Well, here it goes. I reached two significant milestones within a 6 month period. I got my specialist license/decree (a 6 year program) December '18 and then managed to get tenured May of this year. Even before I got the tenure I was semi actively looking for a suitable memento watch but not quite found one special enough. After receiving the tenure I decided that I would try to find something special to commemorate both of those events.

After a tedious and long search, with some of the tribulations mentioned here, I found it:

On my balcony with the sun setting.

At work

At home

On my front yard

Needless to point out I wore this all the time (except sleeping) for the first week. Images don't really do this piece justice, it was exactly to my taste.

Alas, all was not well:


One regular morning I woke and put it on my wrist and a cold chill reverberated through my spine. My wife looked me weirdly, and later told me: "I knew something was off with you that morning".

The movement had seized. Fracking impossible. The modified El primero is a work horse and a reliable one.It must have been broken during shipment to me. I contacted the dealer/seller and he was very professional, apologetic and was a pleasure to negotiate with in this ortherwise displeasurable situation.

I sent the watch back and the root cause was this:

A loose screw

The dealer offered a generous discount and a service by his watchmaker but I declined politely and I opted for the full refund. The watch came with 1 year mechanical warranty.

I could fathom that perhaps tossing/dropping the packet it came in, could have broken something but I don't understand how a screw might have become loose. Additionally no one knows if the loose screw had caused any other issues that would only later surface.

From the exhilarating search to the childish joy of receiving it and wearing it to the horrific realisation that it's broken, this watch brought me a rollercoaster of emotions

And still the search continues.....

 

I very much doubt there ever was a watchmaker to which this sort of thing hasn’t happened. A warranty is the manufacturer’s way of telling you that, to the best of their judgement, the product is perfect. But if it proves not to be perfect, they will look after you. May you be so fortunate as to never make a mistake!

 

Thanks for your input. I probably have much less experience than you in watch making/servicing.However, in the years I have collected and been talking to other watch enthusiasts, this particular issue (screw loose and free in the movement) has never come up.

And the seller did look after me and I am grateful and happy that he did.

Thank you kindly, although in my field they are usually called complications (coincidence?). I wish you all the best

 

It happened on my Omega PO. Watch wasn't working and I took it to a watchmaker as it was out of warranty.
A loose screw. Cost me nothing and the watch worked perfectly again.

If you can.....get that Daytona back.

 

My first Speedmaster also had a loose screw. And by loose I mean “free floating.” It didn’t prevent performance, but... certainly was a scare. Not sure how it came to be but it didn’t take much for me to put it in the right place and move on. Yours may have been a bit scarier (the watch is certainly a bit more expensive), but I think it happens.

 

You sound like somebody who should just buy new. That's not a disparagement.

 

That sucks that your joy want to horror, but glad the dealer was upstanding and offered to make it right- as they should have. There was another thread recently regarding the same issue- was a loose case screw that hadn’t been tightened down in the final assembly and worked itself loose. That one actually got stuck under the balance by the third wheel (I believe that’s what it’s called) and actually did some serious damage to it.
Regardless, things like this do happen- I have been guilty of it in electronics assembly by doing everything finger tight before final assembly and forgetting to do a last check of the screws...lots of parts to remember.
I wouldn’t hesitate taking the Daytona back, but if your faith has been shaken in that watch, then definitely move on- you won’t ever feel totally comfortable with it.
I am genuinely curios if sonic vibration from air travel could cause this. As I mentioned in the other thread like this, I had view camera lenses come apart at the shutter regularly from shipping everything by air. If the internal screws weren’t lock-tite’d (had to specify this to my repair man as it’s not SOP), they only took about 4-5 round trips before the shutters would start getting wonky- then back for another rebuild.

 

Vibration? No! Properly tightened screws won’t come loose, even on a Harley Davidson.

 

This thread reminds me of a girl I dated years ago. Also had a great week until I realised there was a screw loose.......

 

That's too bad. I would have accepted the service and discount and kept the watch. In my case my Great White GMT arrived a few years back with a loose screw that holds down the movement, but all it did was leave a few marks on the winding rotor and my watchmaker fixed it right up for under $50.

 

Hi guys (and ladies), thanks for all the comments and discussion

None taken. This is a learning and growing process for me. I've never heard of this issue before. It turns out this issue is apparently somewhat common. Although in hindsight it is easier to say what I should have done in that moment I feel I made the right decision.

As @JwRosenthal pointed out I don't know if I'd have ever felt comfortable with the watch as it was such a gut punch seeing it seize up. Please remember that I didn't know at the time what the issue was and didn't know that the seller would be very polite and professional about the refund.

I guess as @Canuck and few others alluded this issue is somewhat common and I should/could have taken a discount and the watch back. Although I don't consider myself as inexperienced or "green" as a collector , I do have alot of things to learn. This was one of those things, call it "newbie tax 2.0"

 

..and I managed to talk face-to-face with a experienced watch collector/maker about this in Helsinki. After a bit of chit-chat and watch ogling he confirmed that especially automatic movement are prone to this issue due to resonance effects. Very nice chat.

I had a chance to test some of his pieces. They look nice dont they:



The chocolate 105.012-65 was found by a family In a drawer and they were going to throw it away . Luckily someone thought to come by a watch shop and ask "if this is worth anything"

 

Daytona stops after a week and now your ogling a Speedmaster

 

Yeah

..and quite possible a some sort of a unicorn Seamaster 300 147.55

Original flawless bakelite bezel, 7912 bracelet , 6 end pieces. Perfect hands and dial.

 

Yes to all three please! - Daytona who?

 

With pre-owned and vintage watches, one must accept that they occasionally need repair, and a loose screw on a watch under warranty is an extremely minor issue. Repairs like this are trivial. It's much harder to find the watch you want in good condition at a fair price. As you see, all of the experienced collectors responding to your thread would have made a different decision. After you have purchased a few dozen watches, you will understand better. Perhaps it would be better for you to start with less expensive pieces, so you don't have so much anxiety about them. Your language ... "cold chill reverberated down my spine", "horrific realisation", "gut punch", etc., suggest that you got very emotional about this minor issue with a mechanical object.

Or perhaps the real issue here was buyer's remorse.

 

I don’t fault @WatchCor for getting weak knees- this is a major financial commitment and a scare like that right out of the gate would make me squeamish as well. Plus with a new to you dealer, having something like a loose screw begs the question of what else wasn’t done properly at the last service. Just taking the counterpoint here- I would have taken the discount and kept it- but we all react differently to to that kind of stumble.

 

But unlike the OP, you and I have not received extensive training to remain rational and unemotional in pressure-filled situations.

 

When I bought my ‘93 BMW M5 (it was 12 years old at the time), I had spent more on that car than I ever had on another car. It was my “graduation” gift to myself from beaters and hand-me-downs. About 3 weeks after I got it I was tooling through a back country road and running it hard and came to stop sign. As soon as I slowed down the dash started lighting up. One by one the lights came on-coolant, oil temp, alt, brake- the power steering went out and the engine started chugging- steam started pouring out of the hood and air vents....fuck!! I immediately pulled it over and shut it down. Turns out I threw a belt- it wasn’t the correct factory belt and the last mechanic that was in it put on a a generic belt that was too thin and lighter weight. It made me really gun-shy about pushing the car again...that lasted for about a week.

 

You are partly correct. It was definitely NOT buyers remorse. I was totally smitten with that watch. Maybe I got a bit too emotional about it. Although as a mitigating factor I would state this was only my second "high-end" really expensive piece. In total I have "only" 8 watch transactions under my belt so yes in hind sight I overreacted. I admit it freely but I also admit that I have this as a learning experience.

Thanks @JwRosenthal , you summed up exactly the thought process. If I had had a few dozens watch transaction under my belt , or taken a few days time out and asked here for advice here the end result would have been different.