Gold watch repairing

[#1]

I have my father's gold watch which he got from his last company and of course it is very precious to me.
I have worn it  almost continuously since he died in 1979 because he told me not to put it away in a showcase but to wear it and get the benefit.
I now find that it is beginning to misbehave and I want to have it cleaned.
However, I have been quoted a cost of £115 plus Insurance Posting to Glasgow of another £8 or so by a very reputable watch company and I find this hard to comprehend...but if I have to........
My question would be to anyone who has experience of this, is this a normal cost.
Is there anyone who has better news for me regarding the cost.
But , as I said, if I have to pay  a large sum then I will.
cheers
Eddie Johnson

[#2]

Sent my watch away for a new battery, cost of 35 quid, watch company said there was an issue and it needed to be serviced which cost me 147.
So going on that it doesn't surprise me that you were quoted that much.

[#3]

Have you tried places like H L Brown. My Father used to take his Wyler (bought in Egypt during the last war) for cleaning there as it was the only company he trusted with it.

[#4]

I had my watch serviced/repaired a few years ago. I just looked up the paperwork £513.58
£115 seems like a good deal to me, particularly for a precious heirloom

[#5]

@santiago, I'm genuinely curious, what kind of service/repair to a wrist watch can justify a bill of that size? I can get my car serviced twice for less than that. I appreciate I'm not in the Rolex etc. league, I would guess this is a return to manufacturer rather than a high street chain jeweller, but even so!

[#6]

Quote from: Santiago

£513.58

Wow!
Did you mean to type £153.58?

[#7]

I had a Tissot watch repaired some time ago and it cost £95.

[#8]

@ strat
Thanks for that.
Yes, One of the fears I have is having to post the watch to the other end of the UK.
To me it is too precious to post ...the insurance payment would not bring a lost heirloom back!

[#9]

I tend to drive to Accrington from Leeds (around an hour away) to visit a jeweller/watchmaker who I know to be very good - as you say, an insurance payout won't bring back an heirloom.

[#10]

@community, can you not find a local High Street jeweller who does his own repairs?  There are still a few of them around.

[#11]

I recently took a watch of my to be serviced as water had started getting behind the screen (it's waterproof) and the battery needed replacing. It's nothing special but I had got quite attached to it as it was bought as a present for my 18th birthday. I was quoted £85 which is just over half the value of the watch (when it was first bought). I'm going to get a replacement watch instead I think but given this I'd say £115 is quite reasonable for a gold variant.

[#12]

Just read an article in my local paper about Epping Forest Horology Club.  It's too far from where you are but it may be worth contacting them to see if they can put you in touch with anyone in your area who might help.
http://www.efhc.org.uk/

[#13]

I once showed my Dad's Wyler to an in-store watch repairer in Debenhams. His eyes lit up as he said he wouldn't dare try to clean it but would I like to sell it.
I declined his offer.

[#14]

I would like to point out that the watch shops in Debenhams are concessions and not owned or run by Debenhams. 

[#15]

Thank you Adiewoo for the legal footnote