mafoofan
57
Flaw in factory case finishing
I recently bought a new 5170G from a European authorized dealer (one of the last available). A Patek-trained watchmaker working at Wempe in NYC examined the watch and found some flaws in the factory finish of the watch case—vertical distortions on the side of the case near the 7 o’clock lug. I would not have noticed these on my own but now I can’t unsee them. I can’t capture the flaw in photos, unfortunately.
What kind of recourse can I expect? Seems to me that the case on a $80K+ watch ought to come without flaw. I’m afraid Patek will insist on a service polish when really a case replacement is the only way to fully make things right. Anyone have tips or experience to share on navigating with Patek?
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Flaw in factory case finishing
I recently bought a new 5170G from a European authorized dealer (one of the last available). A Patek-trained watchmaker working at Wempe in NYC examined the watch and found some flaws in the factory finish of the watch case—vertical distortions on the sid...
Take your watch to the Henri Stern Agency
They will put things right. It may take a while, but it will be Ok. In a few weeks ( or months) all will be well.
contact thierry stern directly
start by sending an email to him directly with your problem with details from your watchmaker stating that you want a new replacement.
So the watch was made that way?
Could it have been mishandled at the AD? Most these pieces are sitting and being tried on even if it only by their select clientele.
Had two flawed Pateks so not surprised at all.
Whilst quality control on only 60k pieces per year should be better, they will still honor their watch and replace the damaged part(s). Will take time though…
Go to the Salon.
Take your watch. Point the flaws. They will send to Geneva. If they approve, they will then solve the issue in whatever way they deem suitable. But it takes time. Get ready to wait
I’ve seen this exact question / post on another forum almost a year ago.
Before you purchased that 5170 you posted pictures of what you said looked like a polished case asking for advice. And I believe you spoke to Patek Geneva about that watch too. Is this the watch you purchased?
Perhaps you should sell it (for a premium?) and be done with it
Then you will have no remorse or continued grief. Cazalea
UPDATE: took watch to Henri Stern
So, I took the watch to Henri Stern Agency a week ago. They examined and confirmed the vertical distortions in the case finish. However, they started by insisting such distortions can appear on “one or two out of ten watches” as a by-product of hand finis...
UPDATE: Patek Geneva agrees there’s a defect and wants to repair the case…
Patek Geneva examined the watch and agreed that there is a defect in the case finishing that should not have passed QC. They are going to repair the case in a “return to stock” procedure that they claim will put the watch back to new condition, indistingu...
Laser welding.. and put the case through factory finish?
I expect this is as it good as it gets without getting a new case
Apparently they have a special process for these instances..
I was told that when a case is put back through production rather than service polished, they first laser weld any new metal necessary to avoid net material loss and then go through all the minute steps of factory polishing used when the case was first ma...
This is enlightening.
Thank you for sharing, and I am happy for you that there finally seems to be a favorable outcome for this situation. Do keep us posted!
Thanks—have you encountered this before?
I haven’t found anything in my Google searches about “return to stock”—other than my own posts!
This offer seems to be
very fair and would solve the problem perfectly. I would go for it. Best Thomas
