WCU #53: What A Watch Review Can Never Tell You 

I've had problems with almost every brand new luxury watch I've bought, from a $3K TAG to a $50K Lange. TAG Carrera - magnetized and running 50% fast. Replaced immediately though. UN Classico Enamel Dial - white paste INSIDE the crystal. Cleaned under warranty. Bulgari Octo Roma - scratched lugs. Quickly polished but movement still doesn't hack properly. JLC Master Control Ultra-thin - scratched dial and hands needed to be replaced. Patek Calatrava - cracked strap which I had to replace at my own cost. Patek boutique essentially said take it or leave it and I couldn't find another. Grande Lange 1 Moonphase - running 5 mins fast per day, then came back from servicing with multiple scratches. Polished away now but they seem incapable of fixing the timekeeping problem. Moser Streamliner - sticking winding rotor and faulty screwed crown. Still waiting for it to come back from Switzerland. All these were bought brand new from official AD's or brand boutiques, and sent for service at authorized service centres. And the watches I've had no problems with - Omega Diver 300M Chronometer, Panerai Radiomir 619, Squale Atmos 30 GMT, and multiple cheap Seiko divers. Difficult to believe I know, but price is absolutely no guarantee of quality or good service.

Try to get service from Orient in the US: No reply. Then consider a national repair service will want to charge close to what you paid for the watch. Finally, consider that no parts are available if you try for a repair by an independent craftsman. Orient, therefore, should be considered a disposable no-fix item if something goes wrong.

I bought a vintage AP on the grey Market . The seller was fair when stating he was selling " as Is " . Price was extremely low, so I swallowed & bought it . Sent it to Ap in Switzerland for servicing . Quite costly, but the result is I have a stunning Ap at remarkable price fully serviced .I got lucky, but I knew AP would be there .

Thank you so much for putting this out there!

Thank you for sharing your views and info.

Brilliant! There's much that I could add to your excellent analysis but I won't. For me reliability (quality) is the number 1 priority. It's curious that many of the most prestigous names in horology don't take this more seriously. Anyway, as usual, well done.

Very insightful, thank you!

Couldn’t agree with you more. I bought two watches from a micro brand and both got problems with either the crown or the movements. Got the diver back after many months but am still waiting for the chronograph. So micro brands may take months to fix your watch and hope that it will work ok when you got it back otherwise you may wonder whether it’s still worth sending it back for another repair.

These problems tend to appear less in small independent watch brands like Dornbluth. Since they have rely more on watch geeks and have lesser production number, they will have way less number of problems.

Excellent video, glad you did not pull your punches and named and shamed the brands concerned.

Fundamental problem with Zenith defy classic I bought: Not being able get the right fit because of the absence of half links. Watch was not in stock so could not try and no review spoke of this. Sometimes it’s hard to get a perfect fit (GS) but ok fit is good enough. Only to have full links is a disaster of design. Zenith is not providing half links and never will. Reading on forums, people reported this problem, selling their watches in the end because of Zenith’s no can do attitude. For the rest the watch is splendid. They are not the most popular brand, but they have to win people over only this is not the way...

I currently own a Sinn 104 (incidentally also with a white dail) and haven't had any problems with the movement or crown. I do think that the movement could be cleaner, because I see quite some stains and dust through the exhibition caseback.

Great video. My biggest problem with my watches has always been that I cant resist the temptation to take them apart and get in to all kinds of trouble and aggravation getting back together.lol. I fancy myself as an amateur Watchmaker.lol

I have a o&w toledo chronograph with a 7750 that's 17 years old, only had it serviced once about 5 years ago after it developed minor issues. The service/repair cost about £160 at a local watch service centre.

Thanks for the candid comments. It's interesting that you don't hear other bloggers sharing similar experiences; either they're reluctant to go public or you're the unluckiest watch owner ever (highly unlikely).

That is always one of my worries that If i bought a watch from the grey market and something went wrong, would I get proper service for it and end up being fully frustrated.

So interesting to hear these service problems as I'm mainly buying preowned, which makes me okay with most quirks and service needs as I expect them. I WOULD definitely be annoyed by an AD-acquired and scratched up piece. Fortunately I know a capable watchmaker that was able to do most servicing demands himself (helps to have a lot of Valjouxs). Other than that, some brands demand a full service on vintage pieces, even though you're just looking for a new mineral glass...

I also like to see a review with pros and cons, since you never get a negative review from a watch dealer.

forgive me my poor english, I am an American. But what do you mean by "some of their limited editions have become quite desperate" in reference to Sinn?

That is all a bit concerning but much appreciated. So far I have been lucky with the few watches in my collection, most of which are, yes, cheap.

excellent

While we are on the topic of objectivity in watch reviews and since you mentioned it not being possible regardless of sponsorship, I feel it a suitable time to give the feedback that your covering Horage watches in seemingly the same format as any non-sponsor brand really turned me off from the channel. It's fine and necessary to have paid sponsors but to review them in the same format you addressed other non-sponsored brands really undermines the credibility of your content.

That's the word "electrical" components. But you buy any old, busted Hamilton pocket watch from the 1860's, and it might be a pain in the balls, but you could figure out what's missing and fabricate a replacement

This is why I dont buy anything that is a "luxury product" (something that I can live without) for any significant amount unless I could fix it myself.lol. and smart phones. Cant fix them yet. But iam working on it

That's wierd, why choose 1989? And why 5 years? What was Pateks rational for that?

Does someone pocket the parts at rolex.

Let me put in a comment about a family of brands in the USA that does servicing right: Swatch Group (Tissot, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, etc). I have four of their products -- three Tissots and a Rado -- and have sent three of them in for service (two Powermatic 80s in for regulation and a 7750 for an overhaul). As a customer i have been EXTREMELY satisfied with the Service Center's work and the rates are not unreasonable ($90 for the tricky regulation and $320 for chrono overhaul, with shipping). i see no reason not to expect further satisfaction in future. i wish that i felt that way about my Orient Star . . . .

WOW very kool great info. AAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ again great video I liked it a lot keep up the great work

Good stuff. Out.

Wow. Apparently I've been very lucky. I've only ever had one problem with a watch. That was with a newly purchased Christopher Ward Trident that had a spring bar keep popping off. Luckily none of the times the watch fell to the ground and was damaged. I was also able to find the spring bar each time. CW said I could send the watch back (I live in the US) to England. I gave the spring bar one last chance before sending it back for service and miraculously have never had the problem since. I've often wondered if they thought I was making the whole thing up. Lol

I wonder why no one speaks and reports about the accuracy. Rolex promises +/- 2 sec. a day - which non of my Oysters ever could keep. A proper adjusted Sellita W300 or a Eta 2824 does it as good as many chronometers. Guess the watch industry doesn´t really want to talk about the accuracy of the movements in general - and so non of the watch bloggers does. They only talk about the bla-bla-shit…