Panerai Service - Worst of Them All?

[Big Green]

My Pam 356 (Daylight) is roughly 6 years old now. I had it serviced at 3 years, because it was losing time.

I sent it in, and upon getting it back, it has a SEVERLY scratched bezel. I cried foul, especially given that they made NO mention of it during the servicing. We went back and forth, finally they agreed to replace the sapphire crystal for the cost of the part only. Gee, thanks.

Just a hair under 3 years later, it’s losing over an hour a day. In what world is this acceptable? I sent it in, they recommended another full service. I wear this watch the least, preferring my IWC Porteguiser and Rolex BLNR over the 44mm monster.

Have any of you had similar service experiences? At $700 a service, I’d expect a hell of a lot better and longer. My 20 year old Breitling does better.

[thsiao]

Last year I serviced my 233 for about $750. I sent it through the Beverly Hills Boutique. I haven’t really worn it since I picked it up around November until this past weekend.

The good: they fixed my initial complaint, which had to do with the movement and the hour hand getting stuck, watch seems to be keeping good time, there is no lint or dust under the crystal (a huge pet peeve of mine).

The bad: I noticed that the edges of my hour and minute hand appear to have very slightly/minor scratches or some sort of imperfection. Can’t say for sure they were not there before the major service but they did not note that my hands were scratched or damaged, which to me it means they were fine, the power reserve rang is not 100% straight it’s a bit slanted now, the brush stroked on my crown guard are also not straight, and they some how managed to introduce dirt between the dome crystal and the case. Needless to say I’ll be bringing it back to BH and see what they say... and I currently have my 305 being repaired too so I hope they don’t mess that one up too.

[K3vin]

I sent mine in for a bezel replacement and they returned it with a new bezel... and hefty new scratches... see thread with photos here:

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=393836

When I filed a complaint, customer service immediately looked at their intake photos and confirmed the scratch wasn't there when it first arrived. They fixed free of charge. I hesitate to purchase another panerai or utilize their US service center.

[1William]

I have heard the stories of poor service at the Panerai Service Centers but I have never experienced it. My AD has always handled service work through Panerai and other than the time it takes for the service, I have always had good results.

[jagwap]

Panerai service in Hong Kong are great. But then Honh Kong buys more Swiss watches than any other country in the world so I guess they get get the resources they need, and it is a quality driven society.

[fullcourt]

....heard about this but never experienced an issue

very professsional

[B. Doggy]

My experience has been fine.

[ajas]

Today I visited Panerai Service Center in KL. Officially they are not accepting direct client visits only through AD, but I had a urgent request, and was serviced on spot with no charges. Positively impressed.
I must admit that after my not so positive Singapore Service expirence with both Rolex and Panerai Kuala Lumpur offices are really good and highly recommended.

[Zulu123]

I have a Pam 423, still on warranty. It has issue with the seconds hand which doesn't sync with the movement. I wasted my time with Panerai, went there 4 times to get it fixed but problem persisted, Panerai failed to fix the issue, and worse it has scratches and dust on the movement now.

[rootbeer7]

I’ve heard this a lot. Luckily I have 2 eta’s and 7750 which can be independently serviced.

[RickyRoxbin]

Had a (2018) 1312 serviced via boutique recently. They did a “full” service and replaced the handset and seconds hand. Service was no charge as it was covered under warranty. I did opt in for the polishing service for an additional $130. According to the website it would include laser filing if needed.

My initial concern was because I spotted some dust particles under the glass. So I figured if it’s going to be covered under warranty, sure let it go to the service center and do what ever needs to be done. And then $130 for the case refinishing, why not? It’s a steal in my mind.

Anyways I get it back after about 3-4 weeks and it looks good in the store. Funny thing is, that store is not nearly as bright as Rolex or any other jewelry store. Yes there are bright lights but it’s also kind of dark at the same time if that makes sense. After a short walk back to my car the sun hits the face just right. And bam I see a spec in a different spot. All the specs I pointed out at drop off were gone but there was a new one. Whatever I didn’t want to bother with it anymore. Figured I would just bring it back again before the warranty ran out.

Couple days later I’m looking at the watch again in a much brighter environment and I look around the case. I can see the brushing and polishing on the bezel. It looks good. There’s a spot I wished they would have laser filled but they didn’t. And that made me inspect the case even more. So I get to the lugs and they are all zig zagged. And not even parallel to the other lines. Like literally zigzagged on top of all 4 lugs.

That store left me pretty irritated. I may give it another shot and try the mail in service. Hoping it would be better since I just got a 288 that also needs servicing (running slow) and a real case refinish.