I need a beer. About two months ago I bought a Watchco SM300 from a member here. It arrived in a timely manner, and was just as nice as pictured. The watch and I immediately fell in love, however I noticed that after setting the time, it would take a few minutes for the minute hand to start moving. I was (quite accurately) advised here that the culprit was a loose canon pinion, and so, just a week after receiving my new watch, I was forced to drop her off at the watchmaker. This morning, a month and a half later, I received a call saying that the SM300 was ready to be picked up! I had some errands to run, but made sure to swing by and pick up the watch. A quick test showed that everything was working as it should, and he even buffed out a small scuff on the crystal! The watch spent most of the day in a little baggy in my glove box as I took care of a few needed errands. When I finally got home six hours later, I pulled the watch out of the bag to get a strap fitted so that I could wear it tomorrow. Well, the joy was short lived, because somehow, the watch slipped out of my hands and landed face up on the tile floor. I picked it up... not a scratch! Great news, except that the seconds hand was no longer moving. I held it up to my ear, and sure enough, no ticking. So, back to the watchmaker she goes. I wont have time to go there until next Monday, and it will likely be another month or two before I get it back. Sigh...
Thats so unlucky Hope its a simple fix My wife did something similar with a Seamaster 565 and after blowing several times on the balance it kept running and has run perfectly ever since.
Yeah, things happen. I just wish I had been able to wear it for a week or two before having to give it back. The only positive thing is that since it was born a franken, if the movement is totally hosed (which is unlikely), there's nothing wrong with just swapping in a different movement.
No hacking on this guy. I'll have to just leave it in the safe, not touch it, and hope that sitting like that for a week doesn't make things worse.
Ouch. having read these stories for years, the watches I own only come off in the bedroom where the floor is carpeted . my parter thinks I'm nuts because I SIT on the floor to change straps/NATOs etc and not at my desk. I always say, falling 10 inches is better than 3 feet !
+1 on that...I literally felt a pain in my gut while reading your post. Really sorry for you, this is all of our nightmares!
I hope the balance has slipped out of the pallet fork. A typical fault and fixed in three minutes! Good luck!
Thanks for the good luck wishes. I hope it's something simple as well, not because of the cost, but the time. At this point I've owned the watch for over two months and haven't really been able to wear it. If it can be fixed quickly I'll buy my watchmaker a bottle of scotch
A happy ending! (not that kind...) Stopped by the watchmaker today, and told him what happened. He opened up the caseback, did some tinkering (I had to look away, small things make me nervous), and three minutes later he hands me the watch, set to the correct time, and happily ticking! He refused payment, so it looks like I'll be dropping off that bottle of scotch after all. Pics to come later this evening.
Finally on the wrist! The nato is temporary (I'll be ordering an Omega mesh), but it doesn't actually look that bad.