Cartier Ballon Bleu - did I get a lemon?

[baird1025]

Hi all - I am new here but would deeply appreciate any advice from the group.

July 2013 - I bought a Cartier Ballon Bleu men's watch.

In August 2013, within a month of buying the watch, I swam in a swimming pool with the watch and water immediately showed up under the crystal.  I took the watch in to Cartier for repair.  They did a "full service" on it and said it was okay.

Since that initial issue with the water, I have been super wary of getting into water with it and almost never do so.  I may have done it a time or two per year in swimming pools or freshwater.  A few weeks ago, I was in the ocean with the watch for about 5 minutes.  The watch may have been submerged by a foot or two, but I certainly did not go diving.  Almost immediately the watch stopped running.

I took it in to Cartier, and they are recommending a full service plus the replacement of the movement, hands, dial, and casing ring due to oxidation.

I find it nearly impossible to believe that a 6-year old watch could suffer so badly from oxidation that it would need this much replacement.  My hypothesis is that the watch is a lemon to start with, the repairs weren't done properly, or both.

However, I don't really know anything about such fine watches and would like to get input from folks who really know about these things.  I'd be grateful for any advice.  If you need more information, please let me know.

Thanks to all!

[jdm]

My opinion is that is owner caused damage. A dress watch like your should not ever contact water, let alone enter a pool or sea with it.

There are many variations of this watch, some are quartz some are not but all are valuable. You can certainly give it to a reputable watchmaker for an alternative repair estimate, but if there are parts that he can't obtain you will have no alterative than the official service center. Note however that "full service" and "movement replacement" are mutually exclusive. You can also evaluate the level of oxidation on dial and hands by yourself using a loupe or eyeglass.

Edited January 8, 2020 by jdm

[baird1025]

Thank you for the opinion. I agree that, going forward, I will not have it touch water. Better safe than sorry.

But, if the watches should never ever touch water, why would Cartier state the below about its watches on the website and advertise them as water resistant to 30 m?

The water-resistance of your watch is ensured by sealed gaskets. The water-resistance seals of your certified water-resistant watch undergo natural deterioration due to aging. You are recommended to have a regular water-resistance check performed. This diagnostic service is provided at no charge by our expert watchmakers. Before any contact with water, ensure that the crown of your watch is fully pushed into the case so it remains water-resistant. When your watch is underwater do not activate the chronograph function, second time zone, or other secondary mechanical features. After swimming, make sure to rinse your water-resistant watch in clean water so as to neutralize the harmful effects of seawater or chlorine.

[watchweasol]

Hi  when you bought the watch did it come with the user guide etc, and did you read it. It may be that the watch is only water resistant which implies an odd shower of rain or two ok but not in any way submersible. I have just read your reply to jdm's comment and indeed it is so. Not having a screw down crown with seal renders it likley to leak if submerged.   lesson learnt.  Only if its designated a diving watch and denoted waterproof should one swim with it remembering to have the seals checked regular and it pressure tested.

[jdm]

2 minutes ago, baird1025 said:

But, if the watches should never ever touch water, why would Cartier state the below about its watches on the website and advertise them as water resistant to 30 m?

That is just an indication, unfortunately it's always exaggerated. 30m means in practice just safe to wash hands while wearing it. 

[bjd1020]

Crazy........my 20 dollar timex has better water resistence than that 10k watch. Whats the documented water resistence??? If youre not exceeding that then you shouldnt even have to think about much less be "weary". Id be curious to see what the OEM has to say. Not to knock you but this is just the reason why I haggle with the over priced watch game. Its such a racket.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[JerseyMo]

I have 50 year old Timex watch that have better water resistance!

1 hour ago, bjd1020 said:

Crazy........my 20 dollar timex has better water resistence than that 10k watch. 
 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by JerseyMo

[WatchMaker]

Hi @baird1025 - I feel bad for you on such a nice watch. I don't think you've been unreasonable as a general consumer reading in effect "this watch is water resitant to 30m" and thinking you can take into water of less than this (probably not even 1m!) and thinking everything will be okay. Unfortunately this kind of marketing hyperbole is a sweeping statement for the Cartier range so is not really worth anything for a particular watch in their range. As already stated, unless a watch says it is waterproof it should never be deliberately taken into water. Waterresistant is merely a term to describe some effort to prevent water ingress in the event of an accidental splash etc.

Where can water ingress? The front seal (crystal); the rear seal (case back) and crown. If a watch isn't designed to prevent ingress by these means (=waterproof) then every watch will be different in its capability. What I'm getting to is that you haven't bought a lemon; it's just that the watch wasn't intentend for how you've used it. Even if you went to Cartier and tried to make an argument they would cite natural deterioration of the seals since you last had a service. 

If, in very simple terms, we consider a watch to be the case, movement, dial, hands and bracelet then Cartier are suggesting you pretty much replace most of the watch to bring it back to perfect. Ouch! This then ends up being a very personal decision on how, and how far, you want to proceed. What would be interesting though is if you could post a few pics to show the oxidation you're talking about.

 

[teegee]

On 1/9/2020 at 3:16 AM, baird1025 said:

In August 2013, within a month of buying the watch, I swam in a swimming pool with the watch and water immediately showed up under the crystal.  I took the watch in to Cartier for repair.  They did a "full service" on it and said it was okay.

That already sounds crazy to me. Such a high end watch surely would be pressure tested to 3 ATM at the factory and should survive some swimming.. Would vigorous swimming (i.e. slamming the watch in the water each stroke) locally exceed 3 ATM of pressure?

For seals to degrade in 6 years to allow ingress of ocean water at 1ft is also pretty crappy..

[nickelsilver]

3 bars is considered safe for occasional splashes- handwashing etc. Definitely not for swimming.

[WatchMaker]

And to add to my comments there of course isn't standardisation. The crown area for water ingress is probably the weakest spot. I have various watches and if we take the ones that aren't waterproof - so they can only say they are water resistant - I have one with a screw down crown; one with a double gasket set-up and another with a single gasket etc. So not all watches are born equal in their water resistance capability ... and the original cost of a watch isn't any guarantee of its superiority in this area as we know from some of the incredulous comments in this thread! 

Given the cost Cartier are now saying it will take to put everything right after a dip in water I think it is worth @baird1025 making a case. But rather than going to Cartier direct (who aren't ever going to admit a liability) maybe take to an independent to for an assessment report. This might go some way to help even if there was a compromise and an agreement by Cartier to make a discount for the work. Just an idea...?

[baird1025]

Thank you all for the input.  May I share the denouement...

So, I told Cartier - very politely - that I was disappointed in the performance of the water-resistant watch.  They conferred internally and called me back a few days later. They offered to offer complementary replacement of the hands, dial, and casing ring.  They had been asking roughly $500 for this set of repairs.  They said that I should pay for the full service (at, again, roughly $500), which they say should be done every 4-5 years.

I found this offer agreeable and accepted it.

And I will never allow the watch to touch water again.

Thanks again, everybody!