Workshops: repairs

A watch lost or damaged at the workshop: the watchmaker's responsibility in France and Belgium

A watch left for repair disappears or comes back damaged. Who answers for it? This guide sets out what the French and Belgian Civil Codes say, as read on 10 November 2026, and what the texts do not settle.

What the French Civil Code says

The Civil Code deals with repairing an object in the section « Des devis et des marchés » (articles 1787 to 1799-1).

When someone is asked to make a piece of work, it may be agreed that they will supply only their labour or skill, or also the material (article 1787).
If the craftsman supplies the material and the thing perishes before delivery, the loss is theirs, unless the client was late in receiving it (article 1788).
If the craftsman supplies only their labour or skill and the thing perishes, they are liable only for their fault (article 1789).
The contractor answers for the acts of the persons they employ (article 1797).

What the Belgian Civil Code says

The contract for work remains governed by the old Civil Code, whose articles 1787 to 1799 carry the same rules: article 1789 says that a craftsman who supplies only their labour is liable only for their fault, and article 1797 that the contractor answers for the acts of the persons they employ. No provision on the contract for work or on deposit was found in the new Civil Code; this remains to be confirmed.

The new book 5 on obligations, in force since 1 January 2023, distinguishes the obligation of means, where the creditor proves the debtor's fault, from the obligation of result, where the debtor's fault is presumed unless there is force majeure (article 5.72). The text does not say whether returning a watch is one or the other. Book 8 provides that whoever relies on a claim in court proves the facts on which it is based (article 8.4).

Deposit, another regime

The Belgian Civil Code provides for deposit the duty to keep the thing and to return it in kind (article 1915), with the same care as for one's own things (article 1927), applied more strictly if a fee was stipulated for the keeping (article 1928). The texts read do not say whether a watchmaker who holds a watch to repair it is also a depositary: it is not settled here. Deposit was not read in the French Civil Code.

General conditions that limit liability

In Belgium, the Code of economic law lists among the unfair terms towards a consumer those that release the business from liability in case of fraud, gross negligence or, except for force majeure, non-performance of one of the main services of the contract (article VI.83, 13°). An unfair term is forbidden and void (article VI.84). The texts do not say whether keeping the watch is a main service: the judge decides. The unfair-terms rules of French law were not read.

What the texts do not say

How much the watchmaker must pay for a lost watch: none of the articles read sets the value of the watch or a ceiling.
Whether the watch's condition on receipt is proved by the deposit slip or by other means: the text only sets who must prove what.
The case of a client who is not the owner of the watch.

What Provena Studio does

On reception, Studio keeps the watch's condition, its serial number and the deposit slip signed on screen; on handover, the signed handover slip. These traces do not settle responsibility: they serve to establish the watch's condition on the day of the deposit and on the day of the handover.

What Provena Studio does for a workshop

The texts

Official texts read on 10 November 2026.

Provena Studio

Provena Studio is the working tool of watch workshops and watch dealers: repairs from reception to handover, stock, purchases and consignment.

Request a demo. The request goes out by e-mail: we answer ourselves to arrange a meeting.

Written from field feedback and the official texts; it is not legal advice. It is a translation of the French guide. Published on 10 November 2026. Lire en français