Today I want to talk about one of the most important technical advances in watchmaking in the last five years (or so), which concerns the extension of the warranty.
If you follow us in the pages of L'Orologio, you will have witnessed the constant improvement in the quality of mechanical movements. A large number of high-end manufacturers have invested, for example, in technologies that have definitively remedied the most common problem of mechanical watches: magnetisation of the balance spring. The two most striking cases are Rolex and Omega, which have replaced the metal balance springs, on all their manufacture movements, with silicon (Omega) or paramagnetic alloy (Rolex) springs.
But that is not enough. Today, manufacturers are using lubricants that perform better against wear, anti-shock systems that are more effective against balance pin failures, and ceramic ball bearings. They have also simplified assembly operations by intervening already at the design stage, reducing the risk of errors on the part of watchmakers and consequent malfunctions. Then, stronger gaskets, better alloys for cases and bracelets, stronger buckles: even the habillage has been improved to increase durability.
Finally, the tests. Increasingly rigorous. Manufacturers subject their products to resistance, reliability and ageing tests, either in-house in the case of the big names or by outsourcing to external laboratories. These are combined with strict quality control, an indispensable step in a precision industry such as watchmaking.
The evolution of production processes, and of the products themselves, has therefore allowed many brands to extend the warranty on their watches.
Among the names that have extended the period of coverage are Girard-Perregaux, Longines, Omega, Richard Mille and Rolex, which have been extended to 5 years on all models. IWC, on the other hand, offers an extension from 2 to 6 years to those who register their watch on the company's website. The same applies to Jaeger-LeCoultre, which is extended to 8 years, again subject to purchase registration.
