Jaeger-LeCoultre

marcelmug
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Negative experience JLC distributor

Hi,

My name is Marcel and I am from the Netherlands (so sorry for my English grammar).

My facination for the JLC brand started a few years back when I was looking in the JLC window of the Beverley Hills Boutique and the sales guy came out and invited me in. Personally I am a guy who do not like shops with closed doors where you have to ring the bell to get in. Anyways this very nice guy (forgot his name) showed me arround and told a lot about the JLC brand and showed me some watches. He even let me fit a Master Minute repeater (220,000 USD) and at that moment I was "sold" to the JLC brand. (not that watch btw, that was over budget haha).

I already had a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Chrono, including a watchstrap replacement set (still one of my favorites also) but from that moment I decided to learn more about the JLC brand and focus my collection to this brand.

My first JLC was a Amovox 1 that I wear on a daily basis, second was a Master Compressor and now I finally also have a TT Polaris (thanks Zsolt) and for my wife I bouht a Reverso Squadra Lady and a Master Compressor Chrono Lady. So all and all a nice collection already.

All watches were bought used (for the simple reason I like to search for and find great deals) except the Reverso , that one was bought new. And that is now my negative experience with the Dutch JLC distributor.

After a few weeks of wearing the Reverso, my wife found out that the leather of the strap where its attached to the metal pieces of the quick release system came loose. Its very thin leather at that point and glued to the metal parts. She kept wearing it but she was affraid to loose the watch so I did bring it to a guy who trades in (used) watches and also do repears to see if he could make it, but he couldnt.

The watch came from a Dutch JLC dealer that stopped their shop and sold their whole stock to a watch trader in Amsterdam from witch I bought it from. Since I couldnt go back to that JLC dealer I decided to write a email to the JLC website (concierge) and ask for a solution to help us out. Although the watch was less then a year old when the problems happened I was not searching for a relacement or even free service. I was looking for help and maybe some coullance from JLC. Well, I can tell you that the opposite happened.

A marketing woman from the JLC dealer here in The Netherlands, that I told honestly how I bought the watch (I also could lie and tell I bought it at the dealer that quitted, but I didnt), came back to me that there was no service on the watch as it was bought "in the grey circuit". I told her that I wasnt looking for free replacement but for help to solve the problem. She came back with the answer to go to one of their dealers in Holland to buy a new strap as they wouldnt give any service and waranty on it.

I didnt wanna go to these dealers, as I told her also, because this aint dealers but only "box stores" what means they do not have any stock or parts and they only can sell what a customer orders and that they order with JLC. Its more or less a give through station for JLC for the rest they do nothing.

Anyways, the way this JLC dealer answered me and the lack of service they want to give (STILL on a new, less then one year old Reverso) made me pritty angry. According European rules they even have to service for free and replace it, even its not bought at one of their "official"  dealers as these products for these prices are suppost to be better then this watch actualy acted.

So even I wasnt looking for free service and replacement I feel now that because of the negative and unfriendly, cold business way they treaded my request that I need to see if I can force them to change it for free.

What you guys think?