have to send my A386 back to LVMH for service 3 month ago...since the chronograph pusher is not working
and just got my A386 serviced back from zenith Switzerland with 1.7k euro bill...
but i think quite worth the money....see they almost rebuild the movement!
and its ready to go for another 50 years i hope

 

Wow, enjoy your watch.

 

Wow, looks great re-built. Very nice of them to return the original bits!

 

Nice to see, but wow, wish they'd been a little more careful with the original hands! They basically just threw them in a bag with the base plate and pushers...could easily damage them in transit. I'd throw them back on your watch.

 

I was thinking about the original hands as well just thrown about. I would do the same^^ and put the old hands back on. But if you choose not to, you have a pretty penny parts they sent back to you.

 

IMHO the service hands are not attractive and you should change them back against the original hands as others allready recommended. Otherwise very nice.
Wear in good health

 

yes...i have seperate the hands and keep it in another case..
its ok for me...since before restoration,only the chrono hands are not a replaced one...and small hands are all wrong..

 

Just noticed......LVMH changed my Tachy ring without my agreement and also didnt return it...and this is not within the service list i agree and paid before they start work on my watch... it looks very difficult to get it back
SO ,any one who want to send your vintage zenith back to the mothership...need to be extremely careful!

 

i am sorry to say i think if you do a little searching on OF you will see 99% would advise NOT to send a vintage watch back to manufacturer for service (the only exception is patek). the stories range from bad to horror show

the only nice thing i can say is if they sent you back all the old parts they haven't destroyed any value. . .if they hadn't sent you back the old parts they have completely destroyed the value someone will pay for your watch

i would put the whole thing back together as it was and send it to a real vintage watch maker to service it. and once you find a good vintage watchmaker this is the ONLY procedure i would every follow with an investment grade vintage piece

sorry to be the bearer of bad news. if you like the way it looks, wear it, but by all means keep all those old parts and protect those hands!

 

i do did my homework..since im not new to vintage watch world..
but unfortunately there is no watch maker i can trust and have the spare part to work on this movement in Taiwan..
so send it back the LVMH is the only way
i do tell them not to touch and replace any thing outside..except the hands and crown (watch originally comes with wrong hands)
and they need to send back all the part they remove,and they agreed...

but they send back the most part,except the most valued tachy ring (not even in the service list) and crown (which i agreed to change when they promise me will send it back)
so somehow i feel they just keep it on purpose for someone else.....

 

1.7k euro, wow! did they give you an estimate before shipping off?

 

Yes...they made the quotation before they work on the watch....

 

Have you asked them to see if they still have your old tachy ring?

 

I already ask LVMH local service center to ask...not yet get reply
keep chasing them
since tachy ring is not on the service list..this is more like they stole it from my point of view (though they put a new one on)

 

I don't believe they stole it. It is a basic watch part and would hold little value for the manufacturer.

It is possible the original was damaged during service and thus swapped for a new part. This is just speculation. Best to ask them what happened. Good luck, hopefully they still have it and just forgot to send back!

 

I agree to put the original hands back (if they are in good shape).

It's a pitty the outter tachymeter ring ... bad work from Zenith.

 

I have 2 El Primeros, a 1973 surf and a 1993 Rainbow and I have heard bad things about LVMH, here in Canada. I have sent 2 TAG Heuer watches to them and they did an ok job but took forever. Is there a way to deal with the Switzerland service centre, or do we have to go through our local distributorship?

 

Really hurting my vintage collector soul to see this mis-treatment. They could´ve done a much more sympathetic renovation work on your watch, but they are just indifferent to originality

Did they polish the shit out of the case too?

I mean, these are really rare watches, and this one is no 1 on my wishlist, and has been for many years, so it´s extra hurtful, to see this happen.....

 

Looks like they did polish a bit too much, do you have a pix before sending it ?

 

original picture is here...polished...but it was also originally already polished