C8 Disaster-Resolved

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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watchaholic
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by watchaholic »

Sage advise. Thanks so much. :thumbup:
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Richard D
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by Richard D »

I’ve a few SH21 CW, it does concern me when I read that there are problems with the movement. I know that all movements are at risk of failure but at least my local watchmaker can provide a quick repair to any of my other watches including Rolex and Omega. That’s because they are authorised to do so, perhaps it’s something that CW should consider.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by H0rati0 »

Richard D wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:47 am I’ve a few SH21 CW, it does concern me when I read that there are problems with the movement.
I don't think we can say that there are inherent problems with the movement, there are several thousand SH21s out there (we did a forum estimate some time back viewtopic.php?p=738962#p738962 so a few failures do not a deluge make.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by what-time-is-it »

It does appear that the SH21 failures keep cropping up on a regular basis, which for a premium watch brand (CW's words not mine) in their top line movement is a worry.

Admittedly I have no idea of the failure rate and in most cases it's bad experiences you hear of, but it would put me off. Servicing is also more expensive on these and given SH21 was launched in 2014, I suspect not all of the watches made have been serviced although it seems many go wrong in the first year or two of ownership.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by Richard D »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Mine can.

https://orawatch.co.uk/
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by iain »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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I’m less concerned about in house movements having to be sent somewhere specific for service, I’m more concerned about in house movements not being able to be maintained in the future.

For the larger brands you mention Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith and I’ll include Breitling, IWC and whole list of well known brands, I can’t see there being an issue with getting them serviced, at least in my lifetime.

For the smaller brands such as Damasko, I’d steer away from their in house offerings. Damasko are a small family business and they may not be able to be serviced 10-20 years from now if the family company doesn’t continue to operate.

So where does this leave the SH21? I see CW moving towards the place where they are established enough to be around for the long term. Meistersinger are using versions of the SH21 movement and I can’t see them being unrepairable in the future.

The argument about having limited options for service still stands, but as long as I can get it carried out at a reasonable price by someone, I wouldn’t be put off buying one in future.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by Richard D »

I’ve never considered selling my SH21 CW watches or indeed any watch from my collection. Although in perfect order I’m thinking that with the reported problems with the SH21 I might have to consider selling.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by tralls »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Hey Guy,

There is a really great YouTube video that actually discusses this with a local watchmaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2bd-Y-bfXQ

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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by FloridaPhil »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Yes.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by nbg »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Yes - if given access to parts!

Providing of course that they were sufficiently skilled.

Indeed it is not unreasonable to take the view that in many instances the skill and experience of the “local watchmaker” is better than the newly acquired, taught by numbers, ability of those employed to service watches in-house by a few brands.

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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by rkovars »

nbg wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:17 pm
Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:04 am ^^^^ Let's not lose sight that the SH21 is an in-house movement.

Would a 'local watchmaker' be able / allowed to repair an in-movement from Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Zenith, Damasko or any number of other brands?

Guy

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Yes - if given access to parts!

Providing of course that they were sufficiently skilled.

Indeed it is not unreasonable to take the view that in many instances the skill and experience of the “local watchmaker” is better than the newly acquired, taught by numbers, ability of those employed to service watches in-house by a few brands.

Neil
I was going to mention the same thing. Servicing is one thing but replacing parts is another. There is a local watchmaker that specializes in rare antique movements where there is often no parts available. He actually manufactures parts in house for these movements. He is more of a restoration expert I would say. The process is very time consuming and very expensive.
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by Richard D »

Five years ago I caught a fascinating documentary on NHK WORLD, a Japanese news channel. The documentary featured a watchmaker who restored an early IWC Portuguese which had been found in the aftermath rubble of the Tsunami which hit Japan. The watchmaker used all his skills, knowledge and his extensive collection of parts to lovingly restore the watch. What made it or the more special was that he tracked down the owner, a tomato grower. He too had rebuilt his life and business. The joy when both men met was astonishing, the mutual respect was awe inspiring. I tried to get a copy of the documentary but alas I was unable to do so . I got the following reply from NHK.

Dear Richard,

Thank you very much for watching NHK WORLD-JAPAN.

We believe the story of the watchmaker is titled
"Hometown Stories: A Watchmaker's Tale" broadcasted
on May 15, 2016. We regret to inform you that it is not
available on NHK WORLD-JAPAN Video On Demand due
to copyrights restrictions nor on a copy format for
sell and we do not know when it will be rebroadcasted.

Thank you for your understanding and we hope you will
continue to enjoy NHK WORLD-JAPAN.

Regards,
NHK WORLD-JAPAN

I’ve come across watchmakers just like him here in the UK and in Poland. Great guys who share their love and enthusiasm for watches no matter the brand.
Richard


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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by watchaholic »

A quick update. Shipped on the 17th, and arrived on the 23rd, Fed Express has done their job well. It is now in the hands of CW. [-o<
Time and money? I’ve spent most of mine on booze and women. The rest I just wasted…
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Re: C8 Disaster.

Post by watchaholic »

:party: More communication from headquarters today. My C8 has been inspected and WILL be repaired under warranty. The usual 8-10 week timeframe was expected. I inquired about warranty and they responded the repairs would be guaranteed for 1 year. So far so good. :thumbup:
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