Horological Meandering

Zhege
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Non-transferable warranty is one issue - and full service for missing lume?

To me, the non-transferable warranty is another big issue that LW and too many other companies are adopting.  There is really no excuse for this - it is the object that should be under warranty, and not the owner.  The explanation for this has been along the lines of "if we don't know how many people have owned the watch, how can we know it is been handled properly".   Apparently if only one person owns a watch during the warranty period, that means it will be handled with care.  Even if they are jackhammer operator, I guess. 

When buying a watch from another collector or reseller, I always check to see if the warranty is transferable. If it isn't, I make sure that if there is a problem that the named owner on the warranty card will handle warranty issues.  I would do the same for a fellow collector if I were to sell a watch under non-transferable warranty.

Second issue - how is it that L-W decided the watch needed a full service to replace some missing lume from the OUTSIDE of the watch?  Maybe they can only replace the lume from the underside of the dial using magical tools that only their highly trained watchmakers possess

Was there any problem with how the watch was operating?  If they don't have to open the case, they could take care of the problem by painting / inserting the lume or even replacing the bezel.  Without knowing what else was going on, it sounds very strange that they insisted on a full servicing. 

These two things alone would sour me on a brand.  The fingerprints / dust issue was poor outgoing QA/QC, but they did fix it promptly.  They should have included some small token of appreciation.  For example - several years back I had a small problem on a brand new Chopard watch - a Mille Miglia chronograph, not one of their high end products.  They fixed it very quickly (it required opening the case), and sent the watch back with an additional croc strap!  That Christmas season, their service department sent me a small box of (delicious) chocolates.  Getting the watch fixed quickly was the most important thing - but the additional gestures created a lot of good will, and which I shared with many of my "watch-friends".

Finally, not using a new box indicates some strange practices at their repair facility.  For one, It means that they have to store and track incoming cardboard boxes.  Waste of time and effort.  Also, it makes for a poor presentation on return to the customer. It just looks bad and creates a poor impression.