Sotheby’s Will Now Fix Your Old Watch for You

Sotheby’s, which in recent years has pushed aggressively into the watch resale business, is expanding its footprint by partnering with WatchCheck, an online watch repair platform. “Now you can come to Sotheby’s and have your watch serviced,” says Geoff Hess, the global head of watches at Sotheby’s. “Ask any watch collector, and they’re going to tell you there’s a huge hole there and a real need.”

Presently, watch owners can bring their timepieces to the manufacturer for cleaning and repairs; if they have an antique watch that’s no longer serviced, they may need to find an independent contractor. Hess won’t say for certain that Sotheby’s offerings will be cheaper than the manufacturer or an independent service provider (“This isn’t, ‘Oh, we’ll service your watch for a bargain price’—that isn’t the allure”), but he’s confident that “we’re going to make the process very seamless, very easy and much faster.”