Sotheby’s enlists WatchCheck as its watch servicing partner
Zach BlassAmong all the Watches and Wonders noise, a rather significant development from the auction world got a bit lost in the news cycle. With things calming down a bit, I want to circle back to an announcement made at the end of last month, as Sotheby’s announced a watch servicing partnership with a new platform called WatchCheck, becoming the first auction house in the world to offer a watch repair service.
“Historically, watch servicing has been a highly time-consuming process, leaving much room for improvement”, Geoff Hess, Sotheby’s Global Head of Watches explains. “With our new platform powered by WatchCheck, we are revolutionising the watch service experience by offering owners a simple, straightforward, and secure way to care for their timepieces from the comfort of their own homes. We’re especially proud to be the only auction house to offer this service, which not only allows us to further support our existing clients, but also provides an exciting opportunity to meaningfully engage with the broader watch community and beyond.”
WatchCheck launched late last year, founded by Linden Lazarus and Will Haering in order to provide watch enthusiasts with “white glove” and “door-to-door” watch servicing. With Lazarus’ seasoned experience in the sale of pre-owned and vintage watches (Oliver & Clarke) and Haering’s expertise in sophisticated technology infrastructure, the duo combined their expertise to create an easy customer experience journey.
The WatchCheck platform ultimately takes care of the quoting and the transportation of the watch in need of a service. Whether through WatchCheck’s website or the Sotheby’s Watch Services portal (that is powered by WatchCheck), users will be able to engage with a comprehensive database of over 38,000 watch models, select their desired service, initiate the repair, and receive secure packaging for safe transport. Then, a fully insured at-home pick-up is scheduled, and clients can track their watch’s journey every step of the way. Once the repairs are completed, the watch is swiftly returned. A range of services of varying depths and levels of expense are available, from case refinishing starting at US$200, to full service for grand complications which can peak at US$2,800.
The actual repair of the watches is performed by WatchCheck’s exclusive partnership with one of the largest and most respected watch service centres in America: Stoll & Company in Dayton, Ohio. Employing more than 40 watchmakers, their combined experience amounts to more than five centuries, with more than 3.5 million watches passing through Stoll & Company’s doors since its 1982 founding.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks, because I plan on personally testing the WatchCheck platform with one of my vintage watches – which is long overdue for an overhaul. I’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Zach and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: blue is back
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Blue as a trending colour is nothing new, but perhaps it’s now a trend coming full-circle, with a twist. Blue dials have long saturated the marketplace, but lately, brands like Chanel, Audemars Piguet, and Zenith have all jumped on the blue ceramic hype train.
Wristshot of the week: You down with Rattrapante GMT? Yeah, you know me…
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My three-year lusting period after a Parmigiani Fleurier started in 2022, first piqued by the debut of the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, has finally come to an end. For this year’s Watches and Wonders, I was lucky (and proud) to unveil to the Time+Tide audience (and the Time+Tide team who I wanted to surprise) that my dream had been realised. It’s not the best photograph, but in my opinion, it is one of the best approaches to a travel time watch. So, at 10:10 at some point earlier this week, I couldn’t resist taking a quick snap. Yes, very much still in the honeymoon phase. In my defence, it’s only been a few weeks, and there is zero sign of it slowing down.
Time+Tide shop pick of the week: Elliot Brown Arne Field
Named after the 1,400-acre nature reserve in Dorset, the Arne from British brand Elliot Brown is a beautiful, reliable, and affordable field watch that ticks plenty of boxes. This model uses a new dial process for EB – fumé – where the centre of the dial is lighter than the outside. With an embossed pattern and a subtle matte metallic texture, the darker periphery makes the numerals easier to read, as well as adding an almost tropical sun-bleached feel from a life lived outdoors. A robust, Swiss-made Ronda quartz movement powers the watch, which comes mounted on a dark brown leather strap with a removable bund.
Discover the Elliot Brown Arne Field in the Time+Tide Shop, either online or in-store at our Melbourne Discovery Studio. Price: A$750
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
What Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025 told us about the state of the industry
After taking some time to recover from this year’s Geneva Watch Week, Russell takes the time to reflect on what the show revealed about the state of affairs this year. After some difficult times, it is always a good idea to take stock of what we’ve just seen and figure out what it may or may not mean for the industry as a whole.
What happened at our Cartier Collectors’ Rendezvous
The Cartier Collectors’ Rendezvous is a relatively new development, where Cartier uses the occasion of Watches and Wonders as an opportunity to not only involve their most loyal and learned collectors, but also to let them in on the experience of the world’s largest watch fair in a really intimate, exclusive and privileged way. It’s a chance to get inside the design process, to index opinions off other collectors, and to get a sense of the historical context around the pieces. This year, Andrew had the privilege to moderate the discussion and you can find out all about this intimate Cartier gathering here.
6 of the most exciting independent watches of Geneva Watch Week 2025
You’ve likely been inundated with coverage surrounding what the groups and big box brands had to present at Watches and Wonders 2025, but what did the best independent watchmakers bring to the broader Geneva Watch Week that ran concurrently outside of the Palexpo? Borna has got you covered, listing six of the most exciting independent watches of Geneva Watch Week 2025.