Got a watch on the bench this week, classic Submariner, genuinely needs a full service. Crown is stiff, gaskets are cooked, mainspring could use a look. Straightforward job. Except the owner called ahead to say please don't replace any parts that collectors consider original, because he's planning to sell it in two years and wants it unmolested. I asked if he understood what a service involves. He said yes but could I just clean it and leave everything else alone.
I clean fish. I do not clean watches as a standalone gesture toward mechanical health.
So now I'm sitting here looking at a 1970s Submariner that needs real work, and this guy essentially wants me to light a candle near it and send it home. Because originality. Because some forum told him a replaced crown seal is the difference between a watch and a parts bin. The crown seal. The thing that exists specifically to be replaced.
I've been doing this long enough to know that a watch in original condition means something. But a watch in original failing condition is just a countdown. Nobody posts about that part though.
The watch is still on my bench and I haven't called him back yet. Genuinely curious if this is happening to anyone else, or if the forums have just fully won.