Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP Service Issues

Joepny · 2018-04-04T07:54:25Z

Joepny shares his frustrating Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP service experience, with a recurring month indicator issue after multiple repairs.

Joepny

WPS member · Audemars Piguet forum

29 replies3284 views3 photos

Joepny details a frustrating, recurring issue with the perpetual calendar complication of his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP, despite multiple service attempts. This post highlights the challenges even experienced collectors face with complex movements and the importance of thorough quality control in luxury watch servicing. Joepny's experience provides valuable insight into the realities of owning and maintaining a high-complication timepiece.

Remember my post many weeks back about the AP Service Center’s awesome turnaround time, well, I have updates:

UPDATE: unfortunately the quality assurance was not awesome! 😭😭😤. The problem with my month indicator came back. The month hand did not advance to the new month as expected.

Here is a picture taken on March 1 after 10:00 AM. Notice the month still pointed to FEB.

So I contacted the AP Service Center on Mar 1 and they were kind enough to arrange to take the watch back into service on warranty. I did not have a huge problem with sending it back again. Mistakes can happen and I am forgiving.

Now, I received my watch back this morning. Today is Wednesday April 4. Here is the picture I took upon removing the watch from the AP service box. Notice the month hand points to MAR. Wrong!

Well now I am perplexed!!! 😱
The AP watchmaker / service center has been sure that the problem was fixed. But 2 times now the watch in my hands is not working - month hand is wrong. I don’t know why. Is the month hand problem happening due to shock via overnight FedEx delivery process?

So I am still forgiving but my patience is wearing thin...I know this movement is complex. Hoping 3rd time will be the charm! 🙏🤞

Key Points from the Discussion

The prompt and professional communication from the AP Service Center, including a call from the master watchmaker, was a positive aspect despite the ongoing issue.
A similar QP model from AP also experienced multiple failures, leading to a complete movement replacement, and another AP 15202 also required a new watch after repeated repairs, raising concerns about AP's quality control.
Another collector experienced a stuck moonphase indicator after a routine service on their AP RO QP and ultimately sold the watch due to dissatisfaction with the service center's response.
The issue was confirmed through a phone-guided test with the AP master watchmaker, validating the owner's observation that the month hand was not advancing correctly.
It is common for serviced QP movements not to be returned set to the correct date, and a simple test of advancing the time without using pushers should not cause further issues.
The experience underscores that even highly complicated watches, like perpetual calendars, are not immune to functional problems, as seen with other complex pieces like the Lange Datograph.

The Discussion

alphabeta81

Apr 4, 2018

you said it was set to March 4 when it came out of the service box. Could it simply be that they set it to that date and not today's date? Did you try to run it through the month of March and see if it moves over to April correctly?

MichaelC

Apr 4, 2018

Hang in there, I have no idea what is the root of the problem, but they will stand by it and get it right.

Joepny

Apr 4, 2018

(1) It would be strange for them to send the watch back set to the wrong month & day. Expecially for a QP movement. The service center had this watch from around March 6th to yesterday April 3rd. (2) Well for your test idea makes sense but I am just wondering if the test will cause more problems than it is worth for me. I don’t want to mis-align all the other hands and get them out of synch.

Joepny

Apr 4, 2018

Will do. Even when I am exasperated, I am not the type to go crazy, I just want a final solution. The RO QP fits on my wrist too well to lose faith this quickly.

alphabeta81

Apr 4, 2018

But I have serviced multiple QP movements and neither time got it back set to the correct date. If it's serviced and under warranty, I cannot imagine a standard test of advancing the time (just the minutes hand, dont push any pushers) would cause any issues. I would advance it to cycle through the whole month.

Pretty Boy

Apr 4, 2018

I hope that AP will fix the problem quickly. Best, Volker

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