Several years ago, my grandfather gave me a very nice watch, and I wore it everywhere. After a few years, the battery ran out, and we had it replaced. After a few more years the watch began to fail again, though in a way that suggested to me that it might not be just a battery failure. After months of dithering, in search of a watch repair place in Boston, I brought it home to the same jeweler who’d replaced the battery previously.
When I picked up the watch it worked, and it continued working … for about 24 hours. First the stopwatch stopped working, and then everything stopped. I brought it back. The jeweler said he’d send it back to his watch guy to see what was needed. He did, and when I was back in town I returned to pick it up. It was working again, and he explained that all they’d done was replace the battery. No repair work was required.
Unfortunately, I quickly made some very unpleasant discoveries. The repairman had evidently failed to reseat (or replace) the gasket properly, resulting in a watch that was not even remotely water resistant. Every time I wear it, the moisture from my skin evaporates into the interior of the watch, and condenses on the inside face of the front crystal. The movement also stopped within two days, although this time the stopwatch continues to function. Additionally, the repairman left a major scratch on the backplate.
I am not sure what to do about this. This watch probably experienced a mechanical failure of its own, and was then further damaged by the third-party repair service hired by the jeweler in Westport. I have no idea whether these sorts of expensive Swiss watches are generally possible to repair, how much they generally cost to repair, or where to get them repaired. However, I’m not inclined to spend a lot of money fixing it because I don’t have any investment in it. It didn’t cost me anything to buy, and if I understand correctly, it was a gift to my grandfather in the first place, so no one ever paid any money for this watch.
Maybe I should just go to Target and buy a cheap Chinese watch. Does Costco sell watches?