Investing in a luxury watch—new or secondhand—can be one of the most rewarding, but also challenging, purchases you can make. Amid any pressing watch repair qualms, waiting lists, discussion forums and countless hours of research all come into play. It can be a signifier of a big promotion, a life milestone, or the ultimate break up ‘new me’ purchase. A grail watch… nice! But what if something goes wrong?
Oliver Pollock started Luxury Watch Repairs in 2015 after realizing he could fix a gap in the market. At the time he was running a fashion brand and was dabbling in trading watches to pay the bills. “Naturally, I needed to service and repair some of the watches and it soon became clear that there were two obvious ends to the watch repair market,” he says from his 3,000-square-foot service centre in Hatton Garden.
The first tier were the independents who, “will get the watch ’ticking’ again for a cheap price,” says Pollock. “Without a warranty and using generic parts.”
“The other end is the manufacturers, brands and large authorised retailers. Traditionally the timescales can be long, the price can be very expensive, but at least you know the job will get done properly.”
Pollock’s business sits somewhere in between. “It’s cost effective, efficient, and clear in communication,” he says. Luxury Watch Repairs is officially backed by 11 of the big Swiss labels, including Cartier, TAG Heuer and Omega. They opened a space on Madison Avenue in New York last year, alongside pre-existing locations in London’s Canary Wharf and Harvey Nicholls in Manchester.
“Our brand accreditations set us far apart from 99% of the watch repair companies in the UK,” says Pollock. “In order to gain access to the brand parts and materials, you must be authorised by the brand. This is a very expensive and complex process. Your service centre must have the right ventilation, the correct tooling, the correct lighting, equipment, the flooring must be the right material and the watchmakers must have received the brand specific training and become certified by the brands. Everything you would expect at the brand’s HQ is expected of our service center.”
Benedict Sheppard, a London-based partner at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, told The New York Times that only about 5% of all luxury watchmakers are exploring how to use technology to build stronger relationships, build revenue and delight their customers. Sheppard co-authored an article where he describes the often-frustrating experience customers go through when having their grail watch officially serviced. After dropping four-figures (at least) on a dream piece inside a polished marble boutique, the after-care experience can result in vague waiting times, unclear prices for repair and spotty communication. Your watch goes off… somewhere, and might be returned… eventually. Sheppard’s article imagines a future customer journey where live tracking, video calls with technicians and dedicated updates help to put a client’s mind at ease.
Read the full article here
.png)
