Problem with watchmaker, need advice.

[Karahana]

Hello folks I've ran into a little problem with a local watchmaker and would love to know your opinions.
I took a Tudor to get serviced, almost straight out of ebay to the service because the date wheel was stuck. The watch itself worked and kept time. Since it was gonna be a gift I wanted it as good as possible. So a little polish, service and date wheel fix. They give me an estimation (almost 300USD) I accept and they called me today to pick it up. So I go, pick the watch, check the date, and stuff works, shines and all seems fine. I pay and leave.

When i get home I wanted to see how the movement looked clean and shiny. (It's a snap back Tudor) So I opened it and Noticed that the oscillating rotor does not say Tudor and the brand has been drilled off... I was almost sure it looked different and remembered I took a picture of the movement when the watch arrived and the pic it was still in my phone. When I check, the Rotor originally was pristine, and completely different shape and did say TUDOR.

Now... pretty much this people stole from me. There's no way they needed to change the rotor to service the date wheel and they never told me they needed to change it. So tomorrow I'm gonna go and confront them. I'm 200% upset.

Did any of you experienced anything like this? I cant believe it, is a very reputable shop and if I didn't check I would have never knew about it. Now I wonder how many other parts they might have changed.

I was reading my consumer rights regarding servicing and repair here in the UAE and states that I should get it refunded and fixed. Is not that it was even a cheap joint, I'm just very upset. :

[Jason71]

I'm very sorry for your trouble. Good luck getting it sorted

[autohorology]

Even IF they had to replace the rotor, replacing it without informing you (especially with non OEM) is completely unethical. Hopefully they still have the original you brought it in with.

[miteemike3]

Yikes. Extremely unethical and NOT ok by any stretch! I would start to question if the rest of the movement is original, or if other parts of the movement were replaced without your knowledge! Hope this gets sorted out quickly...

[slashd0t]

I would be curious to see the before and after pics!

[jhcam8]

Bad watchmaker - good luck!

[14060m]

Sorry
I hope it works out

[iazrollie]

Are they reputable? How did you find them? Are you 100% it was done by said watchmaker? Sounds more like an eBay scam.

[Daytona4130]

I would demand a refund at the very least

[Andad]

Can we see the before and after pix tks.

[Karahana]

It has nothing to do with eBay. The watch arrived and the date wheel was stuck that's it. Movement seemed fine and took a pic with my blackberry. I'll take pics tomorrow of how the watch looks now. They are reputable here they were recommended by many jewelers in Dubai Gold and Diamond Park. They sell grey market AP, Rolex, Hublot and may others. Rolex is a monopoly here and all stores are owned by one family.

It's very late here in the morning I'll take pics for you guys . I'm frustrated/upset because even if they give me my rotor back, how do I know the rest of the stuff is fine inside? Ahhhh such a waste of time...

[josephvman]

+1

Unless you checked the movement before the watchmaker worked on it I'm not sure how you can point fingers. If I was a betting man I'd say the watch was like that when you bought it unless you can prove otherwise. Bad deal all around, and yet another reason to avoid eBay like you would Ebola.

Originally Posted by iazrollie

Are they reputable? How did you find them? Are you 100% it was done by said watchmaker? Sounds more like an eBay scam.

[BomB#Frog]

Originally Posted by josephvman

+1



Unless you checked the movement before the watchmaker worked on it I'm not sure how you can point fingers. If I was a betting man I'd say the watch was like that when you bought it unless you can prove otherwise. Bad deal all around, and yet another reason to avoid eBay like you would Ebola.

If it was like that when he purchased it the watchmaker should have brought it to the customers attention before doing any work on it. Both as a heads up and to cover their A$$. My watchmaker would have opened it and before touching it would have notified me immediately.

[kamek]

Hope you're able to get it sorted. Good luck!

[HL65]

Never experienced anything like that but hope you get it resolved.

[Arthur M]

Originally Posted by josephvman

+1

Unless you checked the movement before the watchmaker worked on it I'm not sure how you can point fingers. If I was a betting man I'd say the watch was like that when you bought it unless you can prove otherwise. Bad deal all around, and yet another reason to avoid eBay like you would Ebola.

He mentioned that he had taken a picture of the movement as soon as it had arrived.

[Jocke]

Maybe they have just put in another ETA movement?

[shofzr]

May we see the before and after pictures?


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[francis]

Maybe the bearings wore out in the rotor and they had to replace it with another eta movement rotor which would be oem. The watch can still work with a bad rotor as you can wind it manually.
Hope you get it worked out

[Scot_3]

If and only if you have dated before pictures, this is theft and fraud and a matter for the police.
1- If this is a criminal enterprise you could be endangering yourself, no way to know to what length they will go to preserve it.
2- if this is a criminal enterprise it is the right thing to do, help stop them from doing this to other people.
Good luck

[Ken B]

Originally Posted by francis

Maybe the bearings wore out in the rotor and they had to replace it with another eta movement rotor which would be oem.

If it was a older Tudor could it have originally been a Rolex movement with Tudor markings?

[cabphoto]

You absolutely must disclose the watchfaker on this forum.

[MortgageGuy]

Wow that's crazy! Yes need to see the before and after pics.

[ExplorerChris]

I'd be going back there pissed with photos of the movement
They had no right changing anything without your prior concent and to change it with something aftermarket vs OEM what te hell!!!!
Go there and make a stink

[kaseri]

I would have my lawyer send them a little "note".

[Nycturbovr6]

Sorry to hear about this

[crowncollection]

terrible, ask for a refund

[hdrazor251]

I would be furious also. Best of luck getting it resolved.

[Karahana]

Thanks for the support all of you guys. I'll be dealing with this today and it's a super bummer.

For the people who wanted pictures. The picture that is of lower quality is from the 31st of July taken from my Blackberry.The sharper one I took it today with a colleague's iPhone.

Received the watch the 31st of July and handed it in for servicing the 2nd of August.

[Karahana]

I did take a pic before. I check everything that comes out of fleabay for obvious reasons. Apart form the date wheel not functioning properly, the movement looked very good. The pic might not do justice as i just took it on the fly to show it to a friend how tiny the movement was. Never knew it was going to be this handy.

Originally Posted by josephvman

+1

Unless you checked the movement before the watchmaker worked on it I'm not sure how you can point fingers. If I was a betting man I'd say the watch was like that when you bought it unless you can prove otherwise. Bad deal all around, and yet another reason to avoid eBay like you would Ebola.