Warranty after service on a watch..

Hi all, I would eb interested in your opinions on the following:

My friend's expensive watch (Raymond Weil) stopped working. She took it to our local jewellers (did not buy it there). They said it was not a new battery that was required and sent it to their technician to be repaired. A week later it was returned in working order, cleaned and given "a complete overhaul". On the end of her docket the owner of the shop wrote "Guaranteed for 12 months". She paid 30euros.

The same afternoon that she collected it, the watch fell off her wrist whilst wearing it! Noting damaged bar that the pin had fallen out. SHe returned to same jewellers where she was told that as they do not stock Raymond Weil watches, they would not have a pin to replace it with.. fair enough. She was directed to another place in the same town that stocks them and they informed her it would have to be returned to Raymond Weil to be repaired.

She returned to the orignal jewellers that carried out the service, overhaul and cleaning on the watch with her 12 month warranty/ guarantee they had issued to her 24hrs previously, requesting that they return it for her.Their response was evasive and they said they would ring her once they checked with 'the owner'.

Should the repair be covered under their warranty as given? Or, is it just 'one of those things' that sometimes happens and cannot be foreseen? She had no problem whatsoever with the strap / pin on this watch before their 'repair' service. Opinions welcome, thanks.

€30 is about the most I'd pay for a watch, never mind a repair. Anyway I suspect the 'Guarantee' was for the work done not the entire watch. I can't see you local jeweler, whom didn't sell the watch and therefore didn't reap an obscene markup, fixing and then offering a full guaranteeing on an expensive watch, for €30. Methinks it's 'one of those things', pay to get it fixed, it will hardly cost the Earth.

I know it would hardly cost the earth - my question was posed in principle.
If you left your car at a garage for a service, paid for it to be done, got a guarantee and then it broke down leaving the yard, would you expect it to be repaired under the gurantee?

Plek Trum said:

If you left your car at a garage for a service, paid for it to be done, got a guarantee and then it broke down leaving the yard, would you expect it to be repaired under the gurantee?

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If the car broke down, I'd expect it fixed. If the exhaust fell off I wouldn't. Likewise, if the watch stopped working I'd expect it to be fixed under the guarantee but if the strap broke I wouldn't. Happily, as I don't wear a watch, I don't have to deal with such stresses .

Most watches have springbars securing the strap to the watch itself (a thin tube of metal with springs for the attachments parts at both ends).

A full service of the watch would most likely require the removal of the movement - even cheapo quartz's have parts that require oiling. Depending on the shape of the watch and style of strap - leather/material or metal full or part integrated etc., the strap might need to be removed to make it easier to hold the watch so its movement could be taken out.
So, check with the service guy if their practice is to remove straps for servicing.

But, otoh, its perfectly capable for spring bars to come lose and break of their own accord due to wear and tear. You wont find springbars on a military issue watch!

aldark said:

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But, otoh, its perfectly capable for spring bars to come lose and break of their own accord due to wear and tear. You wont find springbars on a military issue watch!

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I've had that happen myself. Used to hate trying get them back in. Never occurred to me to get somewhere to fix it for me. Mind you it wouldn't have been an expensive watch.

What a military issue watch when its at home?