Swiss Watch Works

I actually came to this watch shop on accident — and am so happy I did! I have had a dead watch battery for months now and have been meaning to replace it jsut couldn’t find myself near a watch shop. Where I used to live in the suburbs I would just go to a kiosk at the mall or supercenter but there are none of these close to me in DC!
Unilocaled — Thought I was going to the jeweler two stores down but ended up ringing the bell on a random stoop at this Watch Maker. A man came out of a large brown door (I feel like this is a movie… no joke) and let me into the tiny little watch store. There were about 4 cases of watches and a small work station. I told him I needed a watch battery, handed over my watch, and it took literally less that three minutes. Super nice man and fast service and he didn’t try to sell me into anything I didn’t need. Price was probably less than I would have paid at the mall, I am completely satisfied and my watch works again, yayee!

Careful, courteous
Everything I wanted from him
Great strap selection
Service while you wait
His shop is pleasant and clean
Watch repair needs? Here.

STAY AWAY!!!
I went there to repair an expensive watch that has more sentimental value than anything else. I got water damage and took it in for repair, and never got a time estimate of when it would be ready or a call. 2 weeks go by and I still haven’t heard so I go in and find out the watch isn’t ready yet. I understood it needed additional time and decided to wait and go back the following week.
I come in give him my receipt and was told that he took my watch home by accident. That alone made me uncomfortable, because I trusted him with my watch, not to be taking it places. The watchmaker offers to bring it to me if I pay now, I wasn’t comfortable with this AT ALL since he had been so shady. I told him I wouldn’t pay until I had the watch in my hand I knew it was working (which is normal especially when the repaid was $ 300).
He then tells me he was going to damage the watch again with water so that I would have to take it to the makers. This is unacceptable behavior, and no client should be threatened!

While out shopping for goods for my lady I fortuitously found this little hole in the wall shop which was able to quickly and inexpensively ($ 35) replace a watch strap for me which I had broken quite some time ago on one of my favorite watches. In a matter of seconds I had a new strap that almost perfectly matched the one I was replacing, and as an added bonus the owner did a tune up, for free, on a great pair of sunglasses which I’ve been exceptionally brutal on (unintentionally) over the years.
In addition to doing repairs, they’ve also got a nice selection of new watches, and they will also verify authenticity of watches that you may have bought online, at estate sales, from some guy on the street, whatever your scenario. I’m not sure how their prices compare on new watches, since I wasn’t in the market for that on the day I stopped by, but for anything service related I highly recommend these guys. [Note they are Visa or Mastercard only.]

brought in 3 different watches, each with a different problem– broken second hand, dead battery, and a screw loose in an automatic watch that jammed the mechanism.
the 2 guys repaired all 3 in 10 minutes. set date and time in all watches, and actually fixed this other timer problem in one that you don’t care to hear me describe.
its 15 $/​battery change
25 $ for general service/​repair

changed my watch battery in 5 min while i waited for $ 15 then set the time. last time i needed a battery i went to the mall and they kept it for an hour, charged me $ 25, and left the settings alone. seems like a good job to me. one minor complaint — hours posted are 11 – 4 on sat but there was nobody there at 1105.

My experience with Swiss Watch Works has been one of the most frustrating repair experiences I’ve ever had. The owner promised me the watch would be fixed in 2 weeks and 5 weeks later I’m still waiting. The owner has given me a pickup date 3 times and each time it has not been ready. I’ve tried calling ahead to avoid the hassle of driving to the repair shop, but the owner has never answered the number on his business card. If you have a watch that needs to be fixed, please save your self the trouble and try another repair shop.