Horror Story With Jomashop

I suspect the box is based on whatever AD is dumping stock to them and not decided by JS directly. I've seen two different 39.5mm POs from the same AD (Topper's) come with both the wooden and the bow box. The problem stems from Omega's categorization of the watch as a woman's watch, and apparently, Omega thinks women prefer the gift box Of course, if you're at an AD and you're a dude who didn't say he's buying the PO for a woman, you're likely going to get the wooden box.

I lol'd at his avatar

So you joined OF just to post about your problem with Jomashop? And yes, sometimes brand new Swiss Watches have issues, even when purchased from the brand boutiques and from ADs.

Why did you take it to a shop versus contacting Jomashop right away and giving them a chance to address your issue? Once you let someone a shop handle it, you lost some leverage with Jomashop (and it would be the same with just about any other vendor).

You bought through Jomashop to save a bunch of money. Keep dealing with them to at least get the movement repaired.

I get your thought process with this but the thing is, you could have taken it to Rolex HQ and it still would have voided Joma’s return policy. The watch will be considered tampered with. The watch needs to be in “new” condition, which means it can’t be worn or opened up (regardless of who opens it). The first red flag is that you ordered a brand new watch. The battery wouldn’t have been dead. The second red flag was it was DOA. I would have left the watch in the box and called Joma straight away as they take defective orders back. Joma has every right not to believe you and your claims that you took it to Rolex. For all they know, you decided to view the movement on a functioning watch and broke it in the process. You could have swapped parts and now they have to have the watch verified to be authentic. These measures are across the board for every online watch dealer. Keep fighting with them though.


They aren’t watch experts and aren’t run by a team of jewelers. They just sell watches and thousands of other non watch related items. Regardless of what you buy online, always deal with the seller first if the item received isn’t right. Never take it somewhere to be worked on and then claim it’s defective.

Well ... don't worry, despite lots of hand-wringing, it all worked out for the OP and many other people in this thread indicated that they also had no problem with JS, so I'm sure it will be fine. Just have them repair it. And next time read the T&C.

Glad things worked out for the OP. I’ve purchased five watches from JS including three Omegas - no issues with any of them. I recently purchased a new Speedy Pro from a seller on OF. The first thing that I did after checking the watch (all good) was to put the “big box” up for sale on eBAY. No way that the box is worth anything close to $750. It’s ridiculously large and the only worthwhile accessory included is the NATO strap. I think that the lacquered blonde wooden box is much nicer. I had an extra one of those from another Omega that I sold and my Speedy resides there now.

Well, this is your perspective on it and it's largely because you got the short end of the stick. Firstly, your best witness will be video evidence. Joma won't care about your friends/family/passersby that you claim will be under oath. Secondly, good luck getting Rolex to write any proof down for you. No one ever expects a company to ship a brand new defective item but you are not the first person this has ever happened to. It happens and the best thing you should have done was to call them immediately. Changing a battery is not tampering, you are correct. But, welcome to the world of endless fakes. Your watch might not be highly faked, and I am not saying you would do this, but Joma has every right to refuse a return for a watch that has been opened for their own security.

Again, your best proof would have been video evidence of you unboxing. You are right, saying it means nothing but that also means what you are saying means nothing. You should also prove it... but you can't (unless you took video).

Point to me where they advertise that they are watch experts. They are an online fashion retailer. They sell thousands of RayBans but I would never consider them RayBan experts. Would you? Just because someone makes X amount of money a year doing something doesn't mean they are the foremost expert in that field. Sure, they have someone knowledgable handling certain items they sell. They sell thousands of watches and I would be honestly blown away if every single watch was inspected. They get countless bulk shipments of countless inventory. Thats like saying Seiko hand inspects every ingle watch that leaves the warehouse. Defects happens You are hardly the first to experience this.

I think you are blowing this way out of proportion. Again, you got the short end of the stick. I get it. But remember, they are a fashion online retailer. Not the all seeing eye of the watch world that it seems you believe they are. Google bad experiences with Joma and you will be overwhelmed with results. Not everyone has them. I have purchased a 200$ "new" seiko from them but the case had gouges all around the bezel from someone removing it. They took it back and gave me a $50 coupon. I have never ordered from them since. SO many other actual reputable sources to order watches from.

Keep fighting with them and maybe you will get your way. If not, you have learned a very expensive lesson. You don't have to yell at me though. I am just some person casually writing to you from somewhere in the world.

Im sorry, you open it, you own it.

I understand that you are emotional about this and want to think that all of the fault lies with JS. But they don't have to prove anything, answer your questions, or provide theories, they will just point to the T&C, which are binding. They sell huge numbers of watches, and their policies are in place to protect them and make things simple. They're not in the business of investigating your individual case and listening to witness testimony. It's ridiculous to even mention that.

Quite honestly, this is your fault because you made a silly mistake by acting without thinking. I don't think that anyone reading this thread would have taken the action you took. If I receive a watch in unexpected non-operational condition, the very first thing I do is contact the seller and ask how to proceed. If you had done that, presumably they would have told you to return it.

At this point, you own the watch. However, I suspect that it has a JS warranty.

If your pending witness testimony doesn’t work out, I doubt you’ll be too keen on dealing with JS or their warranty any further. You might consider sending the watch to Longines to service. With any luck, you could still come out ahead of MSRP.

No, I wouldn't not use that information to consider them experts. Remember, Joma is an online retailer. This is their website:


Yes, their most moved product is probably watches but they do not say they are "experts." They sell clothing, pens, other accessories, shoes, beauty supplies, and more. Because of this, I would never consider them experts but just an online store that specializes in clothing/accessories. For them to make the amount you suggested, that would imply they move a literal ton of inventory. Do you really suspect they have someone inspect every individual item? Absolutely not. They might have 100 of the watch you bought for sale. Unfortunately you happened to get a defective one. What you linked to me is their service center. That service center only equates to a very small percentage of the overall Joma staff and remember, those people ONLY service watches that are returned to them/warranty. They do not service/inspect every watch that enters the warehouse. That's highly unrealistic. This is Joma's primary staff- Warehouse workers that receive shipments and ship out. They move pallets to their respective locations. Photographers. Lets say Joma has 100 of a specific watch. The photographer will only photograph one and use those images to advertise all 100 of the same watch. This mean the watch you ordered, likely was unloaded from a truck and placed on a rack until a picker grabbed it and placed it on a truck for shipment. Editors will edit those images and pass them off to the developers who will list them for sale. Other back end developers to make sure the site runs smooth. A call center to handle orders, issues, whatever. And other people like managers. It's very likely that none of these people are the experts you'd like them to be and even more unlikely they are even into the hobby. It's an online retailer not a Rolex AD. If you called in and asked for specifics of a watch, the person on the other end is just looking at the same info you are. How do I know this? I have worked for a very large online retailer for outdoor goods/camping. None of us were experts and I often don't go camping, though I have in the past. Think of Amazon- Do you think Amazon inspects every item they receive before they ship it out? How many of those items get returned because of damage/defect? It doesn't always happen but it does sometimes happen. Joma operates the same way. You unfortunately fell into the "sometimes" category. I sympathize with you. It sucks to be on your end but we have all been on your end at one point in our life. Just as if it were me, I would hope you get your money back. Please remember however, Joma are not who you are making them out to be (highly qualified experts). They are just an online retailer.


We only become "seasoned" after going through what you have. We learn from our mistakes and are able to help others from them. What you listed in this is just common sense. That's not to be rude either. If they listed out every individual defect for a customer to watch out for, they would have an instruction PDF as thick as the Bible. That is why they use the blanket statement "damage" and "defect." If you receive something that is defective as in the hands aren't moving, they expect you to call them. The second you take action into your own hands by fixing it, they are no longer responsible. That is why they have their own service center. Yes, it's an inconvenience for you but that is also the risk of buying online. You might get a 10/10 order but you might also get a 4/10 order and need to send it back. You don't NEED to video yourself opening the box. I used that example because you said you have witnesses. Joma would have believed you if you called immediately and said the watch was DOA. You wouldn't need to prove it. You would just need to say it. You can tell us that you are in the right and Joma is in the wrong until you are blue in the face and pass out, but ultimately you did void their return policy by opening up the watch. Regardless of how qualified the person was, you still opened up the watch. That takes the watch from "new" to "used." Just like if I were to buy a new car, remove the hood, and put it back on: The dealership would tell me the car was used. Like I have said, you can keep fighting with them. Maybe you will win. Maybe not.