dr.kol
11333
Might be...
My experience of VC Boutique in Geneva was terrible. The service was like buying a second hand Russian car from a post-Soviet country and the price of servicing a watch like buying a BMW.
My VC was serviced in Switzerland - just a routine service. It was very much more expensive than the corresponding job in Patek. If I remember right, the costs were like 82% over Patek's similar service.
I visited Vacheron's Boutique some two months ago. We went there directly from Patek's Salon in Geneva and the distance is just some 200 meters. The service was like from another planet! In VC they said that they "can pick up a watch for us to see if we buy it". If we just want to see it, like they said, they wanted to introduce the watch from an iPad. You can guess what happened: my wife got her third Patek and not her first Vacheron Constantin.
Both my wife and I were very decently dressed when going to VC Boutique because we had a lunch with Patek and their CEO. I also picked up a Malte Dual Time Regulator from the service so VC could see that I'm a client. Finally, my wife was wearing a vintage Patek from 1950 and I had Patek 3712 with Nautilus cuff links. So even a stupid sales person could see that we are potential clients.
It will be very difficult to get me to a VC Boutique in the future! I must say that VC was my First Love when fine watches are concerned. In just a year or two I bought from an AD four Patrimonies, one Malte, one Anniversary piece and Overseas.
The reason why I have concluded that it is a matter of Richmond Groups policies is that the service in Lange's Boutique in Dresden was also relatively bad when I visited them. I have earlier received good service from JLC Boutique in Paris but this year after SIHH I ordered a new watch by mail, I never got an answer. I heard that the person to whom I sent the mail is not there anymore but as the mail went through, they should have answered.
We normal consumers tend to draw the conclusions based on our experiences.
Best, Kari
Another bad experience about L&S
I have a rose gold 1815 chronograph and have made a little scratch on the bezel, not deep at all. I asked to the parisian L&S boutique how much and how long it would take for a very smooth polishing. Answer : 500 € (around 645 US$) and a 20 weeks dela...
Schadenfreude! A clear case of Schadenfreude :-)!
First: really shocking what they charge! Lucky that I dare and can polish my watches myself. Secondly: Schadenfreude means " pleasure derived from misfortune of others". Thirdly: DIY ... get yourself a decent home polishing kit ... I am sure it will pay o...
Schadenfreude...
Hi Moriitz, Don't feel too happy because this little experience made me nervous, but not sad ;-))) By the way, if you have a good polishing kit to recommend, don't hesitate, let me know where I can get one. it is not for the pleasure to save 500 € but for...
It needs possibly laser welding too?
Hi Didier I have not seen the scratch but possibly it is deeper than you think and needs to be filled with substance than just being polished? This could justify the fee. Moritz
Mmmmh... It looks like
Lange is not living it's best moment here on the Purists.... I don't know whAt to think really... Mo
Lange is a part of a stock listed group
and we all know that those companies are maximizing their profits on a short run. That's the price we have to pay for the Quarter Economy. Patek is privately owned. They can afford (if the owners want) to think with a bit longer perspective. I am an entre...
You're probably right !
Hi Kari, You seem to know what it means to run its own company. A client is hard to win and easy to loose. I appreciate to be considered a little bit. Patek knows perfectly how to do it. Elegance is often a question of spirit... best, Didier.
Words of wisdom!
Indeed, it is hard to run your own company and it requires a long term perspective. You must be able to see the issues also from the perspective of the client. In stock listed companies you can forget the show when you are out. In your own company there a...
Kari, Lange is part of the Richemont group
are they not? Vacheron is also part of the Richemont group, and I have had fantastic service from them. I purchased their new world time watch in 2012 and it malfunctioned 1.5 months after I received it. I live in the US, the watch was sent to Switzerland...
Might be...
My experience of VC Boutique in Geneva was terrible. The service was like buying a second hand Russian car from a post-Soviet country and the price of servicing a watch like buying a BMW. My VC was serviced in Switzerland - just a routine service. It was ...
It is hard to explain when you are preparing
to spend so much money that you would be treated in such a fashion. When I am looking at high end watches I don't want my ass kissed meaning people don't need to go to extremes with their service but you would like some respect and attention that correspo...
I have visited i.e. Wempe in Germany, UK and US
and the service was always great. At the moment I live in small and miserable Estonia and all they have here are roads full of holes and potatoes. So I'm buying my watches from other countries. Because I need to travel out from the country to buy anything...
You are right, same group.
And i am sure there are a lot of great experiences related with VC and Lange. Otherwise those brands would not hang around. In the end i am just saying that my experience has been quite bad; especially with VC. However, I'm just one client and my experien...
I would not actually define that as "bad"
And as for the reasons that Kari stated above, i agree. Hey there guys here are NOT NPO's yah! Tschuss Stephen
Quit whining!
You say it's a tiny scratch. Suck it up and wait until the watch needs servicing. You're paying the price for being unessessarily obsessive compulsive - it's only a scratch after all.
???
Whining is not in my vocabulary, sorry ! I just relate an unpleasant experience, it is my right, isn't it ? By the way, let me add something : the guy int he boutique insisted to service my watch, even after explaining that it has been serviced for 2 year...
there is a hugh difference between...
the service @Lange and @Patek. Lange does not offer a "simple" polishing, cause you will always lose material. So they always add material (they somehow laser very small gold strings into the scratch) and thereby close the scratch. Since this is a very ex...
Thanks for the explanation !
I didn't know this "detail"... At least, you give me reason for me to understand. Thank you.
No need to be nervous,
in fact you should feel some reassurance. Your watch will come back like new. I have seen circumstances much worse than you describe where watches have returned indiscernable from factory-fresh. As others have pointed out, more info would be useful here b...
I should have written "bad contact" ? Is that OK for you ?
;-) By the way, you did not speak with the guy of the Lange boutique, so you don't know how the discussion went... I remained cool but I got no explanation from him. Believe me, I won't post any more about L&S after sale servicing : I've read that my ...
Please continue to post your experiences here! And a question...
I find it interesting and valuable to hear about different people's experiences obtaining Lange service (1) in different countries/regions and (2) from Lange boutiques vs. Lange authorized dealers vs. Lange regional service centers vs. the Lange manufactu...
