Wearing your watch daily, or even frequently, will cause it to lose lustre and shine overtime. Unless your watch is made of scratch-proof material, scratches on watches are inevitable, causing your watch to look old and worn.
That’s why people turn to watch polishing as a solution to remove scratches and restore the watch’s shine.
Watch polishing is offered at many places and range from exorbitant to more affordable prices. Some of you might have questioned before: why do I need to fork out more than $300 to polish my watch when some places offer the same service for a mere $50?
Well, the truth is there is a distinct difference between the polishing process at different price points.
For more affordable polishing, the watches are typically polished without dismantling. For watches that are more worn or of lower monetary value, there’s lower risk in choosing this cheaper option.
But for your watches that you have spent more exorbitant sums on … you might want to think twice when cutting costs.
For more expensive watches, it is advisable to opt for more professional polishing. This kind of polishing is done after the watch has been taken apart and each component of the watch is given separate treatment. Of course, this means more time and effort spent on polishing, thus accounting for the higher price point.
By taking out the links in the bracelet or polishing the bezel as a separate component, the polisher will not accidentally scratch other components of the watch during polishing.
There is also greater attention to the design of the watch. Some parts of the watch might be polished, while other parts are matte. Some watches have bevels or chamfers on the edge of the lugs as part of the design. By polishing the watch’s components separately, the polisher can better retain the watch’s original design and condition.
Professional polishers will also take note of the edges of the watch – keep them sharp or curve as its original, but not polish away too much such that the shape of the watch changes.
At the end of the day, though polishing is needed once in a while to maintain the lustre and condition of your watch, it is nonetheless a process that is irreversible – each time the watch is polished, a layer of metal is removed.
Some points to note are that polishing can restore up to 80% to 90% of its original condition, and it is not possible to polish off deep dents and certain areas. It is best to show your service centre the condition of your watch and let them advise the best possibility.
Our final advice is to try not to polish your watch too frequently or necessarily, little scratches on your timepieces has its own story and character!