Issue with my Citizen Chronograph

run_Forrest_run

I have a Citizen Chronograph watch, it's a bit dressy for daily wear so I actually haven't worn it in about 5 years..I decided to bring it to the local jewelers to have the battery replaced.

The girl in the shop tells me while the battery is dead, a new battery isn't working either. She immediately told me the movement needs to be over-hauled (the watch is 13 years old).

I was a bit surprised and she informed me that they need to be overhauled every 2 years:eek:
Surely that's not true is it?

Anyway, she told me it would cost roughly between €50 - €70 until another member of staff told me it could cost more due to it being a chronograph.
I finally agreed to them to have it sent to the repair shop and come back to me with a cost on repairing the watch.

Jaysus, the watch initially cost around £220 (yep, pounds) so I'm obviously a bit surprised with these figures.

Can the experts here let me know what ye think, am I being taken for a ride?

Menas

On the face of it your watch lay dormant for 5 years and I presume stopped working? Likely that the oils they used dried up in that time and this is what is preventing it from working with the new Battery.
That been the case it does seem reasonable that the watch needs a good service to clear out all the gunk and get it back working.

Regarding how often to service a watch. There are differing opinions on this.

Some say only do it when the watch stops keeping good time. I disagree with this as the strain on the components of trying to work with dirt in there can cause excessive wear on those parts shortening their lifespan.

Some say to do it every two years. This is excessive in my opinion. Two years is short and I think most who say this are in the business of servicing watches.

Some say to do it every 4-5 years. This seems reasonable to me.

Regarding the cost, it seems ok to me but could be worth checking around and make sure they explain to you what they mean by 'overhaul'!!

Anjobe

Does anybody actually "overhaul" quartz movements? Would have thought that they just need the battery replaced as and when and if it stops working the most economical repair would be to replace the quartz module entirely.

run_Forrest_run

Thanks for the information folks, I'm clueless on the matter and on closer look I can understand maybe why the watch would seize up after laying dormant for years.
OK, once they get back to me with a price I will ask for a breakdown on the work involved.

@Anjobe - is replacing the quartz module cheaper than this famous 'overhaul' they are on about? I suppose it depends on the watch etc right?

I will sit and wait for their call, thanks again folks.

Anjobe

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

@Anjobe - is replacing the quartz module cheaper than this famous 'overhaul' they are on about? I suppose it depends on the watch etc right?

It would depend on the watch, but generally there is no need for regular cleaning and lubrication of a quartz movement because it has relatively few moving parts - just the gears that drive the hands. The idea that a quartz watch needs servicing every 2 years is ridiculous, and if one stops working it is far more likely to be due some sort of electronic fault rather than a problem with the gear train. Some very expensive watches use quartz movements, and in these cases the manufacturers do recommend servicing of the gear train every 10 years or so.

Wftablueboy

I tend not to use your general high street jewellers for battery replacements , purely because your dealing with sales assistants that haven't a clue how most watches work and aren't trained properly how to change batteries . They might get away with changing a straight forward battery , pop the battery in and hey presto it works , a lot of chronograph watches have an a/c or reset button when you change the battery , if you don't know what your doing it looks like the watch isn't working and they quote you for a service . As was stated most times replacing the movement is the easier and better option .