Buying a watch: new, pre-owned, or refurbished
Giving a watch is a lasting gesture, and that's precisely what makes it intimidating. A scarf you don't like can be put away in a drawer. A watch, you wear for twenty years or never.
There are three ways to go, and the choice is less about budget and more about what you're trying to give.
Three options, three approaches
A new watch comes with the manufacturer's warranty, an intact item, and the experience of the first unboxing. It's the safe choice, at a high price, with sometimes long waiting times for certain references.
A pre-owned watch provides access to pieces that are no longer manufactured, and at budgets unrivaled by new watches. It requires serious verification before purchase.
Restoring an existing piece, one that's been sitting in a drawer or passed down from family, is the least obvious and often the most fitting option. It costs only a fraction of a new purchase and gives an object imbued with a history you couldn't have bought.
What "serviced" should mean
The word is widely used but doesn't always mean much. Two elements make it verifiable.
The intervention report
A written document detailing what was done: disassembly, cleaning, replaced parts, lubrication, adjustment, water resistance check, and the timekeeping values recorded after intervention. Without this document, "serviced" means at best "surface cleaned."
The service warranty
A warranty on the intervention, distinct from any manufacturer's warranty, with its duration and scope in writing. It holds the person who did the work accountable. Ask for it before buying, not after.
Checking before buying pre-owned
Matching components
The case, movement, dial, and bracelet must belong to the same watch. Watches assembled from components of diverse origins are circulating, and nothing distinguishes them in photographs. The case number, reference, and papers must correspond.
Case condition
An old watch may have been refinished multiple times. Thinned lugs, erased chamfers, illegible numbers: these are clues that can be seen in person and affect the value. We detail what working on a case entails in our article on polishing.
Water resistance and timekeeping
A watch sold without a recent check is a watch whose condition no one knows. A water resistance test and a timekeeping check take less than an hour and prevent discovering a problem three months after gifting the piece.
Having a watch spotted elsewhere checked
If you have found a piece from a private seller or on a platform, bring it to us before finalizing the purchase. We will examine it, check the consistency of all components, record the timekeeping and water resistance, and tell you what the object is truly worth.
This is a short, chargeable service, insignificant compared to the cost of a bad purchase. It is also the natural extension of our appraisal work.
Gifting a piece already in the family
A father's or grandfather's watch, stopped for years in a drawer. Its restoration is one of the most powerful gifts we see at the workshop.
The principle is simple: complete movement overhaul, crystal replacement if necessary, new strap, measured case refinishing, water resistance check. The watch is made wearable daily without losing what makes it special.
A point on method: the diagnosis must precede the decision to gift, not the other way around. A complete overhaul takes several weeks, more for a complex movement or when a part needs to be ordered. A lighter intervention—crystal, strap, check, and adjustment—can be done in a few days. Bring us the watch as soon as the idea comes to you: the diagnosis will tell you what is feasible within your timeframe.
If the watch isn't suitable
Two things to know before gifting.
Bracelet resizing is done at the workshop. Plan to keep the removed links.
And if the piece genuinely isn't right, let's talk about it. We prefer a conversation to a watch that will never be worn. Discover our available watches.
Atelier Ulmann. Route de Thonon 52, 1222 Vésenaz. Make an appointment.
