Crown stem came off AP Diver

[thsiao]

Wanted to adjust the time/date on my Diver and the crown stem fell came off. Haven’t worn it in a while and was surprised and shocked when this happened... first time it happens to me in over 11 years of watch collecting. Good news is I contacted APSC and it’s going in next week.

[soran]

Not the first time I see this happen...

[yachty 1]

This happened to me before also with a different brand

[Tomas Eriksson]

It will be a simple fix for the APSC

[GB-man]

Good news is AP Clearwater is best in the business for turnaround and customer service. You’ll have it back in a month I bet.

[RolexZen]

OP, you might want to read recent thread on WUS titled something like AP15202 crown came off by TedPhatana. Clearwater handled it, but the watch came back with new scratches. Hopefully, an isolated incident, but AP took responsibility and is taking care of it. You should probably take precautions.

[ncsub]

Originally Posted by RolexZen

OP, you might want to read recent thread on WUS titled something like AP15202 crown came off by TedPhatana. Clearwater handled it, but the watch came back with new scratches. Hopefully, an isolated incident, but AP took responsibility and is taking care of it. You should probably take precautions.

I also saw that thread on WUS. APSC gave him a winding device to use when setting his watch. I never knew that existed until I saw that guy post pictures of it.

[szabo_martin]

Yeah apparently its common on the Royal Oaks... still wouldn't keep me from buying one though :)

[benlee]

it's a quick fix. Bring it to APSC and they shld get it done for you in no time.

[AK797]

Never happened to me so far, touch wood.

[Marcus SE]

I had the same problem with my 15400, and now my Safari has a problem with date change.
I will not state that this is a trend, but it does seem that AP has issues with the robustness of its crown.

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by Marcus SE

I had the same problem with my 15400, and now my Safari has a problem with date change.
I will not state that this is a trend, but it does seem that AP has issues with the robustness of its crown.

It's not exactly the crown that lacks robustness. If you've ever intentionally removed a crown from a movement, there's a release point that has to be pressed, disengaging the crown stem from the movement. For the crown to come out unexpectedly, the stem is slipping out of engagement too easily.

It seems to be a long-known issue with AP watches. It didn't dissuade me from buying my Jumbo, but it has made me extremely careful when setting the time. And I've never had to be particularly careful about pulling out the crown in any previous watch.

[Skanse]

Watch this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWYgxPA3Sdw&t=0s

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by Skanse

Watch this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWYgxPA3Sdw&t=0s

I almost turned this off when I saw him wearing sunglasses inside, lol, but it's actually pretty good information!

[Burlington]

That’s a nuisance - would be interested to know how long it takes to fix at APSC.

[Bruins7]

I've heard AP's crown's are more delicate than perhaps a rolex. Due to how they engineered the watches. I believe AP uses a screw to hold the crown in place as rolex uses a spring (which makes it more robust when pulling it out to different positions). Just don't try and put it back into the watch as it will ruin the movement! It should be a no problem fix :)!

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by Bruins7

I've heard AP's crown's are more delicate than perhaps a rolex. Due to how they engineered the watches. I believe AP uses a screw to hold the crown in place as rolex uses a spring (which makes it more robust when pulling it out to different positions). Just don't try and put it back into the watch as it will ruin the movement! It should be a no problem fix :)!

I’m picturing you saying all this wearing sunglasses on inside.

[Bruins7]

Originally Posted by RolexZen

I’m picturing you saying all this wearing sunglasses on inside.

Lol why do you say that? I was just trying to help

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by Bruins7

Lol why do you say that? I was just trying to help

Watch the video if you haven’t already :)

[Bruins7]

Originally Posted by Burlington

Watch the video if you haven’t already :)

Ahh now I get it. I didn't realize a link was given on the issue. Thanks at least you have the decency to point it out rather than give me a hard time :). Just trying to help in the end.

[GB-man]

I was waiting for him to say this watch is a heavy hitter!

[mickyd329]

Happened on my ROO 44 CE. Sent it APSC and had it back in less than a month.

[Plastique999]

Yup me too


Sent from my Zeitwerk

[thsiao]

I’m not so much worried about them fixing this particular issue, I’m more worried about them scratching my watch while they have it. That YouTube video was great and now I’m worried that I might have tried pushing the stem back in too many times... hopefully I didn’t damage anything.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by thsiao

I’m not so much worried about them fixing this particular issue, I’m more worried about them scratching my watch while they have it. That YouTube video was great and now I’m worried that I might have tried pushing the stem back in too many times... hopefully I didn’t damage anything.

I have sent two watches to clearwater and never had one returned with scratches of any kind. One was a mint jumbo. I would not lose sleep over that.

[LAFLARE]

Originally Posted by GB-man

I have sent two watches to clearwater and never had one returned with scratches of any kind. One was a mint jumbo. I would not lose sleep over that.

I have sent an AP to Clearwater as well. As far as their holding time goes, they get the watch back fairly quickly. However, it has came back with once a scratch and second time a ding. Very disappointed with the returned condition especially the second time around. Inexcusable and intolerable for not returning a watch back in the same condition.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by LAFLARE

I have sent an AP to Clearwater as well. As far as their holding time goes, they get the watch back fairly quickly. However, it has came back with once a scratch and second time a ding. Very disappointed with the returned condition especially the second time around. Inexcusable and intolerable for not returning a watch back in the same condition.

That sucks. I haven’t had that experience but did happen to my wife with Rolex.

[UK AP]

I’ve had the same problem, came right out of my 44 rose ceramic, also had the problem of the date wheel not engaging, took it to AP in London both times, always great service, but still a pain and not something you would expect from AP.

[mickyd329]

Originally Posted by thsiao

I’m not so much worried about them fixing this particular issue, I’m more worried about them scratching my watch while they have it. That YouTube video was great and now I’m worried that I might have tried pushing the stem back in too many times... hopefully I didn’t damage anything.

I did the same thing and tried to push it back in several times. No damage to the movement.

[thsiao]

It’s a reminder to everyone to take many photos of the condition of your watch before sending it in and attach a letter to the watch stating the condition of the watch and expectation that it should be returned in the condition. Gonna mail it next week, wish me luck guys.