Grand Seiko wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:10 pm Dispatched is a really desirable status
Looking forward to your first impressions with your watch
Here is another in car shot from earlier today

IMG_1421.jpg

LC500...own an inspiration series myself. Unfortunately, I got an email today stating that my Bel Canto got delayed again until the end of December. Getting ridiculous at this point.

Sorry Enzo, I am running out of things to say to support the nice folks like yourself who got stuck in the delay (myself included).
Which flavor or Inspiration Series do you have?
The white with blue interiors look beyond special but would be too much for me to keep clean.

*sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

Spytap wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 4:00 pm *sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

Hi, I’m not particularly following this thread but just came across this post. This shouldn’t happen, though it does happen occasionally and is the fault of DHL. However, the advice in the past from others on the forum has been to phone CW customer services and they can contact DHL to set them straight. HTH

Looks like purple units have started making their way out. Looking forward to seeing some pictures!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134821406176 ... R6a2tpqCYw

Spytap wrote:*sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

Were Duty and Sales Tax specified on the CW invoice that you paid?

If so, go wave it at DHL.

At the same time, contact CW Customer Service and advise them of your issue.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 9:34 pm

Spytap wrote:*sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

Were Duty and Sales Tax specified on the CW invoice that you paid?

If so, go wave it at DHL.

At the same time, contact CW Customer Service and advise them of your issue.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

Sounds like the typical DHL nonsense to me. Get in touch with CW customer service and they will sort it out. I would guess that DHL and all of the other carriers have a lot of temporary staff on board for the holidays and we will be seeing more of this kind of thing.

Spytap wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 4:00 pm *sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

My DHL shipment to Chicago was delivered without any issue.
Hopefully CW can get it sorted for you quickly.

Spytap wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 4:00 pm *sigh* To those who’ve shipped to the US:

The payment email I received from CW says “Where applicable, tax is calculated at checkout, and duties are covered by us.” However DHL just sent me an email asking for duties to be paid before delivery can be processed. Did anyone else run into this?

Following up on this, CW got back to me quickly saying they’d refund me for the Duty charges and mis-sized bracelet. In the meantime, it arrived on Tuesday, I resized it myself here at home, and will be wearing it to a couple events today. I’m looking forward to providing my thoughts now that I get the chance to have it on-wrist for some time. My initial - very superficial - thoughts are that I appreciate the light weight of it compared to my Oris Aquis, and the overall look of the polished gunmetal G5 titanium matched well with the deep sunburst purple. It’s got great aesthetic balance across the entire watch face, and looks stellar overall. I also don’t find it hard to read at a glance, with the purple providing a good contrast against the hands. On the flip-side, I wish the chime were a little louder (even in my house, it’s a very quiet chime), and the micro adjust button requires a lot of force to get it far enough in.

Congratulations and glad they are taking care of you.
There is a remake of the Color Purple movie coming so you will be all set if you choose to attend a showing.

Grand Seiko wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2023 7:35 pm Congratulations and glad they are taking care of you.
There is a remake of the Color Purple movie coming so you will be all set if you choose to attend a showing.

Ha, I had no idea, but looking it up I actually know one of the producers. Maybe I’ll give him a ping and see if he can save me a seat at the premiere.

A week on the wrist review

So it's been almost exactly a week since I received my viola Bel Canto, and I figured I'd give a little mini-review of the things I like, things I think could be improved, and my overall thoughts:

LIKES
* The looks. It's a great looking watch. I genuinely think the purple on gunmetal is the best colorway thus far, and they complement each other well. the design is excellent and the dial has real depth to it. The aesthetic of the watch looks as good in person as it does in promo shots, but the depth is much more impressive.
* The weight. Grade 5 titanium is light. I'm gonna have a real problem going back to my stainless steel watches. It's not a small watch, but it's easily one of my most comfortable watches to wear.
* The compliments. I've gotten about a half dozen in the week I've worn it. The first time I wore it was to a watch event, and within ten seconds of arriving, before I'd even checked in, someone was asking to see and hear it. Thus far it's been mostly watch people who already know about the product, but there was one person in Beverly Hills who stopped me on the street to ask about it.
* Ease of telling time. I actually find it relatively easy to check the time. Maybe not at night or in a dark room, but in 90% of scenarios, a quick glance is all that's needed.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
* If I'm being honest: the chime. It's too quiet. Even sitting in a my office just typing I'll often miss hearing it. I've left the chime on when putting it away at night and never once heard it. Other than when I'm intentionally turning the minute hand to show others, I've only heard the chime twice.
* The microadjustment. The amount of force required to get the tab in is ridiculous. I'm worried I'm going to slip at some point and drop it because it's a two-handed, full strength effort to get the tab back far enough for the bracelet to extend a bit. Maybe this will loosen up over time - I certainly hope so.
* Timekeeping. I'll be honest, I don't actually care that much about this one, but some people will. It's running consistently fast by about 15s a day, so over a week it's a couple minutes outside of accurate. I'm not that bothered by it; some will be. This also may settle in over time.
* Christopher Ward customer service. I have to say it again. There were multiple production and management failures along the way, up to and including forgetting to pay duty tax and sizing the watch incorrectly for delivery - which were supposed to be resolved and reimbursed, but despite acknowledgement still have not been. The shame is that as much as I like this watch, it will likely prevent me from buying another CW product. This *should have* been a true halo watch for the brand, that took it from microbrand to serious contender. But with so many persistent issues, failures, mistakes, and the like, it's most likely burning a lot of bridges as well.

OVERALL
I like it a lot. It's gotten the majority of my wrist time this past week. It's comfortable, beautiful, and makes an impression. And I've found it remarkably versatile, going from jeans and a polo to a three piece with ease. Would I buy another or recommend someone do the same? Probably not - and anything trending towards yes would require CW showing they've managed to fix a lot of their current production, delivery, and customer service issues. But for a watch I now own and have in my hands (or on my wrist) today, it's an easy watch to admire, wear, and feel comfortable wearing in almost any scenario. And I expect it will continue to get a lot of wrist time in the future.

Thanks for sharing
Like I have been saying, the purple they chose is the color for the Bel Canto
In terms of accuracy, mine has lost a minute in 5 weeks
Off topic, have you dined at Melisse x Citrin? We had an outdoor dinner there in mid 21 when one of our sons was living in Santa Monica, really enjoyed it

@Grand Seiko Melisse, yes, but pre-2020 back when we lived in Santa Monica. But agreed: it was excellent. We're living downtown these days, so there's plenty to explore in and around here, Hollywood, and the like. Otium and Bestia are two of our current faves, with Damian and Rossoblu taking the place of our most-frequently-enjoyed upscale/fine dining restaurants. Realistically, we could go a decade without ever visiting the same restaurant twice in this town, which is a blessing and a curse.

Do you think that the Bracelet is worth the price or should I get the standard black leather strap for the Viola Bel Canto. I initially ordered it one the strap, but I was told that I can change to the bracelet at the time of final payment.