rev:text
| - I bought an Swiss-made TAG/Heuer watch for a really good price on eBay. Dave Donaldson evaluated its condition and authenticity free of charge. Yes, it was a real TAG -- phew! -- but also a "Certified Swiss Chronometer", a distinction awarded to only 3% of the most accurate of all Swiss watches. It didn't appear to have ever had the major, 5-year overhaul that these watches require (it was about 10 years old).
Naturally I'm inclined to have the work done locally but, just as a check, I consulted TAG/Heuer's website, which indicated an overhaul price almost exactly the same as Donaldson's. But -- reading the fine print, and a phone call later, I learned that TAG's price for overhauling a Certified Chronometer (vs. an ordinary TAG) would be nearly twice the cost!
Apparently, as was intimated to me by the TAG rep, for most watches they don't actually overhaul the watch per se -- they simply replace the entire movement. Except that, in the case of a Certified Chronometer, the movement's serial number is registered with the Swiss watchmaking authorities, so they have to treat everything with kid gloves, replacing or adjusting each individual component as needed. Which, Dave would say, is simply called "horology".
Needless to say, I had Dave do the job, and he overhauled, regulated, pressure checked, and polished this watch, making it appear almost brand-new. And the accuracy? Try 1 to 2 seconds per day, which well exceeds the Swiss Chronometer requirements of 4 to 6 seconds per day.
Horology is clearly Dave's passion, and he's more than willing to converse at length on the subject, at whatever level of technical detail you're comfortable with -- and as an engineer, my questions do tend to be more technical and geeky. Highly recommended.
|