As a magazine specialising in watchmaking, our desire is also to train watchmaking 'experts', providing our readers with all the possible tools for an in-depth knowledge of the object of their passion. For this reason, we immediately embraced the idea of Marco Milani and Elisabetta Berti, Swatch Group Customer Service managers, to accompany a select group of guests on a tour of the watchmaking workshop of the largest Swiss group in the sector. On 14 January, therefore, the Customer Service in Via Washington 70 in Milan opened its doors to five enthusiastic readers of L'Orologio (there were to be six, as invited, but one participant had a last-minute setback). The visit, made particularly interesting by the expert and passionate guidance of Customer Service Manager Marco Milani and Training Manager Erika Ferrigno, took up only the first part of an afternoon dedicated to watchmaking in its most practical and technical aspects. The second part of the Watchmaker Experience, in fact, saw our guests engaged at the watchmaker's bench for a practical test under the guidance of two Swatch Group trainers: Luca Lorenzetto and Luca Trotti. It was a real watchmaking lesson, which was conducted on the ETA/Unitas 6498-1 hand-wound movement (18,000 vibrations per hour, small seconds at 6 o'clock), allowing simple enthusiasts to experience first-hand just how delicate the operation of even one of the least complex watchmaking movements is, with its large dimensions and no additional functions. The live experience gave our guests a better understanding of how a large and well-structured service centre like the Swatch Group works. The thirty watchmakers at the Customer Service in Milan, in fact, carry out overhauls on watches of all the brands belonging to the Swatch Group, from Breguet to Omega, from Blancpain to Glashütte Original, via Jaquet Droz, Longines, Rado, Tissot, Mido, Hamilton and Calvin Klein. Only the grand complications and vintage models of the Blancpain, Breguet, Glashütte Original and Jaquet Droz brands are sent directly to the parent companies in Switzerland for servicing, whether under warranty or not. The Customer Service in Milan is a model within the Swatch Group. It is one of the few in Europe that can service all brands and receives between 120 and 150 watches a day. With over 35,000 references and more than 100,000 parts, it covers the internal spare parts requirement at 98%. The watchmakers regularly take part in training courses run by the parent companies and held in the Customer Service 'training room', where the Italian training staff also hold refresher courses for personnel from other European countries, as the room is even equipped for international Omega certification. Once the overhaul is complete, the watch is returned to the customer in a specially marked case complete with an international card that guarantees the complete watch (in the case of a complete overhaul) or the repair (in the case of a partial overhaul) for two years.
