So I had a Hamilton Khaki X-Wind in a special edition made for my colleagues and me. It has a special engraving on the back of the case and a custom strap with a logo.
After receiving the watch almost two years ago, a few of my coworkers had issues with theirs, send them in for repairs, and all was good.
I gave mine to my dad, because I felt he needed a "big boy watch", something mechanical at least.
He loved it, and wore it every day until it stopped working overnight a month or two ago. So I told him not to worry, to hand it in for repair since it was still under warranty. Their device department came back with a message that the watch must have been dropped or hit very hard, since the dial wasn't aligned with the case anymore. Not knowing what to do, he just had them return it to him in the same condition.

I stepped in, since I've only heard good things about their customer service, so surely this must have been a mistake?
My dad is absolutely certain the watch wasn't damaged or mishandled in any way.
So a month after I sent it in again, it got pretty much the same verdict: dial misaligned due to the watch taking a knock. They also described a "bent lug".
I'm not sure what they consider bent, but I surely didn't notice anything of the sort.

I am a bit disappointed at this point. Hamilton wants to play in the big leagues, but doesn't really back it up in service. I know this watch hasn't been dropped or slammed against a wall, my dad cherished it and would have told me if something had happened to it.
Besides that, I have a Navitimer 01 that I wear almost daily, which I know for a fact has taken some hits, yet it functions flawlessly. The Hamilton should be able to deal with daily use, considering they (too) brand it as a pilot's tool.

The tab for repair would be over €300, which is quite steep in my book.
What would you guys do?

 

Photos of your watch would be great.

 

I recently had a Seamaster come in that had stopped running - in this case I knew it was after a drop since the bracelet was broken and the owner told me it hit the floor. Watch was fully wound and not operating, so I removed the movement, then the hands, and this is what I saw:



You can see that the dial has shifted to one side, and the dial is no longer centered on the movement. The dial had shifted so far to the left that the hole in the dial was binding on the hour wheel, stopping the watch. When I removed the dial, the movement immediately started ticking again. It still was in bad shape and needed service, but the watch had stopped because of the drop and the dial shifting.

This is likely what Hamilton saw when they inspected the watch at the service center. Now if the contact between the hour wheel and the dial hole was slight the watch may run while being worn, but when the torque starts to drop off overnight, the friction becomes too much and the watch stops. The watch would not leave the factory this way, or it would not have run properly for as long as it did.

So how to explain this if the watch wasn't dropped or otherwise impacted?

I don't think there is another explanation to be honest, and you would get the same answer from any brand with this kind of situation. As much as people baby their watches, sometimes things happen and you don't even realize it. Brands will also look at external damage to the watch to see if it corresponds to the direction of the dial shift - it appears they have found some on a lug.

I'm not sure what the scope of work was that you were quoted 300 Euro for, but if that is for a full service then that's a bargain. Hamilton's service prices are quite reasonable in my experience. They may be giving you a price to just fix that specific issue, but if so it would likely include a new dial - if the dial feet are bent over too far they may snap off when you bend them back.

Not sure there is anything you can do about this, but based on what you have described it doesn't seem like bad service to me - just them finding damage that can only be explained by some sort of impact. If you are not happy and want to make some noise, they might do something for you, but it would be as a courtesy rather than a warranty repair.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks for your replies.
I think what disappointent me most is the fact these watches appear to be rather fragile, considering the way they are marketed.
Out of about 100 watches we had delivered, I have heard of 8 seperate cases with guys havings issues with theirs.
Like I mentioned, my Breitling gets a lot more abuse and is still running rock-solid.

Anyway, I understand the fact that their watchmaker linked the external damage and the shifted dial, and doesn't repair this under warranty.
The total quote is indeed for a full service and a new dial. Might not be that expensive, but this watch retails for EUR 1200,- and I actually paid less that half of that because of the large special order. The repair cost is close to the price I paid for the watch...

Not sure if I want to get it repaired, what would you do?

 

Stick with the Navitimer. You obviously feel you know more than the Omega tech, and you’ll never be happy if you have them fix it.

 

I would either fix it or get your father another watch. It's too bad this happened. The only other thing you could do is take it for a second opinion somewhere. Good luck!

 

Not sure I would call the watch fragile because of this - regardless of marketing if any watch receives a strong shock there is potential for damage. It will sometimes depend on the exact circumstances of the shock if there is damage or not - the location and angle of the impact can make a very big difference on what happens.

Stuff happens - you can either get it fixed or toss it and move on. I don't think anyone here can tell you what the right path is for you to take on this. I will say that there's no way in hell I would service a mechanical chrono and replace the dial for as little as 300 Euro...it's a bargain.

 

I think the issue Al is what you've mentioned before, especially with regards to servicing inexpensive seikos - the cost to service vs the cost of the watch to begin with, and how there is not really a ratio between those two. When a watch such as this Hamilton has sold for as little as $700 brand new, it's hard to stomach spending $375 to service it. While it is a relative bargain with regards to serving a chrono and doing a dial replacement, it doesn't feel like one when it's almost 50% of the value of the watch.

But then again, even with an older Speedmaster that may only be worth $3K, it probably will cost 25% of that value to service it. It feels easier when the overall value of the watch is higher.

 

Yes of course - which is why I rarely ever service any newer Hamiltons or Seikos. Now I do service watches fairly often where the cost of my service far exceeds the value of the watch, but those are typically family watches that have some meaning to the owner other than just a watch to wear - they are heirloom pieces that have some history in the family.

I'm not suggesting that the OP goes ahead and services this watch - I'm just saying that the price for the work being done is a bargain and it's highly doubtful that any other watchmaker will do it cheaper (if they do I can only imagine what the quality of work would be like). But if it's true that these can be had for roughly double the price of the service, does it make financial sense to spend that $700 to get a new one, or have the service done and pocket $300+? Only the OP can decide what's right for him.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks a bunch guys, extra kudos to Archer for the insight
I'll sleep on it before I decide!

 

For those interested, these are the service pictures they sent me.
edit: I was just thinking how one would dent the low corner of the lug on the crown side of this watch, since that is on the left side? My dad wears his watch on his left wrist...

 

Well that is from a significant impact, and consistent with a watch being dropped.

You say your father swears he's certain the watch wasn't damaged or mishandled in any way, but the case shows otherwise. Is it possible that someone else may have disturbed it at some point? Cleaners? Grandkids? Spouse? I have no idea what the answer is but I can see that the dial has shifted, and no brand is going to warranty a watch with that sort of damage to a lug.

As an aside the Omega I showed above that had the dial shifted doesn't have damage on the case near as bad as what you are showing, and it stopped the watch immediately on impact. This is not from the watch being fragile by any means.

Cheers, Al

 

I'm not sure what the cause might be, but your statement about the damage to the case in relation to the movement makes me feel better, somehow.

Thanks again for all the insight @Archer, you're invaluable to the forum!