Servicing independent watches in the future

[RRJ]

Hi all! I‘m in the process of deciding on the crowning jewel of my collection and I‘m pretty much set on either a MB&F perpetual, a Greubel Forsey Convexe or a DeBethune Aerolite. They‘d all make a nice addition to my 126519 and the 5236P.

What concerns me however is servicing in the future, if the brand goes under. Is that a valid concern or are there enough skilled watchmakers out there to service complicated in house movements up to the standards of the original brand?

[INC]

I don't think anyone can fix them, but I'm sure there will always be someone who can.

And even if it doesn't happen, the problem may be only the lack of spare parts. However and in my opinion in the distance future it will not be a problem, because these will be artificial intelligence-based 3D printers, and if the parts would be not a problem any more. So a skilled mechanic would be able repair any watch relatively easily.

So in sum, in the case of these watches, the real challenge is never the repair. In this price range, this simply shouldn't be a problem neither in the short nor in a long term.

[GB-man]

Just here to ignore the question and vote MB&F!


On a serious note it’s a risk you take. I don’t imagine DB or MB&F going out of business anytime soon so life’s too short to worry about such things.

[nicky77]

I also don’t think MB&F, GF, or DeBethune are going anywhere.
However, I am sure that even if they did that they can be fixed, parts can be machined if needed to be changed out, it is as what cost that may or may not be an issue for some.

[1William]

I like a lot of the independents and admire some of the watches. I do stay away from obscure brands who may or may not make it. The other issues is cost, time for service and network of dealers and service locations. Everyone is different but for the money there are so many other brands and watches that it is tough for me to not stay with them.

[enjoythemusic]

MB&F will provide the specs to the parts of their timepieces, and so 100 years from now any quality watchmaker should be able to recreate whatever part you need. Love reading the NAWCC magazine where even some of the most vintage timepieces can be repaired once we 'figure out' the specs.

No worries at all, buy with confidence. MB&F providing parts specs means service and parts replacement should be fairly straightforward hundreds of years from now by a properly qualified watchmaker.

Then again 200 years from now the technological capability of 'creating' a part should be laughably easy.

[FrugalGreubel]

Others have already answered the concern about getting the watches serviced. I just wanna say those are excellent choices. Please keep us updated on which one you go with.

[WatchEater666]

What some of the posters above are not mentioning is how insanely expensive it might be to get something serviced, especially if complicated and unique. It’s why i stick to time only mostly…

[dchang81]

My plan is if the company is going under, is to beg them for some extra parts. mbf when I asked for something simple like strap specs, they sent me the sketch and measurements of everything for the strap, it was impressive.

[hl0m4n]

i too, thought about this; in particular fpj as he is 67. fpj is still a relatively new company, compared to others, and if he were to go tomorrow, who would take over the helm and does he have enough apprentices to continue service?

in comparison mb&f max is only 57.

[INC]

Originally Posted by WatchEater666

What some of the posters above are not mentioning is how insanely expensive it might be to get something serviced, especially if complicated and unique.

Well, that's why we're now talking about expensive watch wonders, which will then be much more valuable, so the service costs for the owners will be something they will pay with ease.

Let me remind you that there was talk around here recently that it was about $50,000 to replace an RM case. Do you really think replacing a small part would ever be that much more expensive in any mechanical watch with servicing costs?

[Moondoggy]

There is certainly a greater risk no doubt then main stream, however that is the price you pay for being different.

[RRJ]

Thanks for chipping in everyone! I'm very much inclined to take a risk, but I'm not sure the double balancier for example would be the right move. It would be extremely difficult to regulate (GF told me that they had the University of Lausanne specifically make them a device to measure the two balances) and since Greubel Forsey doesn't provide specs like MB&F seems to do, the perpetual salmon might by the move to make.

I'm still a few months off of pulling the trigger but I'll be sure to update the thread down the road.

[shafran]

I believe the 2 issues will be cost of service and length of time to service when parts are scarce. As it is, smaller companies like db take about a year to service a perpetual.

[Ichiran]

It boils down to parts because there are hundreds of watchmakers graduating from watchmaking schools every year. However, even with the specs it is not easy to replicate the parts. Firstly, those precision tool companies will not fabricate one single component just for you. It's not cost efficient for them. Secondly, even if you manage to find one after paying them a super high price for the part fabrication, the finishing will look very different to the original component and will not be in sync with the rest of the movements.

[ajw45]

None of these indies are going anywhere in our lifetimes so I wouldn't worry about it. GF and DB have larger investors to keep things going and MB&F is practically open source and doesn't make their own parts anyway. Not saying this might not be an issue with other brands, I wouldn't buy an HYT with someone else's money, but all three of these brands started before indies were hot, this isn't their first rodeo, they'll be fine.

[brandrea]

It is something that gives me pause, yes

[INC]

If we were able to reconstruct the Antikythera mechanism, I don't think there would be any problems in the future with repairing mechanical watches.