Well...yes and no.
What I had in mind were scams like
- standard service is £600
- we can't service the watch if the ceramic case has a scratch on it (new case £1800)
- other service shops can't get some parts
- parts removed are not returned to you so you can't check if you were charged for replacing a good item
- no correspondence is entered into re the nature of the fault
- basically everyone there is a complete thicko who tells you nothing
The above is IWC UK but they basically all do it. The general idea is that a £600 service every year is what you are supposed to do.
Rolex are running a new scam now: you can't just buy one from a shop. You have to have a "relationship" with the shop i.e. buy other stuff beforehand. It is a way to prop up prices. Obviously there are ways around it but you just pay more. Rolex are not especially good watches either; they are just desirable "bling" items.
Most Swiss watches share a movement from ETA / Valjoux and most of the popular "chrono" mens ones in the few k - 10k range use the 7750, whose trade cost is roughly £200. It's all on google... But even PP (who mostly make their own movements - this is the "you never own a PP watch" advertisement) buy in many parts so the "own movement" debate is fuzzy, and we are now into 20k-100k sort of price range.
If I buy again it will be a solar Tissot, about £800. I just can't tell how well it works in the winter, with long sleeves worn.
You UNDERSTAND!!
Over the last 20 years the Swiss have figured out vertical integration. There was a day I could send in a trashed Omega Constellation movt and get an exchange for $75!! Then the Swiss figured out that service should not be a cost center, it should be a revenue center.
Swatch (owner of Omega and many brands like Breguet), Richemont (LeCoultre) and others OWN Bergeon, the gold standard tool source. They bought this for their supplier records, but they also now control equipment pricing AND equipment requirements to be an authorized service center. They have successfully reduced the number of authorized accounts who can order parts. Parts are only available from the brand; they are no longer distributed to the traditional parts distributors.
Most watches, other than Rolex, are based upon ETA (Swatch) movements. Just decorated and cased differently. They do not even need to be adjusted to position after they leave Eta.
I like Rolex, they are a watchmaker's watch. Meant to be torn down and reassembled and have the exact same performance; like a Swiss machine tool. But, they have also followed the market.
Been to the Patek and Audemars factories. Both have been quietly buying up parts for vintage/antique movts to avoid making them. Omega even offered a vintage/new hybrid that mixed parts and people bought them at a higher price than the original vintage sold for!
Can you blame the Swiss? The other thing is that to the Swiss, cartel is not a bad word. In fact it is valued. Since WWI the industry has been a transparent collaboration between industry, banks and government. Since 1930 they decided to have one manufacturer of escapements who supplied all the brands, there were 22 different standard sets.
Audemars has stated they want to service any and all repeaters ever made in Switz. That tells you where new sales fit in.
I am not bitching; I did something similar in my business (cornered the market in my areas of specialization by having parts and mainsprings made for me exclusively). I agree, competition is great; but for the "other " guy. Not me.
Probably the biggest boondoggle is the widespread marketing of Tourbillions. When you look at the performance of an out-of-the-box ETA 7750, there is no performance gain. There WAS a time when it did add a gain. And as a "tour de Forc"? When it is all done by CAD/CNC? There was a time when it was a true expression of human greatness. But that was when an individual constructed it!
The Co-Axial is another one. No gain for a lot of noise. Daniels was a true expression and gain for HIS watches. But now it is a doodad that is expensive to service ( I was trained and approved).
Do not get me wrong. The Swiss treated me very well. They invited me to "grad school" at the age of 55 when there was no gain for them. But you need to meet them in their space. I even enjoyed the societal structure and learned the history of why it is (was?) so rigid.
I laughed when the US "trade association" which was run by run of the mill watchmakers thought they could treat on equal terms with the likes of a Rolex or Swatch VP. Now they all lost their accounts for which they sold out the rest of the trade.
And to buyers of new watches. Bear in mind they may have sat in inventory for several years. I would insist that it be torn down and serviced as a condition of sale unless the documents show it is under a year old. The synthetic lubricants are rated for 5 years, and we were (I still do) to replace our bottles every year. About $300; all to Bergeon of course (circle back to above).
Just remember, you already have the best timekeeper in your pocket. A watch today is less functional in life than a Timex in the 1960s. It is simply a piece of jewelry. And the industry is based on mass produced exclusivity. So the piece you buy is just like all the others.