Luxury Watch Repair in UAE: All You Need to Know
Unlike regular watches, luxury watches often require special care. These watches come with complex movements that only experienced watchmakers can handle. Now that you have spent thousands of dollars just getting your hands on one, it is important to make sure that you only take your watches for repairs to the best.
Here are some things you should know before taking your watch for repairs or servicing in the UAE.
The Pricing Factor
In today’s economy, we all are price sensitive and even the slightest of the price shift makes a huge difference for us. Hence, when considering a watch repair or service, we often tend to check prices everywhere. During the research for this article, we did notice that watch repairs in Dubai are relatively more affordable compared to a few other countries.
This is particularly true if you come from regions where labor costs are higher. The watch market in the UAE is highly competitive, which means service centers strive to offer attractive rates while maintaining high standards of quality.
Official Service Centers vs. Independent Service Centers
Understanding this is very simple for those who have been getting their cars serviced. You have three options to service your Mercedes. You can either take it to the official Mercedes service center and pay a high premium but be rest assured that everything will be genuine. The caveat here is that they will force you to get a part changed now that can actually be done later.
Your second option is to take it to a reputed garage that will take care of your car and also use genuine parts. They have a reputation to maintain which is why they will offer you the best service possible. Lastly, you can take your car to cheap garages that will do the job for a fraction of the price but then you might be visiting them more often than you would like to.
Its the exact same story with watches. Now, you would not want to take your luxury watches to the small watch repair shops. Instead, your options would be limited to either official service centers and independent service centers. Here’s the difference between the two.
Official Service Centers
These service centers are authorized by the watch brands. While this does seem as the first best option, the problem is in their strict brand-specific guidelines. Due to these guidelines, they always come with longer turnaround times. This typically ranges anywhere between 5 to 6 weeks to complete repairs or servicing. There are brands that even take over 3 months to finish a servicing job. While the work is undoubtedly of high quality, the waiting period can be a hassle.
Independent Service Centers
Independent watch service centers, like ChronoStreet, offer a faster turnaround time while maintaining the same high standards of repair. Most of these service centers offers a turnaround of maximum 7-10 days. The only case where the time can be increased is when they have to look for a specific part which is not easily available.
These independent service centers often charge prices similar to official retailers, but the biggest advantage is their swift servicing. Just make sure the watchmaker handling your watch has at least 20 years of experience working with these types of complex timepieces.
Other Things to Keep in Mind
When it comes to luxury watches, you need to be extra careful who you are giving your watch to. Here are some key things to keep in mind before taking your watch for servicing or repairs.
Choose Specialists for Swiss Brands
As mentioned before, always ensure that the service center you choose specializes in repairing Swiss watch brands. Watches like Rolex, Omega, or Patek Philippe require specialized tools, skills, and knowledge, which not every repair shop has.
Avoid Cheap Repairs
While it is always tempting to go pick the cheaper option on the table, this should not be the case in terms of luxury watch repairs. Yes, you can get this done at a fraction of the price for now but this can lead to bigger problems in the future. Improper handling or the use of non-genuine parts can damage the watch’s movement, reducing its lifespan and value.
Ask About Turnaround Time
If you need your watch back quickly, inquire about the estimated time for the repairs. Independent service centers often have faster delivery times compared to official service providers.
Pay the Right Price for the Parts
If you decide to move forward with an independent service center, make sure you pay for what you get. These service centers often offer both genuine and aftermarket parts. Sometimes its not wrong to get an aftermarket part. But just make sure you do not pay the price of a genuine one only to actually get a aftermarket one.
