Confessions of a Watch Geek
I collect, and repair watches.  I usually like stories about watches, and the people who cherish them, but not today.  I&#x27;m just in a weird mood?  This popped out, and made me cringe:<p>&quot;Mechanical watches are far less accurate than quartz watches, but often far more expensive, because their bearings are more intricate. All contemporary Rolex watches, for example, are mechanical.&quot;<p>1.  They are not more expensive because of the synthetic rubies that are called jewels.  They are more expensive because of the name, and marketing.<p>2.  I&#x27;ve noticed a lot of guys under 35 just arn&#x27;t into mechanical watches.  I do get it.  And women--just arn&#x27;t into watches at all.  I don&#x27;t know why, but sometimes I think it&#x27;s because we die so early.<p>3.  As it stands now, a guy could go out and spend 10 grand on a watch.  The second it goes out of warranty, and needs a service, or a part; it has to go back to the factory, and is repaired at factory prices.  Prices like $800 for a mainspring, and service.<p>4.  See the watch comapnies decided to not sell parts to Watch Repair people(like myself), or even a customer.<p>5.  It&#x27;s like buying a vechicle, and when it breaks down; you need to take it to the dealership.<p>6.  They claim it&#x27;s for quality assurance, but it&#x27;s a money grab.  In my American eyes it violates The Sherman Anti-trust Act.  Yes--a federal lawyer&#x2F;Investigator  agreed, but didn&#x27;t feel it wasn&#x27;t worth doing much about.  She said someting like, &#x27;It&#x27;s a wealthy person&#x27;s problem, and not on my todo list.&quot;  All the while, those politicians are wearing Rolexes?<p>7.  The bigger watch houses have consolidated.  Swatch owns many of the high end watches you see out there. Rolex is separate.   I believe Rolex even own the company that provides the oil to those fancy watches.  It&#x27;s called Moebius oil.  And they want it used on all their watches.<p>8.  If you get into watches that&#x27;s fine.  It can be addicting.  Would I ever buy a new watch I could not work on, nor buy parts for--hell no!<p>9.  If the Watch Industry reads this, your customer base has changed.  Lower your prices, and enough to with the games.  Customers are tired of the maximum 20% discount you require your boutiques to stick to.  They are tired of being told a grey market watch bought at Costco is not really a Rolex, and you won&#x27;t even honor the warranty.  They are not the uninformed Dongle heads of the past.  Don&#x27;t insult their intelligence--they are all carring around a smart phone that tells the time.<p>10.  My parting words are this.  I still love my old watches.  I hope more young people get into the industry and Shake things up.  There something very gratifying about resurrecting an old watch found on eBay.  I went from collecting to repairing, and there&#x27;s definetly a shift of attitude when you know what&#x27;s under the hood.  My everyday watch is a watch I found in a thrift store.  Years ago, the lady behind the counrt said the old Timex is $2.00.  I took it home and it set on my desk for 5 years.  One night I noticed a little fish on the crown.  I thought, why would Times brand the crown?  I opened it up, and it was a IWC 853.  All the markings on the dial were gone.  I served it, and wear it proudly.  People think it&#x27;s a cheap watch, and I don&#x27;t care.  I can wear it to the worst parts of the city, and never worry about theft.  I look at that chalky dial, and it just makes me feel good.  Knowing how to repair it feels better.  Sorry about the lenght of this post--depressed, or something?