Rolex Question

[Paul78]

Hi, i wonder if anyone can answer me this regarding a rolex sweep hand.

I replaced the sweep hand on a rolex watch for a customer a while back, and the watch was brought back because it came off again. I advised the customer the hands will probably need to be replaced, So i put the hand back on again, no charge, his wife came to collect it and surprise surprise, when she got home the hand had come off again!

Now this customer has decided i charged him for something i havent done and is now threatening to take me to court etc etc etc

He now says he took it to an independent rolex cerified repairer who has told him ive caused damage because i push fitted the hands, which i did, with a regular hand push fit tool. They also say i failed to replace some sort of locking pin to keep the hand in position.

Can anyone tell me, have i done anything wrong here? is there such a locking pin?? any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[ash145]

Hi Paul, that's no good to hear and suspect the authorised dealer won't praise any of your work....the only suggestion I have is that the hole diameter has slightly increased and may need crimping down. I've recently started collecting Omegas with the 1010-30 movements , they have a small clip which holds the seconds hand stem in place, when fitting the seconds hand it needs to be supported from underneath or its dislodges the stem. The stem diameter is .15mm on this particular model and have slightly crimped the underside of the hand before fitting as they can fall off. Not convinced at all that you have caused a problem by fitting the hands by hand.

[Paul78]

Thanks Ash, yeh i know about the clip on the Omega, i haven't really done a great deal of Rolex, which i why i've asked the question. Thanks for your input. I really want to find the movement calibre now so i can check better! 

[ash145]

didn't mark do a video on a Rolex service?

 

[Paul78]

i think he did yes, i'll have a look

[jdm]

I would be curious too about the "locking ping". We have some expert members here that can clarify and if  it's proven that no such thing exists, you can give the evidence to the complainer and entourage him to go to court if so he wishes.

That being said, small diameter hands tubes can be a problem. Have the same issue with a chrono and didn't got an answer about a definitive solution yet.

[ash145]

Jdm, if you can turn the hand over and slightly crimp the tube it should create enough resistance to hold the hand in place. Tweezers are adequate

[jdm]

12 minutes ago, ash145 said:

Jdm, if you can turn the hand over and slightly crimp the tube it should create enough resistance to hold the hand in place. Tweezers are adequate

I think the idea is to do that with a suitable needle in the tube, to avoid crushing it.

I believed that a professional watchmaker did that already. But the second chrono hand still moves when pressing the reset button.

[ash145]

is it mechanical or quartz?

 

[Ishima]

Stuff like this just disgusts me from big manufacturers, I like to think most of us in the trade would think twice before blaming someone else in the trade for damages, it's sort of an unwritten code of ethics (or well, it is actually a written code if you read donald de carle) 

you can never be certain that someone has done something wrong, or if they have what the full context is, so to start pointing fingers is irresponsible, unprofessional and unethical. All you should do is offer your own services and stand by your results. Because what you ultimately risk is a back and forth with the customer acting as a frustrated carrier pigeon, facilitating a squabble...

But when you're a big swiss manufacturer nothing like that seems to matter anymore, you can say what you like, blame watchmakers blithely with false certainty and even tell customers that their watch is faulty and the dial is damaged even when there's not a spec of evidence to suggest that. 
(I'm not making that up, I've had customers come in with swiss watches needing only a battery replacement and resealing being quoted several hundred pounds for a complete re build when the watch was pristine and faultless)  

You're probably blameless, my advice: Offer the money he paid back to him, try to explain again to him as best you can the nature of the fault, stress that you're a watch repairer, and the people operating the counters and phones at Rolex are not. Offer a sincere apology for his troubles and hopefully he'll back off with the legal threats. 

Edited April 13, 2016 by Ishima

[Ishima]

Also, i forgot to say, stress that's it's a repeat of the very same issue that caused them to bring the watch to you in the first place, an issue that arised before you ever set your hands on it. 

So if a damaged locking pin is the cause of the problem, how could you have possibly broken it BEFORE having ever touched it.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Ishima

[ash145]

Totally agree with Ishima

[Paul78]

Thank you all for your advice. I will keep you posted on the outcome.