Just sent my approx 5 year old C60 Pro Chrono (The Beast) for a service as the chrono refuses to run. I also asked for a new crystal to be fitted as it had a tiny chip in it. Katie from customer services indicated that the service on this model would be around £180.

So, I was more than a bit shocked to receive an invoice this morning of nearly £550!! That represents over 35% of the new price of the watch...

Bearing in mind that this watch was approx £1500 new I think this is exorbitant. Many of us have moaned about the cost of Rolex servicing but for CW to ask for this amount of money on a watch that is only just over their 5 year movement guarantee is out of order IMO.

Maybe they should publish their service costs somewhere so people can make an informed decision regarding whether to by a CW watch...

Or is it just me thinking this is overly high?

I think you clearly need an explanation why the quoted cost of £180 has risen to £550, assuming this hasn't been provided to you.

If there was additional work required then I would have thought you should have been contacted to authorise the additional expenditure....much as would happen if you took your car in for service/repair work.

Agree with Patrick - I have no idea how much the service of the beast should have cost. Skilled work costs money and all that. But being given an estimate of £180 that turns into £550 needs a lot more explanation. And better assessment and estimate accuracy from CW.

How does the service estimate triple like that? I’d ask for a clear breakdown of all that was done. Was the watch still within the 5 year warranty period, or had enough time passed? Sorry you’ve got this shock. It certainly calls for a clearer understanding of the details of the work.

According to the CW website, you should have been sent a quote for the work required after the watch was inspected. £180 does sound cheap for servicing a mechanical chrono movement though so perhaps she had given you a ballpark figure for a standard three hand automatic by mistake?

What is the process of sending a watch back?

1 Fill in the return form to the best of your ability
2 A member of our team will be in touch to confirm a returns pack is on the way
3 Watch arrives at CW HQ to be inspected
4 Outcome of inspection and quote shared with you within 3-5 days of receipt
5 Repair undertaken
6 Time check & quality control
7 Sent back to you

Thats crackers pricing! tell em to b?gger off and send it to Simon Freese.

I thought I would check omega prices, but they show a standard Chronograph service including VAT as £825. I'm not sure whether that would include a crystal.

Omega service is £590 for a non chronograph.

You can easily reach the stage where it's never worth servicing a watch, can't you? Well, hardly ever.

A benefit of The Beast is that is has the Valjoux 7750 movement and is well known and in theory easier to work on. I considered that when purchasing one from sales corner recently.

I sent my C8 back for a repair and it cost something like £150 but I was quoted that before agreeing to the work.

It sounds like an admin error somewhere along the line and if they've done the work and now invoiced for £550 I'd definitely query it.

I feel we need some more information from @redmonaco as there seems to be more to this than we have been told thus far.

The initial, possibly off the cuff, estimate of £180 seems low for a 7750 service as this is about what I paid on a C40 Speedhawk maybe 8 years ago. I'd anticipate the cost today to be in the £300 - £350 region.

The Chronograph is reported as 'not working'. Why is this and what is the remedy?

How much is the replacement crystal?

It all adds up.

Guy

Sent from my XPERIA 5 III using Tapatalk

I'm going to assume it's because chronographs are on the higher end of servicing costs, plus additional repair/replacement like the crystal and whatnot. Hopefully CW can provide you with the breakdown.

Side note; thinking about how much costs will continue to go up in the future does help me keep my collection from getting out of control.

My Moonglow was $475 for a complete service earlier this year. I did not get a price estimate before sending it in and getting it inspected (crown and stem popped out and minute hand got 20 minutes offset from hour hand)

My take on this:

- A estimate of £180 was provided without taking into account the specific watch.

- The watch has been sent in and inspected. A quote of £550 has now been provided.

- If the OP doesn’t want the work carried out (CW issue an invoice and require payment up front IIRC) all he has to do is ask for the watch back and get it serviced elsewhere.

Yes service costs in the industry are high. This being the reason that the best value brand to go for over a long period of ownership and a service every ten years is….

Rolex.

Neil

@nbg

Neil, The original post from @redmonaco read as if CW had completed the work, and not merely issued a quote. I'm surprised an actual VAT invoice has been issued as a quote. It must make for fiddly bookkeeping.

nbg wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:17 pm . . . . . . .. This being the reason that the best value brand to go for over a long period of ownership and a service every ten years is….

Rolex.

Neil

Alternatively, go with Schofield who simply recommend 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' i.e. it only needs a service if it geos wrong.

NB> I'm simply making a statement; not opening up a can of worms for discussion as to when / if / whether watches should be serviced.

Guy

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:45 pm

nbg wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:17 pm . . . . . . .. This being the reason that the best value brand to go for over a long period of ownership and a service every ten years is….

Rolex.

Neil

Alternatively, go with Schofield who simply recommend 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' i.e. it only needs a service if it goes wrong.

NB> I'm simply making a statement; not opening up a can of worms for discussion as to when / if / whether watches should be serviced.

Guy

Yeah, I've never had my C8 serviced and it stopped after 12 years of use from new. I sent it to CW and that's when the repair costing about £150 took place. Repair, not service. It's now running well within a COSC spec.