Hi Ralph,
I aggree partially with the dealer. I don't service my watches on a regular periodic basis. I have them serviced when they have problems. I do know however that some poeple get their's serviced regularly.
I guess I run the risk of the problem being so serious that more parts may need to be swapped out.
HOWEVER, where I STRONGLY disagree is with your/the dealers comment
My AD told me that ..... the waterresistance is guaranteed. ...
If the watch is 3.5 years old, the guarantee has expired. Should the watch become water damaged the costs will be yours.
There is a recent thread on as similar subject
pressure testing a watch
I have a watchmaker like Steve Remsnyder's. I take a watch in & he tests it whilst I wait. He doesn't give me a guarantee, but then again he doesn't charge me either.
I have succesfully dived with many of the watches he has tested. ( To be honest I have never had any water damage to any of my watches ).
I would recommend that you get your watch seals / waterproofnees checked. Especially if you do the activities that you list.
Finally, I don't shower in my watches. Maybe I'm being a bit of a pansy here, but I'd rather take it off & avoid the potential risk. The main difference between showering & swimming / Washing etc is the water temperature.
Subjecting your watch to a shower usually invloves spraying it in (very) warm water. The metals expand & contract at different rates, who knows what is happening to the seals ( is 3,5 year old rubber as flexible as it used to be ? )
Someone once posted that it just isn't worth the risk & to remove the watch takes 5 seconds... I agree & since then don't shower in my watch.
Obviously if you are regularly in a Gym ( or whatever ) leaving your watch lying around ( in a locker or on the window sill ) whilst you shower may not be an option.
All the Best
Steve
P.S. if the shop is closing... does he have an older catalogues ?? I'd be really interested in some
