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What are the most boring jobs out there?
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What are the most boring jobs out there?
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Battery replacement and bracelet sizing is pretty much table stakes for any kind of jeweler or place that sells watches. They should be able to help you out and I’d expect the cost to be nominal - I don’t have any specific recommendations but if you’re ever in Boston there’s even a kiosk in the Pru that will do these kinds of things while you wait.
Polishing is a bit of a different animal, and depends on the watch and what you want polished. First of all, you need to confirm that the watch can be polished - this depends on what it’s made of and what, if any, surface finishing has been done. Even for a steel watch without any plating or anything, the case would be a lot of work - a watchmaker should disassemble the watch and remove the movement before doing this kind of job. I’d expect it to take a few weeks or months, and it would likely be pretty expensive. If the watch isn’t steel and steel-tone (say it’s a gold-tone watch that’s not made of solid gold), you wouldn’t be able to polish it without actually removing the outer surface and exposing the color of the base metal underneath. To refinish this, a watchmaker would likely strip the existing plating, polish the base metal to make it smooth, and then replate it and reassemble everything. This will add time and money.
Not sure what type of watch you’re looking at or why it needs to be polished - this info would help inform my view. If it’s just a scratched crystal (the glass over the dial), you may be able to polish it yourself or have the crystal replaced for less money than repolishing the full case/bracelet (but more than just resizing and putting in a new battery).
Which watches are they? Depending on the material of the crystal, you might be able to polish those out on your own. Otherwise a watchmaker can likely source a replacement.
If the watches are steel tone (and not black or gold metal) then you’re in better shape, but it depends. The case will likely need to be completely disassembled to be polished so I’d avoid that if you can. The bracelet could be less expensive and you could probably DIY as well depending on the finish (whether it’s uniform or has a mix of brushed and polished/mirrored surfaces).
Depending on the watches and their value, it might not be worth paying to have this work done. If the value is more sentimental than monetary, I personally consider scratches to be part of the history of the watch - they’re made to be worn after all.
Cards on the table, my underlying assumption is that these are not very expensive since you mentioned they need battery replacements.
Thanks for the reply M1. For the polishing, it’s most getting rid of scratches on the crystal and some minor scuffs on the links. Not too sure about the coating but all my watches are silverish not gold plated.
Yeah, not too expensive. $300-500 range. I’ve had some of them for over 10 years so lots of memories. Maybe the old is gold approach is better — keep the scratches 😂