches. He didn't like "battery" run time pieces, lol.

I would say, if you love this watch and want to continue to wear it, then the money would be well spent. I just checked the Internet and Wittnauer come in all ranges of $$. Watch repair is very expensive here and maybe a part is so worn out where it needs to be retooled. Good luck.

Maybe this site will help you:

http://www.jewelry-secrets.com/Watches/Expensive-Watch-Repairs/Expensive-Watch-Repairs-Worth-The-Pr...

Hi. I own several luxury brand watches (Rolex, etc.) and they do recommend a "cleaning" every few years. If you like the watch and you have the money, I would highly recommend having it serviced.

Never heard of a watch "complete overhaul". Exactly what is wrong with your watch and what are they fixing? What kind of problems were you having before you had the battery replaced?

According to Wikipedia: "Quartz timepieces have dominated the wristwatch and clock market since the 1980s, Because of the high Q factor and low temperature coefficient of the quartz crystal they are more accurate than the best mechanical timepieces, and the elimination of all moving parts makes them more rugged and eliminates the need for periodic maintenance."

If it were my watch, I would ask for it back and contact the Wittnaur company for an authorized repair center or send it to the company.

On 7/31/2014 okiebug said:

Never heard of a watch "complete overhaul". Exactly what is wrong with your watch and what are they fixing? What kind of problems were you having before you had the battery replaced?

According to Wikipedia: "Quartz timepieces have dominated the wristwatch and clock market since the 1980s, Because of the high Q factor and low temperature coefficient of the quartz crystal they are more accurate than the best mechanical timepieces, and the elimination of all moving parts makes them more rugged and eliminates the need for periodic maintenance."

If it were my watch, I would ask for it back and contact the Wittnaur company for an authorized repair center or send it to the company.

Yes. I agree that a quartz shouldn't need an overhaul. I just assumed you were talking about an automatic movement...

Hi again, sharbou, okiebug has good advice. Contact Wittnauer and asked for an authorized repair center. Wittnauer is now one of the many brands owned by Bulova. You may have to contact them.

Watches sometimes need service... whether they are quartz (battery) or mechanical/automatic. A better quartz movement can be serviced as the parts in it are repairable. Even in a quartz movement parts rub against each other and lubricants and seals dry up. Cheaper quartz movements can't be serviced and can only be replaced by a new movement.

So, the fact that the jeweler wants to service a good quartz movement to get it running again is quite normal. As for price, I don't think $200 is out of the norm. You are dealing with very specialized labor and it's not cheap. You might find someone to do it for less, but the key is to find someone who knows what they are doing. If you sent the watch to the manufacturer for service, I'm betting it would could you a lot more for the same service.

As a reference, I'm having an automatic serviced and it will be $450... of course there are many more parts. I trust my watch maker completely, I've used him for over 20 years and in my experience he doesn't overcharge me.

Thank you all for your help, and Hoovermom, thanks for the link! I will pay for the work, because I do love the watch. I guess I was just naïve--I had bought lifetime battery replacement, so I thought I was done putting out money for the life of the watch. Thanks again, Shar