Why collectors are pivoting from flipping to fixing

In quiet times, the collector’s market is pivoting from flipping to fixing, heralding a boom for specialist repair and restoration workshops across Britain. Watch writer Thor Svaboe explores in more depth the increasing trend of renovating a current watch rather than splurging on a new one, and which companies are best placed to facilitate this boom.

We have been through the pandemic boom of grey market headlines and mortgage-valued vintage Rolex and Patek Philippes. Now we are in a wait-and-see period, in a market that in recent weeks has been given a big knock by missiles soaring through Middle Eastern skies and predicted stock market drops. Auction headlines are quieter, waiting lists have thinned, and the once-frenetic secondary market has cooled to something far more measured, and, trigger-happy presidents aside, seems to be the new reality. But the story to be told is nuanced; the collector has not disappeared, they have just paused to think. With speculative buying out of favour, today’s enthusiast is less inclined to chase the next allocation and more inclined to look inward, towards the watches already in the safe.

Servicing, mechanical overhauls, case refinishing, and sympathetic restoration are no longer the afterthought they often were. Realising your watch has stopped, making you miss that crucial meeting, has long been the only way we are reminded that a mechanical watch, like your car, needs servicing. A properly maintained chronograph or a carefully restored vintage diver protects long-term value as you ruminate on a new purchase, enhances its wearability and, in many cases, strengthens provenance.

Where flipping once dominated conversation, stewardship is regaining currency, and the slowdown in new purchases is quietly fuelling growth at the workbenches of Britain’s independent specialists. From complex movement repairs to painstaking case restoration and vintage conservation, today’s increased focus on longevity may prove to be the most resilient business story of this cycle.

In Lancashire, Prime Time Watch Repairs has seen growing demand for complex mechanical interventions and meticulous refinishing of damaged and neglected modern ‘grails.’ This is the kind of labour-intensive restoration that requires skill rather than speed. In London, Harris Horology operates at the more rarefied end of the spectrum, where vintage integrity and sympathetic conservation materially affect long-term value.

With different specialisms and, often overlapping, clientele across both businesses, we see a common thread. When confidence in rapid appreciation wanes in a cooling market, the workshop may well be the most resilient part of the horological ecosystem.

Prime Time Watch Repairs is a company based in the verdant green nature of Mawdesley, Lancashire, names that make us think of literal cottage industries and a fierce lack of tech. Instead, Prime Time and its owner, Steven Forshaw FBHI, stand out with a media-savvy identity that engages and beats most London-based independent workshops. The business is only about five years old, Steven told us. “But we are TAG Heuer and Cartier accredited, and moved into new premises roughly about 18 months ago now.” Steven and his team have a dedicated polishing room with a professional watch polisher on site who specialises in laser welding and repair and is brand-trained. “We probably spent about £30,000 to £40,000 on tooling, so we’re able to do sandblasting, laser welding, and lapping to bring pieces back to how they should be, back to the geometrical shapes. So if people dent a watch, we can fill the dent and then lap it, so that you’re not removing too much material.” 

So yes, a vintage Submariner is still more valuable in its unpolished state, but banging your new TAG Heuer Carrera or 2022 GMT-Master into a door handle warrants a different approach, and it’s worth it. And the work keeps coming, on a new and different scale, according to Forshaw. “The demand for our work, especially in more expensive pieces like Rolexes, Omegas, and Breitlings, has gone through the roof.”

But Britain is the land of DIY and garden shed work benches, so Steven still sees clients who have tried to polish watches themselves, only to round off the sharp edges of Swiss watch cases. “The demand to have it done correctly has gone through the roof,” Steven told us, with customers increasingly asking for laser welding and polishing. “We’ve always been a service centre, so we specialise in servicing watches from low to high-end, up to Rolex. We don’t do APs and things like that, but as we’re just an independent, parts are quite hard to come by.”

It also seems that Steven’s customers are realising that, with the option to have the watch polished or discreetly repaired, they can wear it more, rather than keeping it a safe queen. “Mike, our polisher, is absolutely unbelievable,” Steven told us. “In the UK, you’ll struggle to find people who can actually use laser welders, polish to a high standard, and are brand trained. There are probably fewer than 20 people in the UK who can do that. Mike inspires us, so we do work really well together as a team.”

Talking to Steven, it seems the business thrives, currently with a staff of five, including himself. “We have a front of house, three watchmakers, and a polisher,” said Steven. “My skills lie with the organisational side; I’m the creative one who created the brand and built the workshop up from scratch.” Steve has slowly improved the workshop over the years, achieved two brand accreditations and hopes to get more down the line, and will remain staunchly independent. “I’ve never actually worked for Watches of Switzerland or for a big brand where all the parts are on the shelf. As an independent, we’ve always had to think outside the box, so it’s nice when people from big brands praise us. It really makes me feel nice because it’s been quite a slog to get to where we are now, but it’s lovely to be able to show off our work.”

Steven’s enthusiasm is tangible, and he also speaks to other watchmakers. Despite the industry’s lack of skilled labour, there are more aspiring watchmakers who want to build their workshops, perhaps inspired by the rise of independent watchmaking. Even polishers, a niche profession if there ever was one, are going down the business route of starting up on their own. “I sort of champion independent watchmakers, to be a voice for people and help them out,” Steven told me. “There is plenty of work for everybody out there, so my goal is to inspire other people to start their own businesses and get as many independent workshops around the UK as possible, to prove that the trade isn’t dying. In fact, we’re on the up!”

One of the big differences between Steven’s  Prime Time Watch Repairs and, well, most other small workshops, is his social media savvy nature. And, in 2026, that can make all the difference. “When you take your watch to a shop to get it polished, it’s not a standard repair, but very, very technical,” Steven told me, and the tooling for the job at hand is a big investment for a small business. “We show a lot on Instagram and our social media just to try and show the clients what their watches go through, and the expertise needed to do these sorts of repairs.” 

A lot of, if not most, people take their watches to a jeweller or a brand’s flagship store, and they are sent to a central workshop. “You don’t actually get to see the repair of the watch being done, so I take pride in showing that off in our workshop. People can see it every day and they can see the sort of work that we do.” In fact this is what inspired us to talk to Steven in the first place, and with watch polishers like @the_watch_polisher having close to 30K Instagram followers, the fascination is tangible.

I also talked to James Harris of Harris Horology in London, running a repair-and-restoration business boosted by a renewed love of vintage. Having recently moved to new premises in Brixton, James advertises as offering ‘Watch, Clock, and Chronometer Repairs,’ spanning a wide range of work with a vintage emphasis. “A lot of collectors are becoming more thoughtful and spending more time to consider what they’re after, in terms of repair or restoration work,” James told me. This is due to increased knowledge and interest. Owners today know that a ’68 Omega Speedmaster is worth more with its original hands, and, according to James, many owners are sticking to that school of thought for newer watches that lack the same value or collectability. “I find a lot of collectors are glad to be able to have a conversation about what matters to them,” Harris said. “We’re certainly finding we get a lot more clients and collectors who are no longer willing to send watches to the manufacturer because this sort of discussion isn’t possible with them.” 

This rings true for many collectors today, in sharp contrast to only a decade ago, when many would not weigh up the fact that a big Swiss brand like Rolex might swap out a dial or a pair of hands for perfection reasons, unwittingly reducing the value of a future grail.

James also mentions that, due to the increase in value, the pandemic boom, and increased exposure across all media, drawers and safes are being emptied and heirlooms revived. “We really found a niche specialising in heirlooms,” Harris told us, adding, “and I’ve seen a big rise in comments about how watches have been in a drawer or safe for decades, untouched.“ James told us that they see a lot of items that stopped back in a time when repairing watches didn’t seem worth it, especially for more involved repairs like broken balance staffs or rust from water ingress. “Things have changed now and both the value of these watches have increased, while new luxury watches are becoming prohibitively expensive for many,”  James told me, quoting a  £1,000 estimate to restore your grandparent’s Omega versus shelling out £6,000 for a new one. This also runs in parallel with the relentless surge of vintage reissues and retro-themed watches from much-advertised brands, and underscores the proven case for vintage watches coming back into fashion, spurred by the number of reissues in shops. After all, why go for an homage when you can have an accurate, working Seamaster on your wrist for less, with the added charm of history in each cog and Swiss screw?

Harris Horology takes on much of what can be seen as routine servicing, which is often unpredictable. “With vintage watches, things very often are not routine,” James told me with a smile. “Especially when the watch has been in a drawer for a few decades and was put there because repairs were deemed too expensive.” 

James has a gentle museum-led approach to his work, which means a relatively light touch to cosmetics like dials and cases. “We tend to recommend more intense restoration work when it’s mechanically required, to undo really poor-quality repairs from the past, or when there’s extreme damage to something like the dial or hands.” This is indicative of specialists like Harris, who these days are aware of the value in keeping as much original as possible, as is very important with all collectable items.

Talking to James, it seemed that, for vintage as well as newer watches, keeping, rather than flipping, encourages owners to invest in maintenance, helping ensure long-term value. But, as with all items from the previous century, older parts are the biggest challenge. “I’m hearing more and more that brands are refusing to service watches due to a lack of available parts,” James told me. “As an independent who’s proudly non-accredited, we can be more flexible than the brands, and I’ve got a great network to source original parts from, but some parts are unobtainable now.” This means that if something is so worn it has to be replaced and Harris Horology can’t source a new one, it has to be crafted in the workshop. “We’re having to manufacture a lot of components, which used to be easy to get hold of,” James said. “This includes complex parts like barrels or bridges, so it’s important for collectors and owners to understand that the longer the watch runs between services, the higher the risk of extreme wear or damage leading to much higher maintenance costs.” 

The theme of this story might be that watches are being repaired, not flipped, and that regular buyers have joined the collecting community to appreciate what they have. But perhaps it also speaks to a deeper sense of sustainability, appreciating watches for the minuscule mechanical marvels they are. For some, it is even a reaction to unsustainable disposable fashion, akin to choosing to polish your 10-year-old brogues from Church’s instead of buying another set of Chinese-made trainers that will end up in landfill.

This article originally appeared in the March 2026 edition of Watch Insider magazine.