Cartier Roadster Advice on Service

Time Exposure · Jun 27, 2015

I have a Cartier Roadster auto 3-hander (ref. 2510) that my wife gave to me on my 40th b-day 8 years ago. I handed it over to an AD to send to Cartier in Texas. The estimate came back at $800 for a complete service.
I know having the maker service the watch is the most expensive way to go, but the watch is priceless and will never be sold or traded. I expected a quote of $500 but I guess I was mistaken.
I want the watch serviced (my watch guy can do that), but wanted it basically restored to factory specs including gaskets/water pressure test and a polish of the case and movement. Should I bite the bullet and throw $800 at Cartier? Or do you have other advice? I'm looking for specifics folks! No fair saying, "get it serviced for less somewhere else." Tell me who/why/how qualified?
Hope I didn't just discourage participation there... 😀 Thanks!

ulackfocus · Jun 27, 2015

$800 for a simple service on an ETA based caliber is highway robbery but that's what the Swiss watch industry is becoming. I don't know of any independent Cartier certified watchmakers who could get the correct parts. As a side point, I think Cartier was one of the named brands in the lawsuit brought by US watchmakers.

eustace · Jun 27, 2015

If it makes you feel any better (and it won't), my wife paid Cartier $400 to essentially change a battery on her Tank quartz. But hey, it was returned in a nice red velvet pouch.

Time Exposure · Jun 28, 2015

My wife thinks it's ridiculous too. She didn't say as much, but I'll bet she was thinking, "why did I ever buy that?!??"
Service costs like this for, as Dennis noted, a basic ETA (and don't get me wrong, I think ETA movements are great work horses)... Well...it really makes me rethink the whole sentimentality thing.
My wife already said "sell it."
Not sure what to make of that...

Archer · Jun 28, 2015

You will be hard pressed to find someone who has access to genuine parts, and if you do, all they are authorized to do is a movement swap. That is Cartier policy in the US I believe, just swap the movement and exchange it for a new one with Cartier.

And yes Cartier settled the class action suit against them, with the consumer class getting the majority of the benefit from that settlement. The watchmaker class agreed to the terms of the settlement, but it was a mess to put it mildly, and the watchmaking industry/community in the US is still feeling the effects of this many years later, and it created a huge division in the industry as well. I believe only 9 parts accounts were ever granted, because the requirements that were agreed to were so onerous that not many would invest the equipment to get an account. I believe the application was something like 19 pages long...that was a lot to invest to be able to swap out movements.

If it was me, I would get a local watchmaker to service the movement and replace what seals he can (probably the crown seal would be the only difficult one) and go from there. Otherwise if you want to own something like this and have it "restored to factory specs" you have to bite the bullet.

Cheers, Al