7 On Your Side assists couple with overseas watch repair

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- If you have an expensive timepiece made overseas and it goes on the fritz, how do you get it repaired? That's the situation a Bay Area couple encountered, so 7 On Your Side looked into the matter.

This was quite an odyssey -- the couple didn't jet off to Switzerland, but the watch did. It flew halfway around the world, and for a while, it seemed they would never see it again. That's when 7 On Your Side got involved.

Clocks are everywhere in the San Francisco home of Bill Watson and George Gomez, including one special watch in particular.

"I bought it for Bill as a retirement present," Gomez said.

It's a silver watch made by Maurice Lacroix of Switzerland. Gomez bought it five years ago for $1,500.

"The back is open so you can observe the mechanism," Watson said.

You can see the tiny gears turning inside, keeping perfect time, until they stopped.

"And then something else happened and then the watch stopped entirely," Watson said.

Watson and Gomez contacted the seller, Swiss Watch International of Florida. The company told them to send in the watch for repair.

That was almost a year ago.

"Early January I believe," Watson recalled.

"We sent it in as they instructed," Gomez said.

However, four months went by they heard nothing from Swiss Watch International.

"I got nervous about it and I called them again and asked what happened to the watch," Watson said.

At first the company said it never received Watson's watch, but found it weeks later, telling Watson he had to pay $350 for the repair.

"Bill sent them a check for $350 and then we didn't hear from them," Gomez said.

Time was ticking but the watch was not. Another five months went by and still, there was no word from the company.

"And George got panicky about that time and started investigating," Watson said.

He contacted seven on your side. We contacted Swiss Watch International and the company stepped up. First, it refunded Watson's $350 repair fee and, finally, sent the watch directly to their doorstep, its gears turning perfectly.

CEO David Block tells us Watson's watch had to be sent all the way back to Switzerland for repairs, causing the long delay.

Block said, "We value our customers immensely and are very sorry that Mr. Watson and Mr. Gomez and a negative experience. As a result, as with any unsatisfied customer, Swiss Watch International addresses the root cause of the issue and takes action to try and make it right."

"It's a very nice watch and I enjoy wearing it," Watson said.

"We are thankful for Channel 7 and we won't forget you," Gomez said.

Swiss Watch International says it repairs 6,000 watches per year and this was a rare event. However, if you have a foreign-made watch, consider hiring a local jeweler who specializes in those repairs. It might save your watch a trip across the ocean.