The shop is in North Austin and shares a parking lot with a block of other shops. When you walk in, you see an armed guard behind a counter. Kind of intimidating, but comforting at the same time. You'll see the usual glass cases full of glistening stones and shiny baubles and gleaming timepieces. Among those watches are the Rolex and Omega brands, a rare sight in a retail store in Austin. A few years ago, Omega pulled out of Ben Bridge stores and Bailey Banks & Biddle stopped selling watches altogether. So, Russell Korman is like a candy store for a watch nut, especially one who owns/enjoys Omegas.
When I dropped my Seamaster off for a quote, I was told I would receive a call with the price and necessary repairs and parts within a week or two, if I remember correctly. I was thinking they would get back to me with a figure higher than the amount I paid for the watch itself. When the call finally came, I was told my baby would need a "Clean, Oil and Adjust" (of course) as well as a new mainspring, reverser wheel and bearing; the original bearing had worn down to a malfunctioning shape. I asked if I could keep the parts they replaced and my contact at Russell Korman gave the in-house watch repairman a note to set them aside for me. I also requested, as part of the estimate, the cost of replacing a missing link pin and tube which had been replaced by the previous owner with what I could only guess was part of a paperclip.
I was pleased to learn that all those repairs, including the new link pin and tube, would cost about half of what I had expected they would, partly because they would give me a discount for having the repairs performed and the link pieces installed at the same time. The Omega-authorized technician would adjust my watch to run within COSC chronometer specs (-4 seconds/+6 seconds a day) and the shop would provide a one-year warranty for the work performed. Also, if the watch ended up not keeping time to my satisfaction, I could take it back in to have it tuned to my individual wearing habits.
I put down the necessary 25 percent deposit over the phone and Russell Korman set about ordering the required parts. I was told to expect a call in four or five weeks telling me to pick up my revived timepiece.
The day after I received that long-awaited call, I made the trek up north. When the sales person brought out my watch, I noticed something about it looked a little different from when I had brought it in. Could it be? Yes. Yes, they had refinished the case, bezel and bracelet! The best part? There was no charge for it. That saved me about 150 dollars and transformed my watch into like-new condition. It's never looked better. Hopefully, I won't need to have it mechanically serviced for another five to eight years.
At one point, I had given up on ever owning this watch. At another point, I had resigned myself to never having it work again. Now, it's back, working perfectly and looking as if it just came from Switzerland.
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| Please forgive the borders - I took these pictures from my Instagram page. |
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| Back and better than ever. |
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| My old gaskets and what I assume is my watch's original reverser wheel. |
Big thanks to Russell Korman Jewelry. If you're in the Austin area and want to see some beautiful watches or have yours worked on, give them a visit.
If you're reading this, which watch brands do you like? Which brands do you own?
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