Blancpain

Hi All,

I was hoping that somebody can point me in the right direction here. Around a month and a half ago, I had sent in my Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 50th Anniversary for servicing by the Swatch group service centre in Canada. It has been a lot of back and forth, and I was hoping that somebody could provide some assistance if they had any contacts for Blancpain/Swatch Group that they could provide me with, in order to express my concerns regarding the servicing of my watch. 

Swatch Group Canada had performed an 'initial' assessment, which included the following two points in their notes when they sent it to me:

"1. The watch was not running

2. The bezel was scratched" 

Along with some other standard items that they list when you send in a watch for servicing such as the bracelet and case being scratched, which I'm fine with. The two items above, however, raised some alarms for me because for #1.) I KNOW the watch was running when I sent it in, and for #2.) This is extremely hard to believe as the watch has a SAPPHIRE bezel which I know for a fact did not have a scratch when I sent it in.

So I e-mailed Blancpain directly, and they followed up with SG Canada's service centre. A few days after that, I get an e-mail from Swatch Group Canada regarding my concerns and they said that for #1.) They actually meant that the watch was not running under factory specifications, not necessarily that the watch was not running at all. And for #2.) they retracted their comment and upon 'second observation' they could not see a scratch in the bezel.

So things were supposed to go smoothly from there on, right? Swatch Group Canada then informed me that they have to send the watch over to Switzerland, as they do not work on the prestige brand watches (ie: anything above Omega in the Swatch Group). Fair enough, I told them that I will wait to hear back for the official quote. 

Fast forward to 5 weeks, and that brings us to mid December and I got the quote from Swatch Group Canada provided by the Blancpain Service Centre in Switzerland.  I had the following concerns/comments with regards to the quote that I had received as they completely caught me by surprise especially after reviewing the Blancpain website as well as the Swatch 

1.) I am getting charged extra for the rotor/oscillating weight and also the new train wheel bridge. Not only do I find it unusual that the whole rotor itself needs to be replaced, but even if it did - according to the service guidelines for Blancpain - the repair or replacement of worn or damaged movement parts are included in the price of a Complete Maintenance Service. 

2.) I was getting charged extra for the polishing of the watch. I had only requested a very very minor polishing (to keep the watch in as original shape as possible), and once again, per the service guidelines for Blancpain - the polishing/refurbishment of the case and bracelet to factory specifications should be included in the price of a Complete Maintenance Service. 

The following text is clearly indicated under the Blancpain section in the Swatch Group Section of the Customer Service Pricing Guide that Swatch Group Canada Service Centre had sent to me at www.sgcacustomerservice.com :

"The following operations are included in the price of a Complete Maintenance Service:

- Dismantling, cleaning, assembly, oiling of the watch movement

- Repair or replacement of worn or damaged movement parts

- Adjustment and regulation of the timekeeping to factory specifications

- Replacement of gaskets

* Special Mineral or Sapphire Crystals and precious-metal parts invoiced separately

- Restoration of Water Resistance to factory specifications

- Refurbishment of Case and Bracelet to factory specifications

- Final Visual and Technical Inspection" 

Furthermore, the same information above is ALSO mentioned and confirmed in the Blancpain website directly under "Frequently Asked Questions" that can be found at www.blancpain.com :

"WHAT DOES A FULL SERVICE INCLUDE? 

A full service includes the following: opening of the case, disassembling the case, disassembling the dial and hands, complete disassembling of the movement, cleaning of the case and bracelet (if metallic), complete cleaning of the movement, polishing of the case and metallic bracelet, replacement of worn movement components, reassembly, lubrication, placing the movement in the case (except for the 1735 whose movement is built in the case), assembling the dial and hands, water–resistance test (if applicable) and final quality control. If needed, spare-parts are changed (crown, glass, push-pieces etc.)."

It is very concerning that the information presented in both the customer service guide and the Blancpain website, is not consistent with the quote that I am being presented with. I had also checked with another peer who had his Blancpain serviced in the USA, that he in fact, did not get charged extra for the polishing of the case and bracelet of his Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and that it was included in the "full service price" along with movement parts that had to be replaced.

Thank you for your time and sorry for the extremely long post. 

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