Newbie, first watch received :(

[snoopy_ 0]

I received my watch, and I have a few problems.

 

I ordered a Rolex GMT from one of the recommended providers listed.

 

1. There was no extra link as requested, so the watch is too tight and does not fit. No big deal, easily fixable.

 

2. When setting the time, it appears to be poor quality. When I unscrew the crown, it is wobbly or sloppy. When I pull out to set, if I turn the stem counter clockwise, it becomes tight and will not turn easily, as if the gears will mesh.

 

3, When setting the time the GMT hand only goes in one direction, if you try to reverse it becomes tight, like the gears are meshing.

 

4. When I adjust the minute/hours, the GMT hand moves too.

 

5. Sometimes it hacks, sometimes it does not, like the movement is sloppy. It may be because it is difficult to feel the detents of which part is date wheel, which is gmt, which is time, etc...

 

6. Trying to screw down the crown is difficult, because it is wobbly and loose; I think the stem is loose too.

 

I have an Invicta that I paid $80 for on Amazon, and it's Cadillac compared to this. Am I expecting too much from a rep? For $260 US + shipping I was at least expecting a "watch" I just want some feedback before I write back explaining my issues. If I am expecting too much, let me know.

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Snoopy_

[agntkerr 0]

What are the specs of the watch? which movement?

[snoopy_ 0]

It's supposed to be an ETA Swiss movement.

 

I took a video with my phone, trying to show the difference between the rep and an Invicta I bought.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOU1CxXys64

 

The stem is wobbly, it is hard to find the detents of the stem which defines GMT rotation, hour/minute rotation, winding, etc...

 

Again, it's my first rep so I didn't know what to expect... but I paid up for ETA vs Asian, so I assumed the quality of the movement would be good.

 

Thanks,

 

Snoopy_

[Dendo 93]

My GMT only sets in one direction. It is difficult to engage because it is a complex stem set up. Be careful and patient and work with it before you diagnose that it is definitely faulty.

[nighty 0]

As far as i know the gmt hand moving with hour/minutes is normal, therefore you need to set hour/minutes first, then GMT in a second step. I am sure this is

the way you do with the genuine watch. I am not sure if its supposed to be able to be moved in both directions.

 

However and apart the sloppy part I think I have the same kind of issue with an swiss ETA (too?) in the hack mechanism, that 6 times out of 10 it wont

start the seconds again and I need to pull the crown and try again to push it until it finally "un-hacks" the movement.

 

Not sure it helps, just sharing, and maybe someone has an answer about the "unhacking of ETA movements" that could become uncertain (easy fix ?)

 

*cheers*

[NCRich 13,791]

It's supposed to be an ETA Swiss movement.

 

I took a video with my phone, trying to show the difference between the rep and an Invicta I bought.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOU1CxXys64

 

The stem is wobbly, it is hard to find the detents of the stem which defines GMT rotation, hour/minute rotation, winding, etc...

 

Again, it's my first rep so I didn't know what to expect... but I paid up for ETA vs Asian, so I assumed the quality of the movement would be good.

 

Thanks,

 

Snoopy_

 

My cheapest rep, the $29 SeaDweller and Omega PO from Silix are a lot smoother than that. I have no skills so I don't know what is wrong, but that isn't right.

[MikeMcNair 0]

I have plenty of rolex links and screws I will send free if you like.

 

As for the stem, sounds like it's not set it the movement properly.

 

As for the gmt, 99.9% of them move with the hour hand, most are not genuinely adjustable like the gen.

 

And when a dealer says "working gmt" that usually just means it moves, not that it functions like the gen.

 

In my experience most are 10 hrs different than the actual hour hand.

 

If you feel it needs repair, clear it with the dealer and let me, ska, Kenny etc do it for ya. It's likely an easy fix

 

Also, when screwing in the crown, it is good practice to gently push in, turn it COUNTER clockwise until the threads grab, THEN tighten it.

[jameo210369 0]

I have never bought a Rolex rep Snoopy, I am sure some of the guys will be along soon to help you. Good luck

[Takken 0]

If you ask me that seems like an unacceptably poor watch, it has nothing to do with it being a rep, it's a disaster and you should either fix it (if you are into that level of fix-watches-yourself) or ask and explain the problems to the dealer and I'm sure he/she will replace it.

[snoopy_ 0]

NCRich,

 

Thanks. As I said, this is my first, so I don't want to be whiner or nothing... but for $300+ I thought it would be at least as good as a timex.

 

I sent an email back to the supplier, and I'll see what they say and report back.

 

 

All other comments are appreciated as well.

 

As to the GMT moving at the same time the hours/minutes do, that would make sense if it kept time with it. For example, if I set the GMT to 16:00 and started moving the minute/hours, it would make sense that they'd be locked together in some way, so you could advance your watch without resetting GMT. But, this is not a real rolex, so may the GMT hand is just for show and doesn't really work. But getting the stem to be in the right position to do what you want is not easy... and often you have to push in and pull out a few times to get it to work in the way you expect.

 

Also, this watch feels very tight and difficult to wind. I am afraid of breaking it just by winding it. And, the power reserve is not very good. After winding the watch it only last 12 hours (without wearing it). My auto invicta lasts about 3-4 days.

[Ska 11]

Mike's almost right except that the gen functions exactly as your rep does. The GMT and datewheel are accessible on the same stem position but by turning the crown in opposite directions.

 

The GMT should always move as well when you set the time because otherwise your time difference would also change.

It just makes setting both zones a little more complicated than with a standard watch. Remember you also have a third zone available by turning the bezel.

 

The only issue, as Mike said is your wobbly crown, this is an easy fix, and most likely caused by either the wrong tube being set into the watch case, or the crown head itself is faulty. I would suspect the latter as it looks like the crown head is moving too much on the stem itself.

 

As this is a new watch your dealer should send you a new replacement crown/stem assembly which is piss easy to replace.

because of the more complicated setup and because the watch was assembled by rep factories with most likely minimal lubrication I'd say a bit of moebius would sort your 'tight' winding issue in a jiffy.

 

Unfortunately you'll have to just get used to the way the watch actually functions because thats how its suppposed to. You're in the USofA so i'd suggest possibly sending it mike's way once the new crown/stem arrives for a bit of tlc and an oiling etc.

[snoopy_ 0]

SKA,

 

Thanks for taking the time to comments. From what you explain about the GMT movement with the hour/minute wheel makes sense. And I can live with that; that's the way it works and it makes sense. What is troublesome for me is how sloppy the movement and stem seems. You can see how wobbly it is when I unscrew the crown. Also, when I pull the stem out to the GMT set position, I should be able to adjust the GMT in one direction and the adjust the date wheel in the other, that works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. Some of this you explain is an easy fix, but should I be "fixing" a watch I just bought new for $300+? Since this is my first watch I was wondering if this is the expected quality for reps or should I ask for a better watch as a replacement?

 

Thanks,

 

Snoopy_

[flottiglia 0]

I'd agree with Ska that it looks purely a crown issue as far the wobble is concerned.

 

The detents can be a bit tricky to find on GMT's ,i have two with DG3804 movements and they are much the same i rarely find the right spot first time.If you hadn't said it was ETA i would guessed it was a 3804 from your vid.

Sometimes you find on the right detent but there can be some backlash in the gears and it doesn't move the GMT hand straight away.

 

As for whether you should be fixing a new watch,well thats a tricky one.I guess everyones expectations are different and yours isn't a cheap rep so your'e entitled to expect it to work ok out the box.If your'e not happy send it back,i don't think anyone would criticise you for that.

 

I do my own repairs so it doesn't bother me too much.I had 4 watches arrive earlier this week and i had to do some remedial work on 3 of them, minor with two and fairly major with one,not saying thats a typical experience by any means and they weren't from a trusted dealer source so its my own fault !

[Ska 11]

depends on the dealer - but one of the first things about the rep hobby is that you have to go into it with your eyes open. This ain't amazon and you simply can't apply western business practices to chinese dealers in the real world.

 

It would be great, but you can't and its never gonna change.

 

if you picked the right dealer (Mary, Marvellous, Reg, Toro, or Robert) then i'm sure getting a full replacement would be very straightforward however regardless it will take time, because no dealer will send you a replacement until the faulty one arrives back with them, and most have terms and conditions which state they will only ship replacements via airmail which can take weeks from china to the US without tracking.

 

Basically therefore, the reason I suggested getting a crown/stem replacement is that

 

a.) its cheaper for the dealer and most should be perfectly happy to do it.

b.) the turnaround time will be minuscule compared to the hassle of having to send the whole thing back and wait for a replacement.

c.) you won't have to pay for any return postage. (dealers will pay for the postage back to you but that's all.)

[MikeMcNair 0]

I have plenty of rolex links and screws I will send free if you like.

 

As for the stem, sounds like it's not set it the movement properly.

 

As for the gmt, 99.9% of them move with the hour hand, most are not genuinely adjustable like the gen.

 

And when a dealer says "working gmt" that usually just means it moves, not that it functions like the gen.

 

In my experience most are 10 hrs different than the actual hour hand.

 

If you feel it needs repair, clear it with the dealer and let me, ska, Kenny etc do it for ya. It's likely an easy fix

 

Also, when screwing in the crown, it is good practice to gently push in, turn it COUNTER clockwise until the threads grab, THEN tighten it.