Vacheron Constantin Service Guide: Costs, Polishing and Warranty Rules

The Maison publishes a pricing table, and the June 2026 edition is the most useful single document an owner can read before sending a watch in. It lists a complete service at 590 CHF for a quartz movement and 810 CHF for a simple manual or automatic movement. Special movements and high complications aren't given a fixed price. They're quoted on estimate once the watch has been inspected.

That structure matters. A time only automatic is the easy case, and the published figure is a realistic anchor. A perpetual calendar, a tourbillon or a minute repeater is a different conversation, because the work depends on the movement and on what the inspection turns up. Treat any fixed number you see online for those pieces with suspicion.

The table also says prices can change at any time and may vary with currency conversion and raw material costs. Local currency prices at a boutique or regional service centre can differ from the Swiss figures, so ask for a written estimate in your own currency before you approve anything.

A complete service means the watch is fully disassembled, inspected, cleaned and repaired where necessary, then reassembled and checked. That's the standard approach across the industry, and Vacheron Constantin describes its own complete service in the same terms. The Maison also notes it's a multi hour task, and that the process typically takes about 4 to 6 weeks once you've accepted the estimate.

Plan around that timeline. If you travel with a particular watch or wear one daily, don't book the service the week before a trip. Ask when the clock starts: it's usually after the estimate is approved, not when the watch is dropped off.

The word to listen for in an estimate is "if necessary." Cleaning and oiling are routine. Replacing a worn part, a mainspring or a crystal is repair work, and it's reasonable to ask which parts are being replaced and why. A good service centre will tell you before it does the work, not after.

Restoration is the Maison's route for vintage pieces. Vacheron Constantin says the aim is to bring a watch as close to its original condition as possible, from the movement to the dial, and that it can take from 3 to 6 months depending on the request and the work required. Some components no longer exist and have to be handcrafted.

That's a very different proposition from a complete service on a current Overseas or Patrimony. If you own an older reference, expect the Maison to treat originality seriously. Parts that can be saved will be, and parts that can't will be made to match. It's slower and costs more, but it's also how a vintage watch keeps its identity.

A practical point for anyone considering a vintage purchase: ask whether the watch has had a restoration, a service, or neither, and get that in writing. The difference changes both the value and what you should budget for next.

Polishing is priced separately, and the pricing table shows why you should decide before the watch goes in. Full polishing bundled with a complete service or a restoration is listed at 160 CHF for the case alone and 260 CHF for case and bracelet. Booked as a standalone service, the same work is 310 CHF for the case and 510 CHF for case and bracelet.

So if you do want it, do it with the service. But whether you want it is a separate question. Polishing removes a small amount of metal every time, and on a watch with crisp bevels and a mix of brushed and polished surfaces, that can soften the edges that give the case its character. A watch with light wear usually doesn't need it. Deep scratches might.

Our advice is to tell the service centre what you want in plain terms. "Remove the dings but keep the bevels sharp" is a better instruction than "make it look new." Ask what the intended finish is, and ask for photos of the case before and after if the centre offers them.

A new Vacheron Constantin carries a two year warranty from the date of purchase against manufacturing defects. The Maison's warranty terms also describe a six year extension for Master line watches still within the initial period, which brings the total to eight years. Terms differ by region (the United States and Canada, Australia and the rest of the world each have their own version), so read the one that applies to you.

Work done by the Maison is covered too. Vacheron Constantin states that watches undergoing a restoration or complete service are protected by a two year service warranty on the work carried out and the components replaced.

The catch is in the exclusions. The warranty terms exclude alterations, tampering, dismantling, and services or repairs carried out by anyone other than the Vacheron Constantin After-Sales Service in Geneva or an authorized repair centre. If your watch is inside the warranty period, taking it to an independent for a battery or a bracelet adjustment is a decision to make with that in mind. Claims also generally go through an authorized dealer, and you'll need the original warranty certificate, completed, dated, stamped and signed by the dealer.

Some Vacheron Constantin models, including certain Overseas references such as the Overseas Chronograph and the Overseas Tourbillon, carry the Hallmark of Geneva (Poinçon de Genève). The current criteria apply to the finished watch rather than only the movement, and since 2012 the case has borne the stamp as well. The original 1886 rules concerned only movements and their finishing.

For an owner, the practical consequence is that these watches are built to a finishing and accuracy standard that you'll want preserved. That's a reason to use a service provider who can show they work on the calibre in question, and to be cautious with aggressive case polishing, since the case is part of what's certified.

We'd stop short of saying a service voids the hallmark. The certification applies when the watch is made, and nothing we've read says an owner loses it by servicing. What a careless service can do is leave the watch with worse finishing and timekeeping than it left the factory with.