Seiko service and repair recommendations?

[Cano]

As of this evening it appears my daily wear Seiko SARB033 has stopped working. The crown feels super tight too so I'm not going to touch it for fear of causing further damage.

Who is the PH go-to for servicing and repairs on low cost watches? I'm sure I've seen a member in Wales referred to previously but can't find those threads at the moment.

I'm in Woking Surrey, so any local recommendations appreciated too.

Thanks in advance

Cano

[AJB88]

I used Watchguy.co.uk for my Rolex cost circa £250 for a service which was £600+ from Rolex.

[Dibble]

I think the Welsh guy is “variomatic” (real name Joe), from Anglesey Watch Works. I’ve never used him and I seem to remember he was a bit snowed under.

I’ve seen good things on the internet about a chap called Duncan from Genesis Watch Works and also Steve Burgas from Ryde Time. Again, I’ve not used either of them, so please don’t take this post as a personal recommendation, I’m just repeating what I’ve seen on here and over on the TZ-UK forums.

I think if you do a bit of Googling of the three I’ve mentioned, you’d have a bit more information to base a decision on. Good luck.

[Cano]

Thanks, I'll check those out.

Cano

[CardShark]

As has been said already, Variomatic is the chap in Anglesey. I've used both Joe (Variomatic) and Seiko's UK Service Centre in Maidenhead with no issues.

[lostkiwi]

There's also RiggaTheMighty on here. Gets good reviews.

[DanoS4]

Used the Seiko service centre for my arctura.
Not the cheapest, but very impressed with the service - especially when they failed to spot that the strap was about to break.
Lucky really - i felt the old strap break whilst in the pool on holiday.
When I contacted them upon return to UK, they conceded that it should have been obvious to spot and changed the strap for me FOC.

[ZesPak]

I think the SARB033 is an amazing looking watch, first saw it on a colleague's wrist a couple of years ago and thought it was worth about 10x what it cost.

But, I've always wondered this.

A part from sentimental value, is it economical to service these watches? I've got several watches, almost all of them <500€ new, but I think if they stop working after 5+ years it's not really worth it to have them serviced for several hundreds?

[liner33]

lostkiwi said:

There's also RiggaTheMighty on here. Gets good reviews.

Yep thats who i used to sort watches and would have no hesitation to use again , but servicing a Seiko takes a bit of consideration as to whether they are in fact throwaway if not the whole watch perhaps just the movement