ClockSavant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

ClockSavant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

PURCHASING

What is the cost of shipping? Do you ship internationally?

Shipping cost can vary based on the cost of insurance and shipping speed. USPS Priority shipping within the United States averages $25. For international shipping, we typically ship insured via Federal Express with an average cost of $50. If you are located internationally, please contact us so we can verify that we are able to ship insured to your country and to confirm the final shipping cost.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept all major credit cards, wire transfer, and paypal.

How do you protect against fraudulent buyers?

In order to reduce the risk of fraud, we perform an online verification of all buyers. We only ship to verified addresses. In this era of identity theft and fraud, we need to know who you are, not simply that you have a name, address, and credit card number. We apologize but we must cancel orders where we cannot confirm the buyer. We only speak English. To verify your identity, we may ask you questions in English and request that you respond, to the best of your abilities, in English.

I am an international buyer, do I have to pay customs fees?

International Buyers and Customs- You may pay customs fees and taxes on the item based on your country's import rules. All customs fees and taxes will be your responsibility. We put a good deal of effort into assuring international shipments are packed and forms completed correctly. If there are customs delays or problems, we will attempt to help you if it relates to anything under our control.

Can you ship alligator or crocodile straps internationally?

For international sales, it is not possible to legally export alligator or crocodile straps from the US or import them into most countries without considerable CITES paperwork and permits. Without proper paperwork, watches can be seized by customs. If you are an international buyer, we will discuss your requirements and alternatives including separate shipment, substituting a high quality matching leather strap or providing a discount so you can purchase a new strap in-country.

RETURNS

How do I return a watch I purchased from ClockSavant for a refund?

We ask that you make sure you are completely comfortable with the purchase of a watch before purchasing it. Returns are costly and frustrating for everyone and we like to avoid them. At the same time, we provide a return policy for watches we sell so that you can feel comfortable that you receive the watch we have described. See individual watch listings on this website for the return period provided. Watches must be returned in the exact condition received, with all boxes, papers, and accessories as-provided to you with the original purchase. Re-use the packaging we provided, see the Shipping Your Watches FAQ entry, the product page for the watch you purchased, and the Support page of this website for additional information.

Before returning a watch, contact us for additional instructions and return approval. For international shipments, the package must be marked as a “return” for customs purposes to assure we do not pay customs on the return of the watch. The watch needs to be returned using the same expedited shipping service we used to send the watch to you, provide us a tracking number, and insure the shipment.

 

SERVICING YOUR WATCH

I would like you to service my watch, what is the process?

Use the contact information on the website to either call or email us. We will then review your watch with you and provide you next steps. You will receive an initial estimate once we receive the watch which may be revised after we perform our full disassembly and discover any additional issues or concerns. Any servicing work we define in an estimate requires your review and approval before the servicing work is performed. You are responsible for safe insured shipping of your watch to us, see the Shipping your watches FAQ entry. You are responsible for return insured shipping costs. When we prepare an estimate for you, we often perform a good deal of work including researching parts availability and evaluating unique attributes of your watch as well as communicating our findings with you. Should you not proceed with a repair for a watch we have inspected and provided an initial estimate for, there will be a $75 inspection fee.

After sending your watch, the phases of the servicing process are (1) acknowledgment of receipt of your watch (2) Pre-Inspection which typically happens 14 days or less after receipt of your watch and (3) Servicing. During (2) an attempt is made to identify any needed parts and a revised estimate is provided. As some parts can, in some cases, take weeks to obtain if ordered globally, identified parts will be ordered at this phase. During (3), additional parts may be identified and if so you will be notified and the estimate is revised.

How should I pack a watch I'm sending you for servicing?

If you are shipping us a watch for service, the best USPS Priority box, available for free at the post office, is a Medium Flat Rate box which has dimensions of 11.5x8.5x5.5 inches or a larger box as-appropriate. This is the primary box we use. Please require USPS signature confIrmation and purchase appropriate insurance. Do not use a padded envelope, use a large strong box. The watch itself should be inside its own inner container inside the box. The watch should be surrounded by soft protective material inside of the inner container. The inner container should then itself be surrounded by soft protective material such as bubble wrap or more crumpled newspaper. You can use large amounts of crumpled newspaper if that’s all you have. The watch should really be entirely surrounded by it. The watch should be in the center of the box and surrounded by packing material so that if you shake the box, the watch does not move or shake inside. Please email the tracking number for your watch to ClockSavant when shipping.

My watch is running slow, does that mean it is not healthy? My watch is running fast, does that mean it is running strongly?

A common misconception amongst watch owners is that a slow watch is unhealthy (aka sluggish) and a fast watch is strong (aka energetic.) These assumptions are not necessarily correct. For example, an unhealthy watch with very little balance swing (low amplitude) can run very fast because the balance is not properly and fully rotating. With vintage watches and mechanical watches in-general, every watch has its "sweet spot" and we work to find that based on a number of parameters and assumptions of your wearing habits. We discuss accuracy more in our Support and Servicing sections of this website and provide performance measurements for all watches we sell and service.

What performance can I expect from my vintage watch after servicing?

We quantitatively measure performance before and after servicing and provide those results. Performance is also discussed in both the servicing and support pages of the website. Sometimes watch condition can limit achievable performance and so can wearing patterns. Condition impact will be discussed, if issues are encountered, during watch servicing. However, as can be read in the blog and ClockSavant Instagram page, We are firm believers that accuracy matters for vintage watches and we routinely achieve excellent numbers. For a vintage watch on your wrist and fully wound in the morning we hope to achieve accuracy within 30 seconds a day or much better; however, as performance can vary by many factors, you want to satisfy yourself with about 1 minute per day even though it will likely be far better after servicing is completed. The discussion of “vintage time” on the Internet and acceptance of poor timekeeping aka minutes a day is nonsense and an excuse used by people selling problem watches and servicing poorly or not at all.

Will my watch be water resistant after servicing?

Unless we explicitly state your watch was tested for water resistance and passed, you should assume it is not water resistant. Your watch will be reviewed to determine if water resistance can potentially be achieved depending on design of the watch, condition, age, and availability of seals and related water resistance parts. With some exceptions, many vintage watches can no longer be made water resistant but we will always assess if it's potentially possible and discuss any options with you. We have some of the most advanced water resistance testing equipment available including the Witschi Proofmaster.

VINTAGE WATCH ORIGINALITY

An overview of considerations in vintage watch originality - frequently asked questions

The topic of vintage watch originality is a large area of discussion and the source of frequent questions. Because of this, we have dedicated an entire page on our website to this topic. Please visit our Overview of Considerations in Vintage Watch Originality - Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT WATCHES FOR SALE

Giving automatic movement watches a jumpstart after they haven't been running

When you pickup an automatic movement watch for the first time in the morning and it has stopped from not being worn for several days, give the crown a wind of about 10 winds. This is a standard recommendation for automatic movements. While they wind themselves, if they have previously been unworn and stopped, then giving them a little "jumpstart" is a good thing to assure maximum accuracy.

How do I safely wind a manual wind watch?

Grasp the crown gently, enough to wind the watch but loosely enough to allow the crown to slip through your fingers when the mainspring is fully tight. Once the mainspring is fully tight, you don’t want to break the “click” on the watch by winding too hard. You do want to fully wind the watch, so you should continue until you feel a “stop” wherein the winding crown can no longer be turned.

How frequently should I wind my watch?

See the separate FAQ entry for automatic watches. Manual wind watches should be wound approximately once per day (every 24 hours) to maintain maximum accuracy and stability. If you plan to use a vintage chronograph for timing an event, it’s best wind it before use and at least wind it every 12 hours or sooner to assure the watch has adequate power to support the chronograph function.

Why is something shaking in my bumper wind automatic watch?

The bumper wind automatic movement watch is an historically significant automatic winding movement design that was the predecessor to the round spinning rotors we have today. Properly maintained bumper wind movements can work very well and are very enjoyable watches.  One nuance of the bumper wind watch movement which adds to its charm is that the weight for winding the watch bounces back/forth between two springs inside the watch creating a "bumper" feel when wearing the watch. It's an aspect of these watches that many collectors enjoy. If you have not experienced it before, do not be alarmed if you feel something bumping in the watch. When you pickup the watch for the first time in the morning and it has stopped from not being worn for several days, give the crown a wind of about 10 winds. This is a standard recommendation for all automatic movements. While they wind themselves, if they have previously been unworn and stopped, then giving them a little "jumpstart" is a good thing to assure maximum accuracy. 

Is the watch you are selling waterproof or water resistant?

See the Support section of this website to learn about taking care of your watch. None of the watches ClockSavant sells should be exposed to water of any kind unless we explicitly stated in the product description “Water Resistance Tested by ClockSavant.”

Is the watch you are selling accurate? What is the accuracy?

We provide performance measurements for all watches we sell. If we service your watch, we provide performance measurements. For details on interpreting these measurements, see the individual sales listing for the watch you are interested in and the Support section of this website.

Will the watch you are selling fit my wrist?

We will state the size of watch strap (regular or long) included with a watch for sale. If you have a specific size required for your wrist, let us know and we will work with you to change the strap on the watch to meet your needs. For watches with bracelets, we state whether all original links are included in the sales listing.

What is the size of the watch you are selling?

Every watch we sell includes, in the description of the watch, the case size (diameter) in millimeters (mm) excluding the crown and lugs unless otherwise stated.

ABOUT CLOCKSAVANT

Can you tell me more about ClockSavant?

ClockSavant LLC is an established business. We have 5000+ followers on Instagram and 1000+ positive feedback history on the “famous auction site." Eric Greenberg, ClockSavant founder, has been obsessed with horology for more than 20 years. He is a long-time collector turned horologist, watchmaker, and clockmaker. Eric Greenberg spent 30 years working in information technology and information security. We are members of the American Watchmaker Clockmaker Institute (AWCI) and a business member of National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors (NAWCC) for over 20 years. See also the About Us section of this website.