A conversation on Facebook got me thinking about this tonight. But it's something I've thought about, and spoken out about, for some time, and I figured the topic might bear some further exploration.People talk about some movements being "disposable", which some may see as a bad thing, but in many cases it's just a label without any value judgment being implied - being "disposable" is seen as neither a bad nor a good thing; it's just a vague concept we barely acknowledge, for now, since very few of us keep a watch long enough for it to need service.But what if we do?What exactly does that "disposable" mean, what's the consequence, and where is the line drawn?I want to offer this working definition:1. It costs more to service or repair than it does to replace it.2. It can't be serviced/repaired at all, because replacement parts aren't available, and it would cost more to fabricate the parts than the movement/watch is worth.EDIT - 2.B - it is designed to be unserviceable, as in the Swatch System51.3. There's no watchmaker in your area who can service it, you can't service it yourself, and the costs to ship a watch to the closest watchmaker make the whole affair cost prohibitive, and it would be cheaper to just buy a new watch.Feel free to take a moment to let all that sink in, as you realize that many, perhaps most, and maybe all of your watches fall under at least one of those definitions.Now, breathe...Before we talk about the movements, do you even know if there's a watchmaker in your area, and if so, what they charge to do a basic service, or Heaven forbid, a major repair?Watchmakers are a dying breed. There are maybe a half-dozen watchmaking schools in the USA. A recent graduating class at one of the schools here in PA was 5 people.Five people....FIVE.Watchmakers simply aren't as plentiful as they once were. Finding a good one, and getting him to actually service the watch can be a real pain in the tookus. If he gets it back to you in a timely fashion, doesn't charge more than a lawyer/doctor, and isn't surly as hell, count yourself lucky.There's exactly ONE reliable watchmaker where I live. He charges at least $300 to do a regular maintenance service on something like an ETA 2824-2, assuming he can source the parts he needs, which we'll get to.He only opens his doors to new work 3 days per week, and sometimes won't open his doors at all, so he can get caught up on all the work.I know many people here don't have ANY watchmaker in their area, so any watch that costs less to replace than the cost of a service plus shipping is disposable. Depending on where you live, round-trip shipping with insurance might cost you $100 on top of the service itself.But I was also pleasantly surprised to hear from a UK member that there are watchmakers in the UK who don't charge nearly as much for a basic service, so whether or not a movement is "disposable" is going to be somewhat location-dependent.So, let's count 'em down. Based on a $300 basic service in my area, that definition would include all of the following (for me, and anyone in a similar situation):, for certain. Probably also (if not more so) any Orient movement.I'm positive a single piece of all of those Seiko and Miyota calibres can all be purchased for less than the cost of servicing.I'm not sure anyone other than the authorized Orient service center can get an Orient movement, since it seems they don't sell them at all.In fact, a service really can't even be done on any of those Seikos/Miyotas, because these manufacturers don't sell replacement parts, other than crown stems.You can buy a new ETA 2824-2 for a little less than $200. Even with the cost of shipping, and paying a watchmaker to install it for you, you'd still spend less than you would having it serviced.If there's no watchmaker near you, or perhaps even in your country, then it might also include the more expensive Soprod A10, or even the Eterna calibre 39., especially those purchased cheap, and/or with movements no longer in production, from defunct manufacturers., but certainly all the "affordable" movements.Most watchmakers in the USA wouldn't touch a Sea-Gull or Peacock, and the manufacturers don't make it very easy to source parts (or even complete movements). I've never asked, so I don't know if my watchmaker would service one of the "higher end" Chinese movements, but my guess is the odds are 50-50 at best.So, a lot of your watches have "disposable" movements. What does that mean? Now what?First, calm down. Second, embrace movement disposability as a concept. Third, understand the math involved. Fourth, start incorporating it into your purchasing decisions...SEIKO/MIYOTA -There are lot of vintage - as in, 30-50 years old - Seikos and Miyotas for sale on ebay, never been serviced, and still keeping time relatively well. I bought a birth year (1971) Seiko Pogue chronograph, which I later gave to my friend Rusty. It's still ticking, running well enough, and he wears the hell out of it.Do they all run that well, for that long? No, your mileage may vary, but the number of un-serviced-yet-well-running vintage Seikos and Citizens still available are a testament to their long-term reliability.The affordable Seikos and Miyotas CAN'T be serviced, period, because there are no replacement parts for them. And they wouldn't make sense to service - odds are they'll keep time for decades if you just leave them alone.If by some chance your movement needs to be replaced sooner, but after the warranty is expired, you're in luck. A new NH35 will run $40-$50. A new 9015 runs about $90-$100. Swapping in a new movement is NOT a difficult job, but if you're as lazy/unskilled as I am, it's literally a five-minute job for any competent professional, and shouldn't cost you more than $30, certainly not more than $50.Maybe you'll still be able to buy a 9015 or NH35 in thirty years. More likely, these will be succeeded by a new calibre, but that might still be a drop-in replacement (the way the NH35 is a drop-in replacement for the NH25), assuming the old ones are out of production, and you can't find any NOS ("new old stock").Worst case scenario, you toss your watch in the garbage. You spent less than $600, and had it 30 years. It cost you less than $20/year - you got your money's worth.Best case scenario, you drop a new movement in for $100, give or take $20-$30, and your watch runs well for another 30 years, lowering your annual cost of ownership further by amortizing your original purchase price over a longer period of time.You: "What the hell did he just say?"Me: For example, let's say you buy a watch with the 9015 for $600, and 30 years from now, you put a new movement in it. The movement costs you $100, and you pay $50 to have it installed. The watch then runs for another 30 years, at which point, you can't get a new movement, because you're dead. The $600 you spent averages out to be $10 per year ($600 purchase of watch you owned for 60 years), plus $2.50 per year for maintenance ($150 movement swap, divided by 60 years), for a total annual ownership cost of $12.50/year, versus $20/year if you paid $600 and just tossed it in the garbage after 30 years.ENTRY-LEVEL SWISS -A recent panel of industry "experts" was asked how often a mechanical watch (assumed to be a Swiss movement, I guess) should be serviced. Should it really be serviced every 5-7 years? According to reports, the experts agreed that was more often than necessary, assuming a watch wasn't being worn every day, but neither was it not being worn enough to circulate the lubricants.I wouldn't necessarily rely on that as gospel. I asked a watchmaker (one I trust) that same question, and he said the base ETA's really do need to be serviced by year 7, assuming regular wear. My understanding is that the lubricants do break down over that time, and the parts are not able to stand up to longer service intervals.Okay, fine, let's split the difference a bit, and say your Swiss movement really needs to be serviced every 10 years, at the very longest.Again, you could buy a new base ETA 2824-2 today for less than $200, and dropping it in is truly a five-minute job. It shouldn't cost more than $30, or $50 at most. Assuming you over-pay for both the movement and the installation, you're still not worse off if you get the new movement for no more than it would have cost you to service the old one - $300.The curve-ball here is movement and parts availability. Will ETA continue to make the movements and their parts available? Assuming they do, will your watchmaker be among those able to get them?At $200-$300 to replace or service once every 10 years (if not more often), the ETA adds to your cost of ownership, much more than the Seikos or Miyotas, but it REALLY adds to your cost of ownership if you CAN'T replace or service it, so ETA's actions should be considered in that context.Luckily, the Sellita SW200 and STP1-11 are both sized to be drop-in replacements for the 2824-2, and as a bonus, they're both less expensive than the ETA. As long as either company stays in business and continues to supply new movements to distributors and watchmakers, ETA's actions won't render your watch disposable at the end of its service interval.So, how do you apply this math to your purchasing decisions?ENTRY LEVEL SWISS - If you are considering a watch with a Swiss movement, determine where your closest watchmaker is, how much he charges for a basic service, and how old he is (so you can make a guess about whether or not he'll still be alive and in business when your watch needs to be serviced - a lot of these dudes are getting up there in years).If he's not close enough to reach by car in a reasonable time, determine round-trip shipping costs to send him your watch for servicing.Lastly, determine replacement costs for the movement in the watch you are considering.Now you know what your service or replacement costs are going to be, and about how often your movement will need to be serviced/replaced, so you can add the per-year maintenance costs to your purchase price, thusly:"This new $600 Hamilton is going to cost me at least $200 no less often than every 10 years for as long as I own it, so it's going to cost me $600 plus at least $20/year for maintenance if I decide to keep it longer than the service interval."More likely, you'll end up flipping it before the service interval is up. In that case, you have to try to guess what you'll be able to sell it for at that time. Your annual ownership costs would be the difference between purchase and sale prices, divided by how many years you own it:$600 Hamilton purchased in 2015, sold for $450 exactly one year later = $150/year annual ownership costs. Sold for $400 two years later = $100/year annual ownership costs. Tossed in the drawer and forgotten when the service is due in 10 years, while you go buy another $600 watch to wear = $60/year ownership costs.SEIKO/Miyota - If you are considering a watch with a Seiko or Miyota movement, the calculation is different.If you're paying $50 for the movement, and $30 for installation, an $80 movement swap doesn't make a lot of sense for a 20 year old, beat-to-hell SKX007 you bought for $120. If you'd rather just buy a new one, then your $120 SKX that lasts 20 years just costs you $6/year.The more you pay for the watch, the more sense it makes to consider your movement replacement costs, but what should you assume regarding when that may be?Assuming your watch will run and keep time well for 30 years seems plausible, but may not be a reasonable expectation. Instead, let's be conservative, and say the service interval is at least twice what it is for the Swiss movements (7-10 years). That means your movement may need to be replaced in 15-20 years (but possibly not that soon).Fair enough. Assuming you can get a drop-in replacement for $40-$90, and have it installed for $40-$60, your additional ownership costs are $4-$10 per year.It's probably worth considering that while the Seiko/Miyota movements are significantly less expensive to replace than the ETA's and other Swiss movements, the Swiss tend to maintain a MUCH longer product life-cycle than the Japanese makers, which seem to be working on a 7-8 year cycle.What that means is that while a new Swiss movement might cost you $200 (in today's dollars) every 10 years (or more often), and a new Seiko/Miyota will cost you half (or less than) that, you may find it EASIER to get the Swiss movement than the Japanese movement, because of the more rapid obsolescence of Japanese calibres.The 2824-2 was introduced in 1961, and it's still the mainstay of ETA's lineup, 55 years later. I'm pretty sure neither Seiko nor Miyota can supply the market with a replacement for whatever calibres they were making half as long ago. At best, the new calibres they introduce will be sized to drop into the space occupied by the calibres they replace.For Orient watches - I have no idea. I think your service options might be limited to the authorized service center, and if you send your watch there, I guess it's up to them whether they service the movement or replace it.For Chinese movements - You should really consider the movement's reputation for reliability, the complications, the total purchase cost, etc. My advice would be to stick to the movements with the better reputations and/or stick to the sellers with the better reputations, otherwise, you may be gambling without realizing it.So...service cost, replacement cost, product life-cycles, availability of replacement movements/parts, proximity to a watchmaker, shipping rates, and human mortality rates - they all factor into the calculations.But what's important to realize is that a movement being "disposable" isn't necessarily a bad thing, and in fact, could be a good thing, if you take into account the expense and hassle of routine maintenance when considering a new purchase.If you buy Swiss, you're almost certainly going to have a higher annual cost of ownership, but you may also have a higher probability of being able to get an exact 1:1 calibre replacement, or a suitable dimensional clone (different calibre, sized to be a drop-in replacement), within a reasonable time, and assuming those drop-in replacements are still being manufactured. If not, the watch is disposable.If you buy Asian, you're almost certainly going to have a lower annual ownership cost, but a higher probability that eventually, if the movement quits on you, you may not be able to find any drop-in replacement, so not only is the movement disposable, at that point, so is the watch.