bigfatpaulie
Headphoneus Supremus
-I think that conclusion is a bit harsh; her work on just about anything else* for the past three decades has been impeccable, with a quick turnaround and reasonable prices.
*) Vintage Certinas and Tissots, Omegas both current and vintage (c.2500, c.1861, c.354 and c.321), a vintage IWC pocket watch, a 14270 Explorer...
As there's hardly anything magical about VC movements, I can only assume that there are other reasons for her preferring not to work on them. Her competence is not in doubt; neither is the benefit of a local watchmaker.
I'm sorry if you feel I'm being overly harsh but I can tell you, as a long time multiple Lange owner, these are not simple watches to service. Ultimately, it's your watch, your money and I am in no way affiliated with either manufacture or watch maker: there is no benefit or cost to me in either circumstance. Perhaps my guidance is coming from a genuine place. I'm trying to give you some direction on something that you seem to have little experience in based, from my own.
Taking it or leaving it is up to you.
I think the first thing that really needs to be established is what your watchmaker is defining as a "service". A lot of watch makers call re-oiling a "service" versus a true disassembly, cleaning and reassembly of the entire movement. Some watch makers do this, but leave large chunks together (like the escapement) and claim a "full disassembly". To be frank, this a major factor in cost when it comes to a local watchmaker vs sending something back to the manufacture for a service and it is hard to truly know what you are getting with in the first case. In the latter case, you know what you are paying for. So what is she doing? She will most certainly claim a full disassembly, but talk is cheap. And just because she may have done it on a $300 Tissot for you, it is a very different story when it comes for $45,000 Lange.
Now let's talk about what she's done in the past - Rolex, Tissot and Omega. I'm sorry, but that doesn't make a competent watch maker for a Lange or Patek. I would not take a Ferrari to a guy who works on a lot of BMW. BMW's are good cars, sure but they are no Ferrari when it comes to their complication. Working on something like a Ferrari is a whole different ball game and that rings very true with the brands we are talking about here. I'm sorry but her past experience with those timepieces means little to nothing in this context.
You're correct about there being nothing magical with VC calibers. In face, VC's line is riddled with outsourced Piguet and JLC calibers - calibers are that widely used in many brands like Breguet, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz and so on. Does she not service those brands, too? If not, why not? They are essentially the same from a service point of view. Same movement, just different decorations. The only thing I can surmise is she tried and messed up and now she's gun shy. So you would entrust a Lange - something significantly more complicated - to someone who can't handle a VC? To go back to the example above, you are thinking of taking your Ferrari to a mechanic who will service a BMW can't handle a Porsche. So I caution you, her competence is absolutely in doubt in my eyes. I think her eyes are wide with the opportunity to play with a Lange and charge for the very costly service.
I can tell you that in all of North America there is ONE watch maker trained by Lange to service Lange. One. Let's also talk about that ONE watch maker is capable of servicing for Lange: non-complicated Langes, only, in fact. What's a non-complicated Lange? Time only, big date and moon phase. That's it. You have a repeater, tourbillon or rattrapante, it's going back to Germany. You have a chronograph, it's going back to Germany (if it needs a full service, he now does regulation on them). Just consider that: there isn't someone properly capable of servicing a Lange chronograph in North America. That's how difficult these watches are to deal with from a service perspective. I also see that you are in Norway so Germany isn't quite as difficult to reach as it is from me; all the more reason to use Lange directly.
Everyone else is LITERALLY going by the seat of their pants. They have no accesses to documentation, parts, or, God forbid, consultation. It's all guess work for them. Everything Lange makes is entirely unique to them and there are no other avenues for information - whereas something like how to service or parts for a Piguet 1150 - something that she won't service - can be had from a myriad of places and manufactures.
Now let's say all this isn't enough for you: You are so certain that this watch maker with a friendly smile and who talks confidently using fancy terms like 'ebauche' that you entrust your Lange to her one day. Let's say, just for fun, because she is a human and humans make mistakes (particularly ill-equipped humans), she messes up your Lange. Sure you saved a few hundred bucks on the service but now you have to send your Lange to Germany and those few hundred bucks you saved will seem comedic.
Now don't get me wrong: I am not against using a local watchmaker, even for high end pieces. Heck, if you had a Philip Dufour (a very healthy notch above Lange) a local watch maker is your only real option. But you have an option: Lange will take care of you. And if you had a Dufour, I would encourage you to reach out to other Dufour owners and find out where they have taken theirs too so that you are using someone with actual Dufour expereince.
But it's your watch, and after all, she has serviced an IWC before...
Langes are handmade, very expensive, very exclusive timekeepers. Don't drop it off at the mall to get serviced because it's cheap. A Lange doesn't deserve that. Just like a Ferrari doesn't deserve oil from Wal Mart. You spend so much on a watch like this, please don't skimp on the care of it. If that puts the watch out of your budget, sobeit. Buy something you can afford to property maintain. It sounds like you already have a lovely collection of watches: you are already so lucky.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
I wish you best,
-Paul
