Wristwatch Repair / Service

[doczenith83]

First of all, I would like to say hi to everyone!

I am new to this forum and will be new to Hua Hin. I will be there in the summer for a little over 2 month for a term at the Webster University. So I will haul my ass over there from Vienna and at that very willingly, this abnormal weather here is killing me. haha...

Anyways this might sound like a weird question and I will have a lot of weird questions over the next couple of months before my arrival. Hope you can all bare with it! hahah...

My first question for this post is.. Where can I get HIGH GRADE watch replicas in Hua Hin or Cha-am? None of those cheap and flimsy watches that last only a couple of days.. Replicas that last well over one year. Possibly Panerais, Rolex Submariners, etc.... If anyone can give me addresses or names of shops or watch dealers. Would be GREAT! I am a big watch freak, know quite a lot about them, so no scamming action!

Anyones, hope someone has good replica watch experiences over there! Would be great!

[Terry]

A workmate here in Delhi, has just gone through hell trying to get his watch fixed, and it has reminded me of a posting that I should have made before.

Some 8 years ago, Mrs.T bought me a genuine Breitling Colt Chronograph - (YES genuine )

About 3 years later whilst working in K.L. it required a new battery and a service / clean. I took it to a registered Breitling agent and was charged the equivalent of about THB 5,000 for the job.

Another 2-3 years later I got a similar service / replacement battery done in Hua Hin
This was repeated again in Hua Hin in March this year.

Cost THB 500
Where? Market Village basement rear pedestrian entrance - at the foot of the escalators.
Don't know the Thai guys name but he has a mustache.

The last service included new battery, and a thorough cleaning of the watch - it was really grubby believe me.
The same guy also fixed a broken strap on an old Seiko that I also possess.

SO - If you have a quality wristwatch and you need it fixed in Hua Hin I can recommend this guy.

[moja]

we have used him a few times. I remember on one occasion taking two watches to him for new batteries one was a "copy" watch and the other a "real" one. When I went back to collect the watches I was told he had put cheap chinese battery in copy watch as not worth more but he had put a good Japanese battery in the real watch. One was 100 baht and the other 300 baht - both are still working.

He was worried that the cheap battery would damage good watch

[deepee]

Terry,
I am a watchmaker by trade and believe me I would not recommend this guy at M.V. with nothing but your fake knock about watches.He has only basic tools and no diagnostic gear ánd,to give him credit, he manages ok for what little gear he does have but to hand over something decent to him is a temptation of fate. Believe me.I have regularly had a chat with him while the mrs was off shopping.
In recent times I have made a decent living out of poor sods who have had hacks stuff their watches up big time.

When you took your Brietling to it's K.L agents they would have been obliged to do at least an internal casing service i.e dismantling the case components cleaning them in an ultrasonic bath and replacing or repacking seals and then pressure testing the casing to specifications along with fitting a quality battery. And the service would have been backed by a warranty too. Something way out of the bounds of our ''repairer" at M.V.
An external tart-up does nothing to enhance your watches performance other than maybe prolonging the bracelets longgevity.

Finding a watchmaker who has the gear and knowledge to decent repair work any where around the world is now a real problem as there are very few skilled people left in the trade.Thailand is no different and I hear all sorts of stories of some fatal repair work coming out of the so called brand name and respected sevice centres. Suggest if you are lucky enough to own some nice piece getting it sorted out back home at a major service centre is in your best interests

[Terry]

.............. Suggest if you are lucky enough to own some nice piece getting it sorted out back home at a major service centre is in your best interests

Interesting comments Deepee and noted as such.

In his defence he has on both occasions, provided a very good service - including removal / cleaning / replacement of the stop buttons which had clogged up with grime (Yes the watch was THAT dirty due to dusty construction environments related to my work) including putting new seals in.

Subsequent use including swimming with it on has been fine.

ALSO

Hua Hin IS home, and I know of no other place other than maybe in BKK.

[PET]

DEEPEE is only referring to 'Original' types.

I have used the man at VM and he has done a fine job, but if I wanted my Rolex serviced I would only go to the appointed agent in BK ( or elsewhere) and be prepared to pay the bht 5,000+ charge that one is accustomed to the world over for the correct service.
Likewise with your watch, I suggest.

[bozzman101]

i think the guy in the basment is good too he showed me the tissot touch watch i paid 450 euro for is a piece of shit worse than a thai or chink nock off the rear compartment flips off with a swiss army knife even though the back plate is cut for a propper tool to open it so anyone with a tissot touch watch has a heap of shite a sponge would be more waterproff!!!!!!!!!!!

[deepee]

bozz,
you can pay squillions for a water resist rated watch and still have the case back just flip off with a case opening blade like you noted. But do agree that the Tissot Touch watches are a pile of poo. I wont touch em and my mates at Swatch service all shudder when these show up for repair saying they are nothing but trouble.

I always recommend any watch that will be immersed in h2o at least have a screw down case back and possibly a locking crown for that matter. Seems only logical to me that a push on back will be suspect altho having said this it is very common for Tissots to blow a glass seal and leak thru that.

By the way Terry you cannot replace the seals on genuine Breitlings without replacing the pusher units complete usually a very timely exercise ordering them in ,and being the brand it is costly- each pusher costing very well in excess of the 500 Bht you paid for your repair.

Sure the service our friend at M.V is handy but the consequenses of a stuff up will be your problem. But as you say you are a satisfied customer.

[charlesh]

Deepee what would you recommend to clean a Citizen eco-drive? I used to use an ultrasonic bath and a detergent solution when I worked in a lab. for my Seiko - it worked a treat and never had a prob. with damaged internals to the watch.
My son had to send his orig. TAG to Sydney to get the battery replaced as they had to retest it for its water depth resistance certification.

[deepee]

Charlesh,
avoid putting a complete watch that has an electronic circuit ( commonly known as QUARTZ) in an ultrasonic bath with the movement inside of it .If the cleaner is half decent the sonic vibrations will shake the crap out of the quartz crystal device rendering it useless = a new circuit block.If the movement is a full mechanical type you can put the watch in complete but I prefer not too as if the seals are poor you could set up a leakage issue later on. Commonly it is the dirt which acts as the primary "seal" on a watch with dudd seals . Remove the dirt an you then have a leakage. Also if the internal plate screws are not fully tight they will drop out of their positions with the vibrations.

If the casing has pushers ( buttons) you can really only clean them once out of the case. Removing them allows inspection and importantly repacking with silicone gel. The gel helps the buttons to function of course but more importantly protects the seals from the elements.By the way, wearing a watch in the shower is the worst place to wear it. The chemicals we use to clean our skin and hair are very aggresive and will not only damage the seals but eat away at the casing metal.

Probably the best way to clean up your Eco-Drive is in warm h2o with a dash of mild detergent along with an old tooth brush . Rinse off well after. The Eco- Drives have a weakness in that they are really pretty good and folks tend to neglect getting them checked out now and then so when the seals have failed repairs can be major.

[bozzman101]

na son jai very interesting insight into watch building

[MrPlum]

I have a Seiko Quartz which has been fine for the last 20 years. Unfortunately I cannot adjust the date because the screw? has stiffened up perhaps due to damp getting in. The gold plated hands have a blackish coating starting to appear which also might indicate the seal has been breached. I'd like to free up the wheel so that I can set the date and clean the hands and wondering whether this kind of job can be left to the chap in MV or do I need to send it somewhere? If the latter, is there an authorized agent in HH?

[PET]

I was told by the agent in Pattaya that to repair a Seiko it would have to go to Seiko in Bangkok.

Unfortunately my GF has forgotten where that was but I recall it being in the centre.

Sorry not to have been more help but I cannot imagine that Hua Hin will be able to help you.

[PET]

Mr P I may have the answer.

My GF was at Market Village today and enquired at the Casio shop.

They said they were the importers of Seiko but that there head office in Bangkok would have to do repairs - they did not seem to send things to them from HH either!

Anyway their name :-

Siam Marketing Co Ltd
66, Soi Charoenakorn 32/1
Charoenakorn Rd
Banglumpulang
Bangkok 10600

tel 02 862-7971/2

Good luck

[Albie Quick]

My Seiko titanium watch (real) is about 6 years old and the springs in the catch locking mechanism have lost their tension. It got to the stage where I couldn't wear it on the golf course as even a decent putt would open the thing. Eventually I had to stop wearing it at all. I had a look to see if I could fix it myself, but the unit appeared to be sealed, so I left well alone. I found a replacement part on EBay which wasn't too expensive in itself, but the postal charges from the US more than doubled the cost.

Then when in MV yesterday, my befuddled brain dredged up this thread. I went down to the basement, left the watch with the guy and returned 30 minutes later to find that he had replaced both springs. Locking mecahnism now back to 'as new'. Cost 150 baht.

Excellent job, but I agree with others, in that you have to recognise the guy's limitations - becuse he surely won't.

Cheers Terry