Kita Shig Jewelry

I came here to have my watch resized because everyone was giving it good reviews. The watch isn’t too fancy, just a pin to remove and take out one link. He wanted $ 25 for a fix that takes less than a minute. I left and bought a small screwdriver then fixed it myself.

Shig helped me out with 4 watches needing batteries. He was quick, efficient and even noticed an insulator needed to be replaced in one of the watches. Replaced that for no additional charge.
Due to earthquake damage, his shop is currently in his home so call ahead to get the address and directions.
In response to one of the very negative reviews of Kita Shig, there is a sign posted very clearly stating a minimum $ 25 fee for replacing/​adding links to a watch band.

Excellent, refined, service for us low-​income citizens with Casio wrist watches. I use Mr. Kita for wrist watch battery purchases.

Shig’s shop in downtown Napa was severely damaged by the August 2014 earthquake, so he’s temporarily working out of his Napa home until he finds another affordable space to rent (good luck with that one!). I took my Wengers sport watch in for a new battery, surprised that it needed one so soon after I’d had it replaced (by another shop) just a few months ago. Shig spent about 15 – 20 minutes looking at the watch’s insides, testing the battery (it was still good), and explaining that the person who had replaced the battery previously hadn’t inserted it correctly so that the battery wasn’t making a consistent connection. I had already written a check out to him and asked for the charge amount, but he said there would be none, since he hadn’t actually replaced the part. I said I wanted to pay him for his time and expertise, but he refused.
Doing business with Shig is like going back in time 50 years — not only the vintage equipment but the integrity of an honest man. He’s 90 years old, still eager to work, and the sign over his work table now reads «In business over 60 years.» Let’s continue to support such a lovely businessman.

Mr. Kita is such a lovely man & provides excellent work & service. I hope that Mr. Kita’s landlord, Mr. Brian Silver, gets his act together to fix the damage to Mr. Kita’s shop space from the earthquake so that Mr. Kita may provide his invaluable service to the valley once again! From what I see, Mr. Silver is depriving Mr. Kita of his livelihood & the valley of an excellent watch repairman!

I’ve been coming here for watch service and repairs for over 32 years. He’s fast, reasonably priced and knows what he is doing. I love the «time warp» feeling have his place and am glad that some things never change! :)

The unfortunate reality of living in small towns is that often multiple options don’t exist for specialized services. This store represents the only local option for watch repair in Napa. After reading the charming story about Shig Kita and the long tenure of his store in the Napa register, I decided to bring him a watch for repair — in retrospect a very big mistake. My watch was only further damaged and (while I won’t get too far into this aspect) the customer service was terribly rude at each interaction.
My watch, a high quality automatic, had worked perfectly for more than 10 years before finally needing a tune up. After waiting a month for the work to be completed at Shig Kita’s shop, the watch stopped working after only a week, now with a much more significant flaw to the crown/​pin used to set the time/​date/​DOW. When I brought the watch in for a second repair, he surprisingly took a look at it right away. After 10 minutes of work, he returned it back to me with only the time working, but not the date/​day. He asked if I «needed to use the date» and indicated to me that he thought the «rest of the watch was working perfectly.» If any part of a watch’s mechanism isn’t working perfectly, it is obviously a major problem. Right in front of him I tested the setting mechanism, which was absolutely not working, but for some reason he refused to acknowledge that it was broken. It seemed to me that «partially working» was good enough for him. He offered to take the watch in to work on again, but with my confidence at that point completely drained, I left to find a more reputable repair option.
No doubt this is my fault — you just shouldn’t bring good watches to a place like this. For a band or battery change, no problem whatsoever, but for real work on a real watch, spend the extra money (proper watch repair is expensive) and take it someplace you can trust. You get what you pay for, and if you paid for a real watch, pay for a real watch repair.

I went in to this watchmakers store one time to have my watch band adjusted to have one link taken out. It took under two minutes and he charged me $ 25. The price was ridiculous. I went home and changed a few of my other watches by myself and it took me about two minutes per watch. All it took was the tip of a pin to pop out the Spring rod. How he stays in business with those prices are Beyond me.
The last time I had a battery changed and the link taken out of my watch cost me $ 10. And that was at the jewelry store inside Sears. From an authorized jeweler that has been doing it for over 30 years.
When you buy a battery at a jewelers and you want a link added or taken from your watch they usually do it as a courtesy since it only takes two minutes. Of course they charge you $ 10 for the battery. That cost them 75 cents.
I looked at the watches he had in his jewelry case and the average watch was $ 50 to $ 100 more than what you can get it for at any other store that I have been too.
He’s a very nice gentleman. But his prices are outrageous. My watch only cost me $ 50. And I was charged with tax over $ 38 for one battery and removing one link. It would’ve been cheaper just to buy a new watch with a one-​year warranty.

Got my watch running within minutes! GREAT service, at GREAT price. THE place to go to in Napa Valley for any and all watch and jewelry need AND yes, it does feel like nothing has changed since about 1977.
A good thing.

As the other reviewers point out, Shigemura Kita has had his watch shop in Napa for over 50 years — 53 now I think! What you will probably go to him for is to fix your watch or replace its battery. I don’t know why his store is listed as a jewelry store and not a watch shop since I cannot recall ever seeing anything but watches there!
Anyway, what I wanted to add is that the $ 10 or so which Shig Kita charges to replace a battery applies to ANY WATCH! including Patek Philippe, Vacheron Konstantin, Breguet, Rolex, etc. You get it? We have paid upwards of $ 100 at places like Shreve in SF to have my wife’s batteries replaced on her fancy watches. Shig Kita can fix any and all of them!

This store is the best place in Napa to get your watch battery replaced; right between Main and First, going up First Street it is on your left side next to the County Building. I go to get my little ol’ Anne Klein Watch fixed here and yes, I still like wearing a watch; same one for years and years, and I love it.
Mr. Kita works the counter and he is like a little kid who gets excited to fix things. The charge is often minimal, and I get my watch back brand new!

When I need my watch batteries replaced or a watch repaired, this is where I go. Usually it’s $ 12 to replace a battery, labor included, and he does it in about five minutes.
There’s a sign on the door that says that the shop has been open for over 50 years, and when you walk into Shig Kita, it’s like walking through a funky time warp! You get the distinct feeling that nothing has changed since the 1970s. The old Citizen watch display cases, the rotating tree of Spiegel watchbands, the analog clock on the wall, the fluorescent lighting, and even the soft sound of AM talk radio coming from behind the counter all take me back to the kind of Main Street shops I remember as a kid.
Shig Kita does all the work himself (what little work comes through the door nowadays). He’s a quiet, soft spoken, older gentleman from another time, and I can’t decide if he reminds me more of Pat Morita, Yoda, or my grandfather. But he’s the reason that I actually look forward to my watch stopping.