Services
Regular preventive maintenance by our service centre is the best way to protect your watch asset. Georges Kekwa & Sons ensures that its team of highly qualified professionals are constantly at your disposal. Only our watchmakers and jewellers are equipped with the apparatus, documentation, specific tools and original components to ensure a highly maintenance service. For watches, the frequency is every three years, alternating between maintenance and complete services to rectify the natural wear of certain components and the deterioration of oils.
The maintenance service is the ideal opportunity to bring your watch in for a periodic inspection to maintain its technical qualities. It also enables us to assess the current state of your watch. Our watchmakers make a thorough diagnosis and complete various checks on the movement. They also test the watch’s resistance to magnetic fields and water for a quartz watch whose seals and battery have been changed. The metal case and bracelet are then carefully cleaned. We recommend that you service your watch every three years, alternating between a maintenance service and a complete service. This requires between one and a half to two hours of work, followed by over 48 hours of testing. If any check gives a negative result, a complete service is required. After this service, you will be issued with a 12-month service guarantee covering the work and parts replaced.
This service will give your watch a new lease of life. During a complete service, our craftsmen carefully disassemble the watch and its movement. All of the movement components (of which there are over one hundred in a mechanical watch) are cleaned. Worn parts, seals and batteries in quartz watches are replaced. The movement is then adjusted and its functions rigorously tested. Manual polishing or rhodium-plating for white gold are the final stage in this thorough overhaul. Your watch will regain its original radiance. We recommend that you service your watch every three years, alternating between a maintenance and a complete service. A complete service generally requires approx. one day of work followed by up to 500 hours of testing, depending on the model. In the end, you will take renewed pleasure in your watch, which will be as good as new.
To carry out a complete service in the best possible conditions, the same watchmaker is in charge of all operations carried out on any given movement. All work is completed by hand and requires the expertise and years of experience. All of the components required for a service are stored at our service centres. The watchmaker first conducts a magnetic check, before opening the case-back and removing the movement. A diagnosis is then made and an estimate is established if the client so wishes. The case and strap, which sometimes contain over 100 parts, are fully disassembled.
The watchmaker completely disassembles the movement by hand, part by part. This involves around one hundred parts for the simplest models and up to two hundred for the most complicated. Each part is cleaned in a series of special baths to remove all residual traces of lubricant. The watchmaker then checks the condition of all of the components that make up the movement. Any that are worn are systematically replaced. The battery in quartz watches is also replaced. The watchmaker then reassembles the movement by hand and adjusts and checks its various functions. He then lubricates the movement: this is a complex operation that involves several special oils in strictly controlled amounts. To finish, he checks the operation of the movement and makes any final adjustments that may be required.
Once the watchmaker has reassembled the bracelet and case, and installed the dial and hands on the movement, he then cases up the watch and makes any necessary adjustments. Before closing the case, all the seals are replaced. Once again, the watch’s water-resistance is tested and a complete check of its functions and performance is carried out. Finally, wearing the watch is simulated on a device that reproduces the movements of the wrist to ensure that the movement is functioning correctly and that the adjustments are accurate. A final overall check is made at the end of the service. You will receive your watch with a twelve-month guarantee that covers the operations carried out and the parts that have been replaced. You will enjoy the sensation of having a watch that is as good as new.
The restoration service is intended for vintage or damaged models. It enables watches that you hold particularly dear to be restored as closely as possible to their original conditions. We particulary do Dial restoration.