Do you really own your watch?
Swiss watch companies by restricting the sale of the necessary replacement parts needed for the proper service/repair of your watch successfully monopolized the Service/Repair of their watches and became the sole provider of that servicing repair. Depending of the brand you purchased, you may not really own your watch. You are now at the mercy of that company and no disclosure about this practice ever given to you. Competition keeps quality and price in check not monopoly.Major companies indulging in parts restriction
Richemont group of companies:Vacheron Constantin, Lange Sohne, Cartier, Panerai, Piaget, Lancel Paris, Van Cleef & Arpel, Monblanc, Chloe Paris, Roger Dupuis.
Swatch group of companies:
Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Jaquet Droz, Léon Hatot, Omega, Tiffany & Co., Longines, Rado, Union Glashütte, Tissot, ck watch & jewelry, Balmain, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Swatch, Flik Flak, Endura and Tourbillon.
Others:
Audemars Piguet, Chopard, Dunhill, Bertolucci, Ebel, Hublot, Bulgary, Lange Sohne, Breitling
If any company listed above changed their monopolistic parts policy contact us to be removed from this list immediately.
Watchmakers and watch repairers please join our mailing list that is for discussion on the following subjects.
- Information about the restriction of watch parts by some watch manufactures
- Watch parts wanted or for-sale or exchanged
- Information about watch parts interchange ability.
- Links to Horological sites
This list replaces the watches list at watchrepairs@topica.com and watchrepairers@yahoogroups.co.uk that are no longer in use.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ? ...
You own one or more branded Swiss watches that are amongst your most treasured possessions !
Consider that one of these stops working, suffers an accident (e.g. broken glass) or simply needs servicing.
You then discover that, despite the fact that you are the owner of that watch, you are not free to decide where and by whom you will have it repaired !
Indeed, for a while now, the main Swiss Brands have adopted a new policy : they no longer supply independent watch repairers with spare parts.
This means that the customer (you) is forced to go back to the Brand itself (trough an official Agent shop) to get the watch repaired.
You then suffer the delay and pay the price dictated by the official workshop, which could even refuse to repair the watch if they consider it to be too old. Your watch will be sent at your expense (and maybe even risk?), in most cases without you having been told, to the central workshop of the Brand, which is sometimes even abroad.
The work will often include items for which you have not asked, but must pay, such as a new dial, new hands … So, either the work is carried out under terms over which you have no control or choice, or the watch becomes irreparable. Free competition no longer exists and the Brands have no respect for the confidence you have in your usual qualified watchmaker !
Our European Confederation has made an official complaint to the European Commission about this matter and the restricted practices that ensue.
The British Watch Makers Guild
Cousins watch parts supplier news
The Watch Guy
You own one or more branded Swiss watches that are amongst your most treasured possessions !
Consider that one of these stops working, suffers an accident (e.g. broken glass) or simply needs servicing.
You then discover that, despite the fact that you are the owner of that watch, you are not free to decide where and by whom you will have it repaired !
Indeed, for a while now, the main Swiss Brands have adopted a new policy : they no longer supply independent watch repairers with spare parts.
This means that the customer (you) is forced to go back to the Brand itself (trough an official Agent shop) to get the watch repaired.
You then suffer the delay and pay the price dictated by the official workshop, which could even refuse to repair the watch if they consider it to be too old. Your watch will be sent at your expense (and maybe even risk?), in most cases without you having been told, to the central workshop of the Brand, which is sometimes even abroad.
The work will often include items for which you have not asked, but must pay, such as a new dial, new hands … So, either the work is carried out under terms over which you have no control or choice, or the watch becomes irreparable. Free competition no longer exists and the Brands have no respect for the confidence you have in your usual qualified watchmaker !
Our European Confederation has made an official complaint to the European Commission about this matter and the restricted practices that ensue.