Should I service my 5056P?

[ColinPNW]

I bought a Patek 5056P in 2005. Wore it quite a bit in 2005/2006, then it pretty much was in the safe all the way to today. The watch is in excellent condition, some minor wear from every-day use but no hard scratches or dings. I believe with very minimal polishing it can look like new.

It's about 11 years now and though there's nothing wrong with the watch, should I go ahead and have it serviced by Patek? I have not had it on a watch winder (which I should have, I'm now learning) so I'm wondering if its a good idea to just go ahead and do the servicing anyway.

Much appreciated. Thanks.

Colin

[jon_jon]

This is a great question and you will hear some different opinions.

I would say it depends on what you are planning to do with the watch. If you are not going to wear it regularly, I don't see a need for servicing. If you are planning to sell the watch and you want it to look like new, then a service may be helpful. But bear in mind that servicing can take a while if you send it to Patek and some buyers will not want a polished pre-owned watch.

I would recommend that you wear it as is for a few days and see how the watch runs.

[subtona]

if it ain't broke… is my standard answer for other brands,

with patek there is an additional consideration, service times are excessively long,
i seriously considered that i might die while waiting for patek to complete service of my watch…



ps. i am healthy to the best of my knowledge.

[ColinPNW]

I see. So really, if I want to sell I shouldn't service. If I want to keep, if its not broken, I shouldn't service either. That sound right?

[el1125]

Originally Posted by subtona

if it ain't broke… is my standard answer for other brands,

with patek there is an additional consideration, service times are excessively long,
i seriously considered that i might die while waiting for patek to complete service of my watch…



ps. i am healthy to the best of my knowledge.

Great answer lol! Seriously though, if it ain't broke, NO NEED to send it in!!

[ColinPNW]

Thanks all. Much appreciated.

[lapince]

Originally Posted by ColinPNW

I see. So really, if I want to sell I shouldn't service. If I want to keep, if its not broken, I shouldn't service either. That sound right?

In theory the oils would have dried up mostly by now, which if you keep and wear it, will have extra wear on the parts and could result in damage, and if parts need to be replaced it will cost you much more than a simple service, so I think I would do the service, maybe not imperative, but on that kind of watch I think it is better to service regularly, a Rolex broken part will cost you a few hundred bucks, but Patek? Don' think it's cheap, but please don't polish it for a few minor scratches, sure it'll look new, but your watch looses metal thus value at every polishing.

[ColinPNW]

Ah dang. So maybe I should send it to the service center today to avoid more expensive service problems in the future?

[subtona]

Originally Posted by ColinPNW

Ah dang. So maybe I should send it to the service center today to avoid more expensive service problems in the future?

After 16 years I decided it was time to bring my submariner in for service (serviced twice in 20 years), the watch had been used each and every on of those days.

When the bill came, there was zero mention of any worn parts outside the usual crown and tube replacement. (Which was charged but not actually replaced)