I was taking photos of my 5296 recently and noticed an area of the bezel (between 12 and 3 o’clock) that I had previously hand-polished to get rid of some minor scratches now appears slightly rounded-off at the edges and maybe even lower in height as well. I used a Sunshine cloth (less abrasive than Cape Cod), so I’m shocked that this could happen.
Note that the bezel and mid case are one piece.
I have an appointment next week at HSWA to see what Patek can do. However, from my understanding, historically, they do not laser weld to rebuild softened edges. Does anyone know if that has changed? Would they potentially offer a case replacement? My fear is they will insist on polishing down the whole case or refuse to touch it at all.
I know they’ll come back to me with some answers over the next few weeks, but I want to figure out how to navigate the situation with them and open up the best options possible.
I’ve also reached out to some of the well-known independents to ask if they can help. So far, they are concerned about working on a bezel that cannot be removed from the mid case. One or two are thinking about it. The last photo shows how much clearance there is between the bezel angle and the lugs.
Any answers or suggestions? Want to do whatever it takes to fix this 100%. Thanks all. Broken-hearted and feeling like an idiot.
