Jaeger-LeCoultre

My newly acquired Navy Seals Diving Alarm stopped running after using the alarm feature the 3rd time. After winding the alarm the watch stopped running. It started again after playing with the alarm feature for some time - letting it ring, winding again etc.

The time cannot be set when the alarm feature is used because the time stops permanent after pulling the crown to set the time.

I am very unhappy an d frustrated because I have researched long and hard before buying this watch from one of the most respected and prestigious companies. Quality control should be better for a watch in this price range.

Hopefully I will get a new watch from JLC - but even if,  my trust will be gone for a while.

Anyone experiencing similar problems with alarm watches from JLC?

The is a short video on the web showing a stopped watch, maybe I should have believed it....

I agree with you on the fact that it is really frustrating to receive a watch which doesn't perfectly works, and more, which obviously has a problem.

But on another side, I don't know any Manufacture which has 0 problems.

It would be better, of course, to avoid this kind of problems, and I do agree with you on this: The Manufactures, all of them, should get the " 0 problem " result.

But the thing is how to solve this.

A true manufacture will repair and solve it perfectly, and JLC will do it on your watch.

I have no doubt about it.

Keep us updated, please.

Nicolas

Oh yes, I would be frustrated and I would chant in the desert too.
 
But we must be fair and tolerant. Let alone all the tests those watches must pass before going to their unknown destinations, all the tremendous handling our watches go through after departing their birth locations is at time mechanically challenging, not withstanding the amount of people touching those pieces before handing them to their final owners, and sometimes within minutes of owning them, some believe they do not need to get familiar with owner’s recommendations listed on the watch manual.  It is sad but we must be or learn to tolerant.
 
What’s important is to choose watches that will be taken care of, for sure, by their producers, and Jaeger-LeCoultre does this to perfection.
 
So yes it is frustrating, and yes you are allowed to swear too, but those things happen with the best and the worst, here is with one of the best.
 
Good luck.

This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-04-05 13:22:05

these things can and do happen even to the best   there isnt one brand which has 0 problems, i know how you feel because i have experienced this first hand with another, it turns you off the brand completely, but once you understand how these pieces work and operate and realise they are hand made you will come back to the brand  you might keep this one for a long time or maybe short as the experience can leave a bad taste but dont give up on the brand as it may be an isolated incident goodluck let us know how it goes.

I know that this things do happen - even to the best most prestigious brands.... Its just different when somebody else has the problem. Hopefully I will receive good service from JLC - I am expecting a new watch, since mine is only 2 weeks old and I don't want it repaired.

After wearing the new watch for a while I realized that the crystal had no anti reflective coating of any kind - just looking like a cheap glass which is very annoying. Later I realized that the lume is not great either - useless for a real Navy Seal because the time cannot be seen after a while... After the problem with the alarm occurred I said to myself that I have made the wrong decision and that might be the reason why I am frustrated.

I will keep you posted how this will turn out.

Like many have already written, problems can occur with any brand. It's not acceptable, but it's (unfortunately) life.

It's the way they're dealt with that matters.

Let's hope it returns quickly so you can get on with the enjoyment of wearing it.

 

You say the lume is poor? Under what circumstances? Initial brightness? Longevity? Any photos....(though photos are not very effective measures...)

before your trust is gone, it is only reasonable to allow JLC the opportunity to address the issue. It is also totally unreasonable to think that there can not be an issue with a mechanical device, especially when it is new. This is Earth not Utopia.

--

RWK.

I has been a few days now - but so far I only have received the automated mail from JLC and no other response. Maybe I am just dreaming that this should go faster....

At least the sales associate from Singapore called last night offering help.

Will keep you posted.

with a watch (I will not name the manufacture) where something did not work the same evening I bought it....

things sometimes happen....

what is important is how the manufacture deals with it....

cheers

I have mine since more than 6 month with no problems at all.

Hope it works out OK for you!

 

Best

 

Blomman

I had an issue with my time piece some time ago. JLC handled everything very professionally. I would recommend using one of their reps from a JLC boutique. This worked well for me. Did you think that your watch came with an "antireflective glass" prior to pulling a trigger on your purchase? Or were you told that it did? Just wondering. Sorry to hear about ur disappointment with ur NSA. Keep us posted plz...
Matrix.

When I purchased the watch I did not pay attention to the reflections on the glass. I would assume in this price range that a reflective coating should be the norm since I have cheaper time pieces which have coatings on the inside and outside. Therefore I did not even think about it.

If nothing happens soon I will contact the boutique in Beverly Hills and ask for help - thanks for the advice. There are actually only 2 boutiques in the whole country which is very surprising to me.

Probably there are more stores and boutiques for high end watches in Hong Kong or Singapore than this continent.

By a very helpful gentleman in our forum to contact the BH boutique. They will help you with this manner for sure. Let us know how it goes for you plz...
B well,
Matrix.

The agent from Singapore arranged a contact with Stephanie from the Beverly Hills boutique. I have send the watch to her already.

She seems to be very nice and helpful. I told her that I would like to get a new watch and no repair since its only 2 weeks old and I feel a repaired watch has not the same value.

Hope everything will be taken care off now.

And I can tell you that she will do the best for your watch.

Nicolas

Sorry to hear about your problems and hope things get resolved quickly.

Very curious about a few things.   Did you get the watch in Singapore?  Did your original AD of purchase attempt to deal with your issues directly?  Strange that they would direct you to a boutique.  While I have the highest regard for the BH boutique and the way they handle things, If you didn't get it from the BH boutique IMO it might not be reasonable to ask for a new watch especially if the repair is something simple and can be quickly done by the JLC service center.

Let us know how it turns out.

-MW

Singapore has a BIG selection of watches and during our recent vacation I looked at many different time pieces in various stores. There is no selection of any kind where I live, the few JLC watches or other brands are 9 hours round trip by car away and they only have very view time pieces to look at, surely nothing special like the Navy Seals etc.

The original AD from Singapore called me on my cell phone and suggest to bring the watch to a boutique here in the U.S. since Singapore is far out of reach (over 8.000 miles). People in Singapore cannot imagine that the nearest boutique is 1.200 miles from here because they have all the boutiques from the different brands within 15 min. reach.

The AD in Singapore then arranged the contact with Stephanie from Beverly Hills which I really appreciated.

Of course I do not want a new watch from the boutique in Beverly Hills but from the AD in Singapore. But they need some kind of verification  that the watch is indeed defective before anything can be done - and that's easier here than in Singapore.

I don't know what the outcome will be. The manufacturer (JLC) did not care to respond to my emails so far which I find very disappointing. While I am very certain that Jaeger-LeCoultre makes excellent time pieces I am not so sure about their service strategy. Of course this problem would not occur if they had more distributors / boutiques in this country. People in major cities like LA, NY, Chicago might not easily understand how difficult it is to look at some nice time pieces when living in a "normal" mid sized city.

Actually I was looking for my favorite watch - Offshore from AP. The nearest AD from here is also 1.200 miles from here so I was never able to see at watch in the flesh. Even in Singapore or Hong Kong I was not able to find the Offshore I was looking for and the cost was twice as much as the also very nice JLC Navy Seals which I finally purchased.

Sorry for this long post

Is also whom had helped me with my issue. As Nicolas has said, you will be taken care of for sure. I do agree with you in that JLC should be responding directly to you via email at least re this disappointing concern of yours. Keep us in the loop on what will happen next...
B well and good luck,
Matrix.

It has been a few weeks now that Stephanie from the JLC Boutique has send my watch to the Service Center and after that I have not received any news regarding the repair time, problems etc.

I am getting a little nervous and I am not really happy with the information update provided to me from the Service Center. Since this is my first broken watch I do not have any experience with repair time, feedback etc.

What should I expect from a company like JLC regarding the repair of my watch? Are all watch companies that slow or hesitant in providing at least some kind of information about the time piece in question? I am working in the service field myself and if we provided no information to our customers for such a long time we would be long out of business.

Maybe I am just very disappointed that the 1000 hr tested watch broke already after 250 hrs of use, which is really hard to imagine. Therefore its even harder to imagine that the Navy SEALs could really depend on a watch like this in real life. I was very gentle with the watch, never hit anywhere or did anything to it, no shock etc.

Hope I hear something soon and I will keep you updated.

PS:
Does anyone know how much the titanium bracelet costs approximately? I could only get the articulated rubber  when I purchased the time piece but I think I like the titanium bracelet better.

Thanks for your response and hopefully someone car cheer me up a little....

Ask Stephanie about your repair, she will get the information and keep you updated.

As for the price of a Titanium Bracelet for your NSA, it is around 1000 USD.

Best,

Nicolas

You're a fine gentleman with kind patience.  It has been too long.  I do not think you deserve such kind of poor service.

Stand-by you.

 

Wow, I hope you will never have to send a Vintage JLC to the Service Center, it will take 12 months!

Seriously, send a watch to AP, PP, VC, Breguet, UN and so on, and you will see how many months it will take...

8 weeks look reasonnable, in comparison.

Best,

Nicolas

Thanks for your reply. Seems I have to wait another 4 weeks for the watch. The most frustrating part is the lack of information from the company. If they told me how long it will take, what they are doing to it etc. - that would really go a long way in customer satisfaction.

I have send a request to Audemars Piguet - they never even considered answering me. They also treat the retailers not really nice - forcing them to get time pieces they may never be able to sell instead of what they want to order.

Don't know whats really wrong with the watch business - seems they have too many customers who don't complain and still make too much money - hopefully the future will change that. Me I am boycotting those companies and stay away from them

I will keep you updated whatever happens to my watch.

All the best

Frank

Yes, there is always something to improve, with every brand.

And Yes, you're true, you should be informed on what has to be done on your watch.

But if you call stephanie, I'm pretty sure she will be able to get all these informations for you.

Actually, 8 months don't look too long ( well, it is always too long, ok! ) for a total control of your watch, and to solve the problem.

Let's say that your watch needs2 or 3 weeks ( yes, it also surprised me, but, here, in France, some repairs have to be done in Swiss, so the needed time is even longer! ) to go to the SC and to come back from there.

All this should be explained to you, though, and I hope that in the Future, there will be more transparency, and more communication, from JLC and from the other brands.

Best,

Nicolas

I experienced the same problem - the Navy Seals watch stopped when operating the alarm.

The AD followed up - got the watch send through sevice. In all it took around 7 to 8 weeks - I am just glad it is back and now functions as it should and keeps good time

All in all a pleasant experience - and I would much prefer them to spend some extra days on the job and get it done properly that rushing things through.

It is a great watch and an every day joy to wear.

Thanks for your reply! For me the main issue and major reason for the frustration is the lack of information feedback. If anybody told me up front that it will take 8 weeks to repair the watch and they would give me some kind of information in between that would be really great.

Can you wind your alarm and then adjust the time by pulling the second crown and everything is still fine?

All the best

Frank

I appreciate your frustration. The AD kept me informed, but I have also learned from experience that service takes a long time and so does a repair - so I had no expectation of getting it done quicker than 8 weeks.

Now it is back and works flawlessly. It keeps excellent time and I use the alam on a regular basis. It works without any problems.