Has anyone seen this in person?It's Romaine Jerome's $300,000 dual tourbillion watch that only tells day and night.http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/08/22/romain-jerome-day-night-watch-doesnt-actually-tell-time/I made fun of it to a watch person and he was like "oh no, it's beautiful" in person. So, I got told. Now, I'd like to see one sometime.
It depends on if you think you'll ever sell it. If so, have the work done in house and swallow the cost. Also, do you really need to replace the crystal?If not, find out which is the most exclusive Orthodox Jewish watch store in Brooklyn and take it to them. You might have to make a few phone calls to ask if they sell IWC and can do the work. When you're at the store, don't forget to hondle (bargain) and be ready to pay cash. Probably best to bring a tall or aggressive friend if you're carrying a wad of cash around in New York. If you were buying new, you'd save a few thousand that way; but it might not be worth your time just to save a couple hundred bucks on maintenance.Nice watch, BTW. Your wife has taste. May you wear it long and in good health.
My wife bought me an IWC Portuguese about 7 years ago as a 40th birthday present. It has never been serviced, but basically seems to run fine. However, the leather strap is completely worn out. A few years ago I started looking locally for an acceptable replacement but to no avail as no third parties had a similar blue band and I never bothered to try to contact IWC (or rather I did but did not persevere when I could not find the correct contact). Anyway, IWC has now opened a shop here in NYC so I took the watch in so I could get the same exact band that it originally came with. I told them to also look at the watch as it seemed about time to have some upkeep done notwithstanding that it ran well. (I have heard people say anywhere from 3-5 years to 7-10 years for maintenance on an automatic mechanical watches). Now, I knew I would get robbed on the band and I was going to just suck that up no matter how offensive because I really wanted that original band. I was not prepared for how big the overall quote would be. The band itself is over $300. Total gouging; I mean I could get a really nice Italian leather belt for less. But anyway I am prepared to suck it up and buy it. But they recommended a complete servicing of my watch. I figured $300, maybe $400. Wrong. $650 for the servicing, plus another $200+ if I want a new sapphire crystal, which they, of course, recommend. Total bill plus tax would be over $1,200 for a watch that to my mind works. I understand that a mechanical, automatic watch should be serviced regularly and I am, if not overdue, close to due. Putting aside the egregious price for the band, the rest stilll seems like a lot. I called a local watch repair service that purports to repair IWC watches and while they would probably be a little less (but not dramatically so), they cannot ensure original parts, which, of course, IWC can.Is this just a part of owning one of these watches and something I should fork over for now and hopefully not have to deal with for another 7 years. Or do I replace the band and wait until performance starts to deteriorate further. Of course, preventative care is usually cheaper than when you start to have real problems. But almost a grand (exclusive of the band) for a working timepiece is a bit tough to swallow.Advice from any watch experts appreciated.
