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bvertz
路In February I threw my lot in with the 9 others who purchased the last of the Watchco SM 300's from Australia. The few weeks that I had to wait for my watch to be built and shipped were only the start of a long journey, which finally concluded last week. At last my Watchco SM 300 is home with me, in my box and on my wrist.
Foolishly, I didn't supply Watchco with a watch customs declaration form when it was first shipped from Oz. I didn't know enough to supply the form, and they didn't ask. So the first time my watch was shipped, it got caught up in customs at Fedex in Nashville. To their credit, Watchco tried to resolve the problem for me, stating that they had supplied the right paperwork. Eventually, Fedex and Watchco decided to return the watch to Australia.
A week or two later, Watchco shipped the watch to me via USPS. Again customs stopped the shipment, but this time Watchco resolved the problem, and the watch arrived. I was so excited to wear it the first day .... until I noticed that it would intermittently stop. I traded a few emails and was told that it just needed to be fully wound, so I wound it and wore it for a day and then placed it in a winder overnight. The following day, it was losing several minutes an hour and would stop when repositioned from face up to crown up.
I took my watch to a local jeweler, who couldn't diagnose the problem. I figured it was probably user error. Eventually Watchco asked me to ship it back to Australia for repairs. A few weeks later it was shipped back to me, without explanation, except that Watchco had replaced the stem. It was caught again at Fedex in Nashville, but a few phone calls were enough to get it shipped to my house. Unfortunately, it was still not operating properly.
I haven't found a great local watchmaker yet, so I sent my new SM 300 off to Philadelphia for service with @govbergjewelers, who were recommended by a member of this forum. Govberg did a full service and ended up replacing the crown. As I requested, they returned the original crown to me. I'm still not sure if there was a defective part, or if I somehow broke the watch on that first day I wore it. For a while, I was so exasperated I almost threw it in the bin, but now that it's back -- and working perfectly -- I remember why I wanted it so much. It is truly a beautiful work of art.
Foolishly, I didn't supply Watchco with a watch customs declaration form when it was first shipped from Oz. I didn't know enough to supply the form, and they didn't ask. So the first time my watch was shipped, it got caught up in customs at Fedex in Nashville. To their credit, Watchco tried to resolve the problem for me, stating that they had supplied the right paperwork. Eventually, Fedex and Watchco decided to return the watch to Australia.
A week or two later, Watchco shipped the watch to me via USPS. Again customs stopped the shipment, but this time Watchco resolved the problem, and the watch arrived. I was so excited to wear it the first day .... until I noticed that it would intermittently stop. I traded a few emails and was told that it just needed to be fully wound, so I wound it and wore it for a day and then placed it in a winder overnight. The following day, it was losing several minutes an hour and would stop when repositioned from face up to crown up.
I took my watch to a local jeweler, who couldn't diagnose the problem. I figured it was probably user error. Eventually Watchco asked me to ship it back to Australia for repairs. A few weeks later it was shipped back to me, without explanation, except that Watchco had replaced the stem. It was caught again at Fedex in Nashville, but a few phone calls were enough to get it shipped to my house. Unfortunately, it was still not operating properly.
I haven't found a great local watchmaker yet, so I sent my new SM 300 off to Philadelphia for service with @govbergjewelers, who were recommended by a member of this forum. Govberg did a full service and ended up replacing the crown. As I requested, they returned the original crown to me. I'm still not sure if there was a defective part, or if I somehow broke the watch on that first day I wore it. For a while, I was so exasperated I almost threw it in the bin, but now that it's back -- and working perfectly -- I remember why I wanted it so much. It is truly a beautiful work of art.
