Haute
[oht]
fashionably elegant or high-class
Horologist
[hoh-rol-uh-jist]
a person who studies and works with clocks or watches.
We are a national repair boutique based out of Boise, Idaho. Haute Horologist specializes in servicing and repairing timepieces of all varieties. Everything from the world’s leading luxury watch brands to battery-powered quartz watches. Many luxury watch owners prefer to have a local watchmaker servicing their watches, rather than shipping them across the country to service centers where they have to pay higher prices and endure longer wait times.
Father and son duo, Steve and Bennie, now combine their talents to offer a unique customer experience for the timepiece utilitarian to the avid collector and enthusiast.
Bennie Hernandez
Bennie Hernandez has a WOSTEP Certificate that is recognized around the world as the top training in the watchmaking industry. Bennie was the recipient of the “FA Lange Watchmaking Excellence Award” in 2012, an international watchmaking competition put on by A. Lange & Söhne in Dresden, Germany. He was the first American invited to the 4 month long competition and the only American that has won to date. Upon graduating from the North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking, he was the recipient of the “Best Student Award” presented by Vacheron Constantin for being at the top of his class. Throughout his professional career, he has spent months training with some of the world’s best luxury brands including IWC (International Watch Company) and Vacheron Constantin in Switzerland and A. Lange & Söhne in Germany. Bennie has over six years experience servicing watches ranging from $5k-$250k daily. Before founding The Haute Horologist, Bennie was the watchmaker in the flagship boutique for IWC on Madison Avenue in New York City.
Steve Hernandez
Steve Hernandez is an experienced clockmaker having been in the industry for over 10 years. He has trained with many clockmakers over the years and is an authorized serviceman for Ridgeway and Howard Miller clocks. Steve has also had training for Jaeger- LeCoultre Atmos clocks from their North American repair center in Fort Worth, Texas. He started his own clock repair shop in Boise in 2009 that eventually grew to have several employees. After becoming the premier clockmaker in Boise, Steve was commissioned to work on the Boise Train Depot tower clock, City of Meridian Clocks, Idaho State Capitol Senate Majority Conference Room Clock, and a Federal Judges Clock in the Federal Court House. Before entering the clock repair industry, Steve spent 25 years as a Sales Representative for diverse companies and their products including Lockheed, Boeing, Bear Stearns, Chase, and Michelin.
WATCH SERVICES
Maintenance
Complete Service
Battery Replacement & Sizing
Resizing of bracelets by adding or removing links.
CLOCK SERVICES
Maintenance
Complete Service
FAQ
- If your timepiece is older than 5 years and is functioning poorly? Complete Services
- Is your timepiece older than 5 years and functioning poorly? Complete Service
- Is your timepiece less than 5 years old but needs small adjustments? Maintenance Services
- Has your quartz watch stopped ticking? Battery Service
- Does your bracelet not fit properly? Bracelet Service
A complete service is also called a Rebuild or Overhaul. During this service, the entire movement will be taken apart completely and inspected for any worn parts. Those parts will be repaired or replaced. Then the movement will be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner and then put back together. Once together, the movement is then lubricated and adjusted to run within acceptable tolerances.
A Maintenance Service will be conducted when the movement is in working order and does not need to be completely disassembled and cleaned. This includes adjustment of the time keeping and adding lubrication where necessary. Also, any small adjustments that may need to be made will be carried out at this time.
Even though it seems like a pretty straightforward operation, changing your battery on your own, or by an untrained professional, can be very dangerous for your timepiece. In our workshop we have the tools necessary to make sure that your timepiece is opened properly where no damage or scratches happen to the case. Also, we test and do a light cleaning of your movement to make sure the battery can last a long as possible, lengthening the time between battery servicing. Lastly, we make sure the the case is closed properly as to not jeopardize the water resistance properties of your watch.
Taking your timepiece to most jewelry stores, super markets, or mall kiosks that offer a battery replacement is putting it a serious risk. When they you give you your watch back, there is going to be new scratches, possible damage to the movement of your watch, and no guarantee that it is water resistant.
Yes! All complete services have a 2-year warranty, maintenance services have a 1-year warranty unless otherwise noted.
Most manufacturers recommend about every 5 years as that is about the lifetime of the synthetic oils used for lubrication. After that time, your timepiece may continue to keep good time, but it is likely that the lubricated surfaces have become dry and parts will start to wear until serious damage causes it to stop completely.
Bennie, our watchmaker, has experience working on quartz watches that cost as little as $5 and on unique mechanical timepieces that retail for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Steve has worked on a wide range of clocks including grandfather clocks from the 18th century and more modern small cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest in Germany. He even works on the tower clock at the Boise Train Depot. Any watch or clock that you have, there is a good chance that we can fix it for you!
Because we take great care while working on your timepiece, and there can be over a hundred small parts in one timepiece, we try not to rush things. Depending on the volume of our repair queue, the time it takes from when we receive your timepiece to when you get it back can vary slightly. However, on our workbench, it should only be a day or two for work and then we do a week of testing to make sure everything is functioning as expected.