mafoofan
57
UPDATE: took watch to Henri Stern
Jan 16, 2022,15:14 PM
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 finishing and therefore are passable by Patek standards. I questioned this assertion as none of the five other Pateks I’ve owned have had similar issues and I don’t see why I should settle for a one-out-of-ten issue on an $80K+ watch.
They then pivoted to suggesting it’s possible that I may have caused the distortions through wearing the watch! I responded that I found that both offensive and incredibly implausible, which shut down this branch of conversation.
Then they pivoted to suggesting that, regardless, I should expect nothing of Patek beyond a service polish as I had already taken the watch from the dealer. I questioned this as well: any manufacturing flaw should be covered under warranty and they need to make the watch right as it should have been new. They did not agree with this perspective and re-emphasized that I have limited ability to expect recourse, since I am a customer and not a dealer.
Ultimately, they offered to send the watch to Geneva for a second opinion, which I agreed to. However, after the above exchange, I do not feel particularly hopeful. As someone else suggested, I have tried emailing Thierry Stern directly—however, he has not been responsive.
Help? Thanks!