Who’s Doing the Servicing?
Since WatchCheck is a new service, there are naturally some questions about just who is actually handling your watch. But WatchCheck is just the facilitator: the actual servicing is being performed by Stoll & Company, the largest watch servicing center in the U.S.
Stoll & Co. was established in 1982 and is based in Ohio. It claims to have serviced over 3.5 million watches, including the restoration of vintage Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendars. However, although the business has experience in working on practically every brand, it is only certified by a handful, with TAG Heuer being the most recognizable brand on which Stoll is officially certified to perform a service.
That means Stoll, and by extension, WatchCheck, isn’t an officially certified service center for brands like Rolex, Patek, Omega, Cartier and Audemars Piguet — the brands most prominently featured on WatchCheck’s website. That obviously doesn’t mean they can’t service those watches, but if you want servicing that’s backed by those brands, you’re going to have to look elsewhere.
Is WatchCheck Worth It?
Although I haven’t personally used WatchCheck, I probably will in the future, as the pros of the site are pretty clear to me. I like that the process is entirely online, I like that they handle all of the packaging and shipping, I like their warranty, I like their quick turnaround times and their prices seem competitive.
The only downside I can see, really, is the lack of official certification from most of the best-known watch brands. But given the level of experience at Stoll & Co., I would probably be willing to give them a pass on that considering all of the other benefits.