Misery seeking company

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Bident
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Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

Hello all,

Just under two months ago, I purchased a Steinhart Ocean 39 GMT 500. It has been a fantastic watch, keeping time at -0.5sec/day and offering an ETA 2893-2 decorated movement with display back, ceramic lumed bezel, etc.

Well, I dropped it in a gravelly parking lot yesterday being careless. Among the resulting scratches and dings, the worst offender is the sheared off tooth of the bezel near the 10 marker. While I know scratches and dings are inevitable, and I do believe watches are meant to be worn, it's heartbreaking to me seeing this type of damage after just receiving the watch in early September.

In addition, the GMT hand, which was aligned perfectly, is now 20 minutes too slow. I dropped the watch off at a local watchmaker who said it would only be US$30 to realign the hand so it will hopefully be resolved in a few days.

I am curious if other forum members have had accidents/drops so soon after a new watch purchase. I'm already feeling better about it today, as it is in the grand scheme of things, very minor, but I think hearing about others' experience and how they managed would provide some solace. Thanks in advance for indulging me.
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Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Markornot »

I feel horrible and I have nothing to do with the watch :lol: My CW C8 Flyer sacrificed itself for me during a clumsy fall on a city sidewalk. I faired better than the watch. I eventually had CW re-case the watch which in the example of a diver would include a new bezel and crystal. It was very reasonable at under 100usd, although I think I’ve read that the cost has gone up a bit. Not sure if Steinhart has a similar service but if they do, that would be my leaning. That is a beauty btw. :thumbup:
Mark
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Bident
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

Markornot wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 1:45 am I feel horrible and I have nothing to do with the watch :lol: My CW C8 Flyer sacrificed itself for me during a clumsy fall on a city sidewalk. I faired better than the watch. I eventually had CW re-case the watch which in the example of a diver would include a new bezel and crystal. It was very reasonable at under 100usd, although I think I’ve read that the cost has gone up a bit. Not sure if Steinhart has a similar service but if they do, that would be my leaning. That is a beauty btw. :thumbup:
Thanks, Markornot. I might look into that, but the watch itself was only US$680 at Gnomon Watches in Singapore (can also order direct from Steinhart's website, but that is quoted in Euros so FX rate fluctuations can make it slightly more or less than the Gnomon price). I think I'm more inclined to keep the watch for a few years, and then buy the current model if it's been updated. Glad to hear your story worked out well in any event. Appreciate your response, it definitely makes me feel better knowing someone else has been in the same boat.
Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by MorrisOx »

An agonising experience. Wonder if Steinhart can supply you with a replacement bezel?

Never had that kind of experience with my watches (so far!), but it must be right up there with a minor scratch on an otherwise pristine car: no one else really notices it, but you feel like you’re driving round in a tatty old dog.
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Bident
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

MorrisOx wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:29 am An agonising experience. Wonder if Steinhart can supply you with a replacement bezel?

Never had that kind of experience with my watches (so far!), but it must be right up there with a minor scratch on an otherwise pristine car: no one else really notices it, but you feel like you’re driving round in a tatty old dog.
Exactly!

I have emailed Steinhart about a replacement bezel. Hopefully they will reply with good news
Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by TG3N »

Yep, I feel your pain - dropping a new watch like that is a veritable kick in the plums.

My most galling was a not-long-purchased Rolex Submariner accident. The clasp had a subtly-pleasing brushed finish that was both warm & uniform in appearance, until one day when I carelessly reached for some clothes on a rack in a shop, and caught the underside of the clasp on a bit of metal, resulting in a deep gouge, standing out shiny & unrepentant against the otherwise satin-brushed finish, akin to a freshly ploughed furrow in a field. That really annoyed me for a bit, but now, much less so.

By way of consolation though, a few points:

1) It's true, the first cut is truly the deepest - it's all easier from here
2) I like to look after my watches, but once the first blood is drawn, then it mentally frees one to truly enjoy the watch, instead of worrying
3) The GMT hand issue is likely just the friction-fit hand slipping on the post from impact - an easy fix, as your watchmaker has already confirmed

The tooth on the bezel looks relatively intact, but just gouged from impact - I'd be inclined to try a bit of gentle re-finishing myself (as you can hardly make it look worse). A green scouring pad, wrapped around a thin piece of wood or similar (chop-stick, lollipop stick etc.) to allow for fine control, and a couple of gentle passes over the damaged tooth will smooth out the worst of the fresh roughing, then a really gentle semi-polish with Cape Cod cloth or similar to add-back a little shine, and it'll stand out less. Otherwise, over time you may find that rubbing against a shirt sleeve will have much the same effect. At very least, with time it'll fade to the eye anyway.
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

TG3N wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 10:32 pm Yep, I feel your pain - dropping a new watch like that is a veritable kick in the plums.

My most galling was a not-long-purchased Rolex Submariner accident. The clasp had a subtly-pleasing brushed finish that was both warm & uniform in appearance, until one day when I carelessly reached for some clothes on a rack in a shop, and caught the underside of the clasp on a bit of metal, resulting in a deep gouge, standing out shiny & unrepentant against the otherwise satin-brushed finish, akin to a freshly ploughed furrow in a field. That really annoyed me for a bit, but now, much less so.

By way of consolation though, a few points:

1) It's true, the first cut is truly the deepest - it's all easier from here
2) I like to look after my watches, but once the first blood is drawn, then it mentally frees one to truly enjoy the watch, instead of worrying
3) The GMT hand issue is likely just the friction-fit hand slipping on the post from impact - an easy fix, as your watchmaker has already confirmed

The tooth on the bezel looks relatively intact, but just gouged from impact - I'd be inclined to try a bit of gentle re-finishing myself (as you can hardly make it look worse). A green scouring pad, wrapped around a thin piece of wood or similar (chop-stick, lollipop stick etc.) to allow for fine control, and a couple of gentle passes over the damaged tooth will smooth out the worst of the fresh roughing, then a really gentle semi-polish with Cape Cod cloth or similar to add-back a little shine, and it'll stand out less. Otherwise, over time you may find that rubbing against a shirt sleeve will have much the same effect. At very least, with time it'll fade to the eye anyway.
Thanks so much for the encouragement, empathy, and tips. I will try your suggestions on the bezel once I get the watch back from my local watchmaker.
Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

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Update: Thanks to all who helped me on this thread. The good news is after I contacted Steinhart they offered to have Fedex pick up my watch on their tab and evaluate repairs. I retrieved the watch from my local watchmaker since he hadn't realigned the GMT hand yet, and after Fedex picked up the watch from my house it arrived in Germany in three days. Steinhart emailed me with an 80 euro estimate for a new case and bezel, plus realignment of the GMT hand. I emailed them to proceed and two weeks later they emailed again saying the watch was ready pending payment of 80 euros via PayPal. I paid the invoice three days ago and received the watch via FedEx this morning, with shipping again paid by Steinhart.

The watch is like brand new and in perfect working condition. Needless to say, I am very impressed with Steinhart and their excellent customer service.
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Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by H0rati0 »

Bident wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:26 pm Update: Thanks to all who helped me on this thread. The good news is after I contacted Steinhart they offered to have Fedex pick up my watch on their tab and evaluate repairs. I retrieved the watch from my local watchmaker since he hadn't realigned the GMT hand yet, and after Fedex picked up the watch from my house it arrived in Germany in three days. Steinhart emailed me with an 80 euro estimate for a new case and bezel, plus realignment of the GMT hand. I emailed them to proceed and two weeks later they emailed again saying the watch was ready pending payment of 80 euros via PayPal. I paid the invoice three days ago and received the watch via FedEx this morning, with shipping again paid by Steinhart.

The watch is like brand new and in perfect working condition. Needless to say, I am very impressed with Steinhart and their excellent customer service.

C1B1558E-1B00-45F4-88B5-28C633C00409.jpeg9EB5B336-F976-49E4-BE2C-B5EB145EAB1F.jpegDDCF5943-C9DB-4C26-809F-566D5A0A578D.jpegDFE47AC5-21E6-4FCC-9EFB-13309BFA3ECE.jpeg
Pleased to hear this worked out so well for you :D and really nice to know they can look after their customers as well as provide stonking VFM. Once in a while I toy with buying a Steinhart (they are just up the road from me in Augsburg) and this incident makes me so much more inclined.
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Soporsche »

Great to hear that its been resolved so well and so quickly. Sounds like Steinhart have been very fast, efficient and good VFM.
Like H0rati0 ive contemplated Steinhart in the past but never purchased, sure I will at some point!
Lovely looking watch by the way!
Stephen

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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

Thanks to both of you for the kind comments. I was not interested in Steinhart previously because I never liked the idea of an homage watch. But when this model was released earlier this year, it really caught my attention. After several months I finally purchased it and am glad I did. I now realize whether a watch is an homage or not is unimportant to me. All that matters is if I like it. It's icing on the cake that Steinhart also goes above and beyond with their customer service.
Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Thermexman »

Great to hear such a positive outcome. Thanks for updating us. :thumbup:
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Bident »

Many thanks Steve.
Best regards,
John
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Thegreyman »

Good to see the watch back as good as new, that was well worth 80 Euros which seems great value for a new case and bezel plus the GMT hand fix.
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Re: Misery seeking company

Post by Viognier »

Outstanding value and customer service provided by Steinhart!
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