Comments:
Guidance for defective 5123r
A few months ago, I tried on and purchased a 5123r from my local AD. Wore the watch around the house for a few weeks and found it to be running about 10s fast per day. My AD told me to bring it back and he would ship it to Stern in NYC for service. He made a good faith effort to call them and they agreed to "move it to the front of the line" with an estimated turnover of 4 weeks including transportation. Upon inspection by the PP watchmaker, they found oil displacement in the hairspring necessitating essentially a full service. It has been 7 weeks already and the watch is still with the watchmaker and not even in quality control yet. This means it is several weeks from being shipped. Is this time frame common for PP? Should I be concerned about having a watch that needed so long for service immediately after purchase? My current desire is to just buy a new watch and sell this when it comes back. It's already registered so my AD can't exchange it for another model from his stock.
Routine service for a calatrava
especially of a basic 215PS, manual wind caliber should not take that long!!
The big question obviously is that why this brand new watch behaved the way it did! ideally your AD or HSWA should just replace the watch with a new one; however, to my knowledge they are not known to do this; and unfortunately its the buyer who ends up being at the receiving end.
I had some issues with ccuracy for my couple of years old 5296; my local AD did service in house and I never had any problems again!!
Sorry for your predicament :-((
The big question obviously is that why this brand new watch behaved the way it did! ideally your AD or HSWA should just replace the watch with a new one; however, to my knowledge they are not known to do this; and unfortunately its the buyer who ends up being at the receiving end.
I had some issues with ccuracy for my couple of years old 5296; my local AD did service in house and I never had any problems again!!
Sorry for your predicament :-((
Unfortunate position for you with a new watch because
the only remedy is the full service which will take time. Currently, HSWA has their hands full and the lead time is far greater than in years past. Of course, that doesn't make you feel any better about your watch because their predicament is now yours.
Should you be concerned about a new watch needing service so soon? You shouldn't be concerned, Patek should be concerned!
Others have had similar experiences but that doesn't lessen the disappointment and frustration each person has felt because the expectation of performance of a new watch is one which you generally do not question.
Selling the watch? Out of frustration or fear of a lemon? Be assured the service department at HSWA can and will correct the problem so that should not be an issue. Give them the opportunity to get it right and be patient (as difficult as it may be now) because the wait will be worth it.
Should you be concerned about a new watch needing service so soon? You shouldn't be concerned, Patek should be concerned!
Others have had similar experiences but that doesn't lessen the disappointment and frustration each person has felt because the expectation of performance of a new watch is one which you generally do not question.
Selling the watch? Out of frustration or fear of a lemon? Be assured the service department at HSWA can and will correct the problem so that should not be an issue. Give them the opportunity to get it right and be patient (as difficult as it may be now) because the wait will be worth it.
Patience
Watch repair near complete and will have treasure in a few weeks. Not bad turnover time considering holiday season and convinced HSWA will have it perfect.
That's normal...
HSWA is a little behind schedule due to the large influx of watches and the serious weather problems affecting NYC.
They've been delayed for a few reasons:
1. They moved (their fault).
2. Computer failures (their fault).
3. Power/electricity problems (not their fault).
4. Last year's flooding and hurricane caused them to shut down for several weeks (not their fault).
So they're now more than several weeks behind schedule on every watch.
Be patient. And don't be overly entitled. They're doing their best.
the storm was more than a year ago....
and Patek is located in Rockefeller Center area, not Financial District. it would make sense for Patek to have caught up with "that" delay by now.
We should be careful with what we wish for...
We all wished that things would go faster, but is this really what we want?
Honestly, Patek Philippe's service center in New York has always been very busy. Even during a normal routine year without any computer failures and weather issues, they probably get more watches than they can handle.
Imagine that there is the storm that occurred more than a year ago, and all the power outages that happened because of it. During that delay, they're still receiving watches and still not making any progress on any of the existing watches.
We should be careful of what we wish for...
I think the problem with the lengthy service issues
stem from not only circumstances which you have mentioned but more.
Patek's increased production in just the past ten years or so and coupled with the number of watches sold via auction would naturally require changes to accommodate the ever increasing burden on the Patek service departments.
Servicing a watch requires time and that doesn't change except for the fact there are more pieces than ever before including hundreds, if not thousands, of complicated pieces which require yet more time.
Certainly, the storm did have an impact but I believe, to some extent, forecasting future needs may have been underestimated by HSWA and/or Geneva. The handwriting was on the wall, the trend was easily recognizable and the increase in watches coming in for service ... all an indication of what to be prepared for.
The time required to service a 5035 is now at 20 weeks once the estimate is approved. That realistically equates to the watch being gone for six to seven months, forget the charge, and It is that which a lot of folks think is ridiculous. And, can you blame them?
Most folks can forgive with a reasonable explanation, but it is far more difficult when left guessing. Thus, the many comments we have all seen on this forum on this and related topics.
Just hope it's recognized and fixed.
Patek's increased production in just the past ten years or so and coupled with the number of watches sold via auction would naturally require changes to accommodate the ever increasing burden on the Patek service departments.
Servicing a watch requires time and that doesn't change except for the fact there are more pieces than ever before including hundreds, if not thousands, of complicated pieces which require yet more time.
Certainly, the storm did have an impact but I believe, to some extent, forecasting future needs may have been underestimated by HSWA and/or Geneva. The handwriting was on the wall, the trend was easily recognizable and the increase in watches coming in for service ... all an indication of what to be prepared for.
The time required to service a 5035 is now at 20 weeks once the estimate is approved. That realistically equates to the watch being gone for six to seven months, forget the charge, and It is that which a lot of folks think is ridiculous. And, can you blame them?
Most folks can forgive with a reasonable explanation, but it is far more difficult when left guessing. Thus, the many comments we have all seen on this forum on this and related topics.
Just hope it's recognized and fixed.
You're absolutely right...
You are correct the forecasting of future service needs have not been addressed.
However, these companies are overly cautious to expand, and if they did hire new watchmakers, they'd rather employ them in making new watches (making more immediate returns on investment) than the long-term service. This oversight is creating multiple problems with service departments that do not receive as much of the dollars to expand and improve themselves. Thus, in the meanwhile, there are incredibly long wait times for existing customers.
The problem is that service really is becoming unbearably long (as you stated).
But yes, you're absolutely right.
But in working with what we have, not saying it's the right thing to have, I'd rather them get the watch fixed correctly than to have it rushed.
Perhaps one day, the Patek Philippe Seal will promise that watches will be serviced in a reasonable time...
Too Long?
I wouldn't be concerned that is is taking this amount of time to come back.
The time period shows how seriously Patek and HSWA take satisfying their customers and attempting to have their watches perform with a very high standard of performance.
My personal approach to owning and wearing Pateks is a bit different from most. A + 10 seconds deviation on a new watch wouldn't lead to my sending back for service. While +10 is not in compliance with Patek's own standards, I would rather not subject the watch to a service and would prefer keeping it "untouched". For me owning and wearing a Patek is not about its absolute time keeping accuracy. However, if the watch has complications, e.g. a calendar and/or chrono function, I would expect those to work properly. Showing November 31 would not be acceptable.
That said, I know how upsetting it can be to spend a lot of money for a Patek and then find it requires an immediate service to meet Patek's own standards! Sorry you had the misfortune to experience this,
Best regards,
patekova
service
That's unfortunate. Chances are, when the watch comes back, it will be perfect. I am sure they will add the service time to your 2 year warranty. I had the same issue years ago with oil on a brand new Patek bought from an AD. My watch did come back from HSWA and there was something else wrong with it (this is more the exception, I am sure). The AD dealer said he would send it back again. I said I wanted my money back. He kept possession of the watch and the owner and I fought back and forth. He said he couldn't get credit from Patek because it was already registered and he pleaded with me to have them service it again. I refused. He agreed to send me my money and of course it took many weeks but I did get a check. Bought another Patek from another AD and had no problems.