this is the watch i'd posted about in july. ended up sending it in for a full service.
here are the diagnoses i was updated with:

- The watch shows signs of wear.
- Dial could remain in its current condition.
- Dial not in its original position.
- The crystal is chipped.
- The bracelet shows signs of wear.
- The movement has low amplitude.
- The hands are marked and/or scratched.


questions for the forum:
1. how does a dial move out of position?
2. how do hands get marked and/or scratched sitting in a hermetically-sealed case with intact crystal?
3. what does it mean that the movement has low amplitude?

not questioning the findings just wondering what they mean and how they can happen?

thanks!

 

Basically it sounds like whoever previously serviced it did a s#!t job. Maybe removed hands with needle nose pliers instead of the special press / clamp tool, mainspring is worn and never replaced (low amplitude), didn't align the dial correctly when putting it back in case. Crystal can be chipped at any point.

@Archer is probably the best source for your query.

 

i think it had never been serviced before!!

 

1 - It's possible the dial was not centered right in the first place, but the dial moving out of position in the case can only happen one way in my experience - an impact such as dropping or knocking the watch quite hard.

2 - They can be scratched while being handled on installation.

3 - The amplitude is referring to the amount the balance swings in each direction, and low amplitude is a sign of a movement that requires servicing. It can also result from the dial shifting, and binding on one of the posts that a hand is attached to.

I think you have to take these "findings" with a grain of salt, because virtually every estimate I've ever seen has similar things on it (case has signs of wear, scratched/marked hands, bracelet has signs of wear, etc.). The reality is on a new watch they will likely replace all the hands anyway, so that one is really moot.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks, Al.

makes sense.
the dial shift resulting from a drop or knock is what i was worried about, but i have to assume that any other damage resulting from said drop or knock would be noted and corrected as part of this service as well.

excited to get it back in mid-sept.
will post pics when it arrives...

 

Might be a pre-emptive liability avoidance procedure? Just wondering. .. (e.g. hands were already noted as "scratched", so it's not that we did it).

 

Yes of course it is. That's why I always encourage people to take their own set of photos before sending a watch in, because an intake sheet that says "case scratched" is of zero value to you when they scratch the case and hand it back to you - the sheet says it was scratched when you brought it in...

 

Yes but the delay so far was for ordering new hands, so they better not be scratched!

Not that I will notice, because I certainly didn't notice them being scratched before

I did take lots of pictures before I sent it in