# So now I know why Tissot is cheaper than Omega



## can't find the time (Sep 25, 2008)

I am an avid watch collector, after spending many years selling watches I became hooked on them. I must confess I realy only go for the older mechanical movements- to me they are living things, the tick is thier heart beating with life.
I like to fix anything I can myself but if it is important or too far gone I get proffessionals to do it.
So we get to the heart and soul of it, I have many Omega models from 50ies and 60ies, Omega are quite happy to service and restore these watches (except they will no longer fix tuning fork (Bullova style) watches)
I have always had parts about for standard Tissot repairs, but I have a Lemania 1873 powered chronograph and SHOCK HORROR!! Tissot Australia service department have told me flatly: "Anything over 20 years old can not be serviced" But I argued with them that I had had repaired a Omega from the same production year by Omega/Swatch without a problem, now Tissot/Swatch can not do the same?
It's crazy, I do like Tissot Vintage watches, I have an original 1968 PR516 'Hands on the Wheel' raceing Chronograph and a 1966 Big case Automatic Divers in mint that are two of my favourate watches, sad to think as time goes by I will have to scrap more Tissot watches to service them.
Could this be why collectors will pay up to 3 times more for an Omega than the Tissot with the same movement?
(Yes and the fact that Tissot sell new watches very cheaply nowdays)


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## fluppyboy (May 24, 2009)

Go to a good watchmaker. Problem solved. Just because Tissot Australia won't do it doesn't make it impossible.


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## Enoran (Apr 15, 2009)

:-s Hmm... its funny cos Swatch Singapore services all brands in the Swatch umbrella under the same roof, even Certina watches when the brand is not distributed locally by Swatch. They do not differentiate themselves as Omega/Swatch, Tissot/Swatch or Swatch/Swatch ...


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## modyblu (May 3, 2009)

+1 find a good watchmaker.


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## can't find the time (Sep 25, 2008)

modyblu said:


> +1 find a good watchmaker.


I think my point is missed, what I am trying to put across is why don't Swatch want to repair old Tissot watches- I must piont out again OLD TISSOT, Tissot will repair watches under 20 years of age but not over.
When selling Omega's and Rolex you explained to customers that vast stocks of spare parts are kept to ensure continued servicing of the watches, a 20 year deadline indicates to me they want you to bin the watch after this time, why should they have this attitude to such a fine brand? I remember that the Swatch watches though powered by ETA movements were "unserviceable" if they died under warranty we simply gave the customer a new watch and threw the old one away- is that where Tissot is headed?
I have a good watchmaker, but when he has to make the parts it gets VERY EXPENSIVE, is it not better to see a manufacturer produce spare parts in sufficient quantities and service thier product? I suppose you get what you pay for and Omega though the movement was essentialy the same back before 1980ies- cost more.


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## asadtiger (Jun 23, 2008)

may be you are right but we just love our Tissots too much to allow a comparison without a fight...hehe...so heres my reason of why you are having trouble: you met the wrong kind of person at Tissot Australia...had you met someone at Tissot Singapore, as Enoran pointed out, you wouldn't have had this trouble...so we conclude nothing is wrong with Tissot  ...hehe..no on a serious note, I share your trouble and hope Tissot work it out for you :thumbsup: best of luck.


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## seanpiper (Nov 17, 2007)

can't find the time said:


> I am an avid watch collector, after spending many years selling watches I became hooked on them. I must confess I realy only go for the older mechanical movements- to me they are living things, the tick is thier heart beating with life.
> I like to fix anything I can myself but if it is important or too far gone I get proffessionals to do it.
> So we get to the heart and soul of it, I have many Omega models from 50ies and 60ies, Omega are quite happy to service and restore these watches (except they will no longer fix tuning fork (Bullova style) watches)
> I have always had parts about for standard Tissot repairs, but I have a Lemania 1873 powered chronograph and SHOCK HORROR!! Tissot Australia service department have told me flatly: "Anything over 20 years old can not be serviced" But I argued with them that I had had repaired a Omega from the same production year by Omega/Swatch without a problem, now Tissot/Swatch can not do the same?
> ...


This doesn't sound right to me. I feel you've been mis-informed.

Send me a PM with all the details (name, job number, dates, etc.) and I'll look after it for you.

Regards,

Sean


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## GearSlammer (Jul 7, 2009)

sean to the rescue, yet again.


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## molarface (Oct 12, 2009)

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread - but I feel that you've been misinformed. Rolex stops serviceing watches at about the 25 year old mark. Why? Well, they say they can't "get" parts!

Omega, it seems, is in a class by itself.

Yes, it is frustrating, irritating, and maddening that some very fine watches have bitten the dust because Tissot will not repair them. In defense of Tissot (or SWATCH Grp.) however, most older Tissots have not held their value such that many people would spend big bucks repairing them. You yourself (the OP) indicated you would balk at paying a watchmaker alot of money to make parts for a Tissot.
I believe that 50's and '60s (into the early '70's even) Tissots stand up well to any mass produced Swiss watch (Omega, Rolex, etc) but they never fully recovered from the quartz battles of the 70's. Many went under so count Tissot lucky!
Mechanical Tissots are collectible, some models are certainly worth some investment as well.


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## fluppyboy (May 24, 2009)

molarface said:


> Sorry to resurrect a dead thread - but I feel that you've been misinformed. Rolex stops serviceing watches at about the 25 year old mark. Why? Well, they say they can't "get" parts!
> 
> Omega, it seems, is in a class by itself.


Sort of. Omega will supply the nearest, or "next best" parts for the parts that they no longer stock! So they will service your watch, but it might not be back to original condition, it will be back to "good enough". (They will substitute different hands, etc, if they have no stock of the old parts).

AFAIK, the only watch company that will service and recondition any watch they ever made (so they say at least) is Patek Philippe...


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## niles316 (Jul 23, 2008)

I too was told about the 20yrs thingy by a staff at a Tissot boutique in Singapore. 20 years IS a long time to keep stock of parts but it's really a pity 'cos there won't be such a thing as a working vintage Tissot..so much for history considering Tissot started way back in 1853.


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## seanpiper (Nov 17, 2007)

Just to clarify, I passed this information along to the OP in a private message but feel it should be shared for all.

The response came back to me as follows (specifically regarding the information received from the Sydney workshop):

_Hi Sean,

Very interesting!

If the customer had spoken to me, I would at the very least suggest that the customer submitted their watch to us for assessment by our watchmakers.

At worst, if it is an obsolete model and parts etc were no longer available, we would return it at no further cost to the customer as unrepairable.

Alternatively, if a repair was possible locally, we would provide the customer with an estimation of costs. If not, we would give them the option of forwarding the watch to Tissot Switzerland with a minimum fee payable of $85.

If you could request the customer forward their watch directly to Glen Iris (and marked to my attention), I'll look into it for them._

_(name withheld)_

We don't offer a blanket response of "cannot be fixed before 19xx". There is no reason why any mechanical or automatic watch cannot be serviced and repaired, regardless of age... all depends whether you're willing to pay the price?

Hope this clears things up.


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## LUW (May 17, 2009)

That's what I think: _any watch_ is repairable (specially a mechanical one), it's just a matter of how much it will cost.


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## tomee (Jul 17, 2007)

ive dealt with swatch aus at glen iris... bunch of unhelpful people, that have stuffed up 3 repairs... including shipping one of my watches to the wrong address!

i even sent a hard copy letter to them with no response at my dissatisfaction to them.


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## seanpiper (Nov 17, 2007)

tomee said:


> ive dealt with swatch aus at glen iris... bunch of unhelpful people, that have stuffed up 3 repairs... including shipping one of my watches to the wrong address!
> 
> i even sent a hard copy letter to them with no response at my dissatisfaction to them.


PM'd


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## Teebi928S (Jul 19, 2009)

Hi there fellow Aussie,

To quote you if I may...

"I must confess I realy only go for the older mechanical movements- to me they are living things, the tick is their heart beating with life"

I totally understand what you mean. After decades of owning quartz watches I bought an auto ( I won't mention what brand ) and when my wife came home she sprung me listening to my new watch with my stethoscope!


It is more than a heartbeat, it's musical, it's beauty and yes, it's alive.

Steve b-)


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## tomee (Jul 17, 2007)

seanpiper said:


> PM'd


Replied


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## josephc78 (Aug 24, 2007)

Enoran said:


> :-s Hmm... its funny cos Swatch Singapore services all brands in the Swatch umbrella under the same roof, even Certina watches when the brand is not distributed locally by Swatch. They do not differentiate themselves as Omega/Swatch, Tissot/Swatch or Swatch/Swatch ...


That's true here in Singapore but one issue I had with them was that they quoted different prices for servicing different brands (I am guessing it is probably based on the brand's premium) hence you can sort of say that the service provided is still partially differentiated after all. :roll:


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## Enoran (Apr 15, 2009)

josephc78 said:


> That's true here in Singapore but one issue I had with them was that they quoted different prices for servicing different brands (I am guessing it is probably based on the brand's premium) hence you can sort of say that the service provided is still partially differentiated after all. :roll:


I suppose that's normal, the pricing of servicing a Tissot with a std 2824 is always going to be different from servicing Omega's more decorated movement.


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## Dasser (Jan 23, 2008)

molarface said:


> Sorry to resurrect a dead thread - but I feel that you've been misinformed. Rolex stops serviceing watches at about the 25 year old mark. Why? Well, they say they can't "get" parts!


Not true; Rolex Service Centre in London serviced my Rolex Oysterdate and that is from 1959.


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## can't find the time (Sep 25, 2008)

Teebi928S said:


> Hi there fellow Aussie,
> 
> To quote you if I may...
> 
> ...


Good on you Steve Mate! My wife just asked what I was laughing at and I explained the vision I had of your wife walking in on you and catching you " Listening to a watch", I have mates that have been caught doing much worse! You have been bitten by the bug now and there is no going back.
Wait till you get a 36 000 VPH watch, they sound AWESOME!!


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## can't find the time (Sep 25, 2008)

LUW said:


> That's what I think: _any watch_ is repairable (specially a mechanical one), it's just a matter of how much it will cost.


Yes that is as any watch collector knows is correct. And if it wasn't for Sean Piper making the enquiries from his side (Management) most of us would be told "sorry we only repair solid gold to 20 years and less on steel case watches", Why should my watchmaker have to hand make parts? My main gripe is the fact that SWATCH own Tissot and they own Omega, Swatch also bought Lemania in, I think 1999- So they have the parts, they will fix an Omega with Lemania no qualms but they can not guarantee fixing a Tissot, same company so WHY?
I am just trying to keep a proud brand alive and collectable. Sorry if that offends, but I love watches and all the big historic brands deserve another 100 years! LONG LIVE TISSOT!


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## publandlord (Aug 15, 2006)

can't find the time said:


> Yes that is as any watch collector knows is correct. And if it wasn't for Sean Piper making the enquiries from his side (Management) most of us would be told "sorry we only repair solid gold to 20 years and less on steel case watches", Why should my watchmaker have to hand make parts? My main gripe is the fact that SWATCH own Tissot and they own Omega, Swatch also bought Lemania in, I think 1999- So they have the parts, they will fix an Omega with Lemania no qualms but they can not guarantee fixing a Tissot, same company so WHY?


Brand positioning. It may also be the case that customers are turned down until they press harder, in order to avoid having to do too much work.

Omega doesn't have much stock of old pre-Swatch parts either; it has to hand-make a lot of parts, or rather ETA does, as Omega doesn't manufacturer any more (only design/assembly). They charge relatively flat fees for watch restoration /repair but you pay for this in the list price of every new watch you buy from Omega. You don't pay for it in the list price of a new Tissot.


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## can't find the time (Sep 25, 2008)

publandlord said:


> Brand positioning. It may also be the case that customers are turned down until they press harder, in order to avoid having to do too much work.
> 
> Omega doesn't have much stock of old pre-Swatch parts either; it has to hand-make a lot of parts, or rather ETA does, as Omega doesn't manufacturer any more (only design/assembly). They charge relatively flat fees for watch restoration /repair but you pay for this in the list price of every new watch you buy from Omega. You don't pay for it in the list price of a new Tissot.


You know what?.. when I think about it,....you are very correct. It is a very good point you make.
Nearly all Tissots anyway, I desperately wanted the 150th aniversary heritage automatic chronograph chronometer (T66.1.722.31) went in to buy one and found they were near $3000, I was very surprised and since I had saved up and had to buy something but could not at the time afford the Tissot I bought a nice tripple register auto chronograph heritage Longines instead, I will have to look up the service warranty terms for Longines- used them through swatch once on an older watch and they were brilliant.


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## LUW (May 17, 2009)

I have a 1972 Omega Geneve at my watch repair guy right now, waiting for a part. The Omega AD does not have the part, so my guy went directly to the person that _makes the part_ for Omega, when they need it.

I really doubt ANY brand will have in stock all parts for watches that are out of production for more then 30 years.


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