I had a Rolex Explorer, which I sold to buy the TAG-Heuer. I loved it, but the Explorer I has no date and the acryllic (sp?) lens needed to be polished every year or so. Don't know why they didn't use a synthetic sapphire lens at that price! Other Rolex models do.

But the Rolex wasn't dead accurate, although a well known local Rolex serviceman got it to within about 30 seconds a week. The real rub is that I can't afford to shell out several hundred dollars to have it cleaned every few years. If I was rich I'd buy several and stagger when they were cleaned.
My son has worn several Rolexes and Omega Seamasters. He even WON a Rolex Yachtmaster as a door prize at a party held by a wealthy Kuwaiti woman before he went off to invade Iraq in 2003.

The store in the mall that services my watches is a famous jeweller, Ben Bridge. They are a national chain, I think, and sell Rolex and other top notch brands, inc. TAG-Heuer. They no longer sell Seiko, but can repair my older ones. This ability may vary from store to store and which parts the individual repairman has on hand. All three of my watches are certified water resistent to considerable depths and use special seals. I do not entrust them to typical mall shops that can change a Timex battery for ten bucks. They'd probably scratch the back of the watch getting it off, if not worse. The Ben Bridge man also checks in a pressure test unit to insure that the seals are good to a depth of several hundred feet.

One of the Seikos ticks loudly enough to be heard in a quiet room, and that bugs me. Reminds me of Peter Capstick warning that a leopard can hear your watch if he passes close by your blind en route to a bait tree... I also have a small Swiss Army Brands desk clock that is audible from several feet away. I keep it by the computer to remind me how much time I waste here.

Eventually, I will repair all three watches, the TAG first. It is probably the best watch that I'll ever own. But I'll pull out the stem in one Seiko, to keep it ready for emergencies when another watch is in the shop. I was rotating all three watches, for variety.

I have seen some nice looking Seiko automatic watches on Amazon.com for maybe $60-75. Anyone know them? What does it cost to clean an auto Seiko, and can US dealers even do that? Swiss Army Brands and Wenger also have Swiss quartz watches made for them, and some look pretty good. I want to avoid getting a gray market Seiko that Seiko's USA offices won't service. Some feedback that I saw on a watch board does suggest that Seiko USA in CA and in NJ are pretty good about service. But I was shocked to learn that many former local Seiko dealers like some Zale stores and big department stores no longer sell the brand. No idea why. My Seiko watches have been quite good, and very accurate. The materials are lighter and less well made than on the TAG, but it cost maybe three times what either Seiko did. I suspect that Swissman will agree that timepieces from his country tend to be the best.

I had a PM from a member who warned that once a quartz watch starts skipping seconds, it needs quick repair or the battery may cause power surges that could damage the watch. I'll call Monday and ask the repairman if he knows anything about that. The store is an authorized TAG dealer, so he should know.

Thanks for the info, fellows.