How to care for a luxury watch

The polishing mistake

The single most expensive mistake watch owners make before selling is having the watch polished 'to look its best'. Polishing removes metal. Every pass softens the case lines, rounds the lugs and thins the bracelet — permanently.

Collectors and dealers pay premiums for unpolished, original-condition watches and discount over-polished ones, sometimes heavily. Honest scratches are expected and priced in; missing metal is forever. If you're preparing a watch for sale: clean it gently, don't polish it.

Servicing: enough, but not too much

Modern mechanical watches want a service roughly every five to ten years, depending on brand — not annually. Over-servicing wastes money and each opening is a small risk to originality if a careless watchmaker swaps parts.

Use the manufacturer or a reputable independent, and keep every receipt and service paper. Documented history makes your watch measurably easier to sell.

• If the watch runs strong and keeps time, it doesn't automatically need a service before selling — dealers often prefer to service to their own standard.
• Never let anyone replace a vintage dial, hands or bezel 'to freshen it up'. Original parts, even aged ones, are where the value lives.

Water, magnets and daily hazards

Water resistance is a service item, not a permanent property — gaskets harden with age. Unless a diver has been pressure-tested recently, keep it out of the pool, and keep every watch away from hot water: heat expands cases and flexes gaskets.

Magnetism is the quiet enemy: laptop speakers, phone cases, and bag clasps can magnetise a movement and send timekeeping wild. It's cheap for a watchmaker to fix, but easy to avoid — don't store your watch on electronics.

• Screw crowns down fully after setting the time — an open crown is an open door.
• Rinse a diver in fresh water after the sea; salt crystals grind bezels and gaskets.
• Avoid setting the date between roughly 9pm and 3am on watches with date complications — the change-over gears are engaged and easily damaged.

Storage, boxes and papers

Store watches dry, out of direct sunlight, and ideally in their original boxes — sunlight fades dials (which collectors sometimes love, but you shouldn't gamble on) and humidity is a movement's slow death.

Above all, keep the paperwork. The warranty card, the booklets, the receipts, the service papers, the spare links — all of it. A complete set consistently earns stronger offers, and papers can't be replaced later.