Mortis wrote: [snip]
The problem with the NNs at present is that no one checks them. [snip]
I would like to comment on that statement. I'll also give my suggestions for NN grading levels at the end of this post, but first:-
I bought 2 NN women's watches during the sale period exclusive to forum members, and before the spate of emails about the questionable quality of NN watches began rolling in.
They arrived a few days ago, and the difference between the 2 watches couldn't be more extreme.
The Matisse was flawless.
The White Rapide Chronograph was stated in the accompanying letter to have had its strap changed, and yes, the strap it came with was flawless, new, very white and very clean. However:
1. the tachymeter bezel was marred by many fine scratches around about half of the circumference of the bezel. Now, if you've seen a Rapide in real life, you'll know that the tachymeter markings are very fine and thin, and inlaid on a thin bezel that has a VERY polished/mirror finish. The fine scratches and the markings therefore sort of merged into one another and made it very difficult to read or even see the markings properly, esp under bright lights reflecting off the polished bezel.
2. worse still, there was something wrong with the quartz movement itself. It kept stopping at 5 o'clock. When I first took it out of the box (it was night time), it was not running, and the hands were at 5 o'clock. However, once I unscrewed out the crown and set the time and date, it started working again, so I thought maybe all the jostling around while being shipped had stopped it temporarily. I left it overnight, and in the morning, found that it had stopped at 5 again. I reset the time, and it began running again. To test it, I wore it to work that day. At 5 in the evening, it stopped again.
Of course, I've contacted Wera, and she agrees there's something seriously wrong with it. I'm returning it, and they are refunding my money plus postage. Their willingness to honour their 60-60 guarantee is not in issue, nor is their customer service.
What is in issue is that they must have examined the watch sufficiently to make a decision that the old strap needed changing. Yet, they didn't spot the 5 o'clock problem. They also either did not notice the fine scratches (unlikely, I think), or felt it was alright to sell the same under their definition of "nearly new", ie that the watch had only been used for promotional photography or press samples (like another poster said, the photographers or reviewers must have handled the watches very roughly!).
I'll concede the same fine scratches might not matter as much if they were found on the brushed steel, no-markings case of the C5As, for example. But on a very polished case with a thin bezel with fine markings, the scratches make all the difference because it affected the visibility and reading of the tachymeter.
Also, while the refund is good security when taking the risk on a nearly new watch, I don't live in the UK, and it's going to be a pain to find the time to get down to the post office and waste time in the queue, all in order to send it back to CWL.
I agree with all those who are concerned that the current NN practice will damage CWL's reputation, for those buyers unlucky enough to get a NN watch that seems more banged up to be nearly new.
So what's the solution if CWL wishes to continue selling NN watches? I think with the wide disparity in the condition of the NN watches, they should not be sold under one umbrella description. There should be a few different grades with corresponding levels of discounts.
I've tried to set out below a few grades of NN, which will however require that CWL has checkers who visually examine each NN watch.
NN grade 1 - no blemish on case, crystal or strap (my Matisse would fall under this)
NN grade 2 -
a) very minor dings/scratches or blemishes on the case that do not mar the topward facing facade of the watch. This would refer to minor scratches or dings on the sides or back of the watch (but not on any display back) that cannot be seen when looking at the top of the watch. If there is a small ding on the bezel, it must not be visible from the top view.
Generally, these blemishes should not be easily visible or obvious from the side view upon a casual or cursory glance.
OR
b) there are minor scratches/blemishes on the strap ONLY.
NN grade 3 -
a) minor dings/scratches or blemishes on the case that can been seen on the topward facing facade of the watch. This would include dings or scratches on the bezel that can be seen from the top of the watch.
b) dings/scratches or blemishes on the sides of the case or back, including display back. Generally, these blemishes would be visible or obvious even upon a casual or cursory glance.
d) obvious or more serious scratches/blemishes on the strap.
I would consider the Rapide to be in this category for the visual blemishes, but the 5 o'clock problem is in a whole other category altogether.
Anything worse than the above, or if there is something wrong with the movement or hands, then the watch should not be sold as Nearly New AT ALL.
The only problem is that even with checkers, CWL might not have caught the 5 o'clock fault at all, if the resetting the date and time caused the watch to start running again.
I don't know how to solve that, unless CWL is willing to have a system where the checker examines visually each NN watch, then comes back after 24 hours to check on it.
Final words: I still like CWL watches and the company's ethos. I like the fact they are close to their fans, listen and respond to feedback and even modify designs based on the same at times.
I don't want them to get a bad rep.
So I hope they will seriously consider grading their NN watches and discounting based on a scale.
I'll still buy their new watches, and am waiting eagerly to see what their new ladies' line is like, but I'll hold off on their NN sales for the moment.