Broken crown on the 15202 Jumbo!!

[sirish19]

Ouch! After a full week of wear while overseas, I pulled the crown out to adjust the time and “POP”, the crown popped right off. I still have 2 months remaining on my 3-year warranty, will this be covered?

I seem to have seen this happening frequently with some here on the forum. Can anyone share their experience with this? Was it covered by warranty? Did they have to send it back to Switzerland for repair and, if so, how long was the turnaround?

I am a little upset about the timing with the summer heat rolling around as it is usually my go-to watch with a suit during the summer.

I will take it to the boutique in Tokyo tomorrow to see what they say.






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[AshAP]

Looks like a definite warranty issue, I wouldn’t worry.


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[DTNSS]

Did you ever apply for the extended 3-year warranty online?

[sirish19]

Originally Posted by DTNSS

Did you ever apply for the extended 3-year warranty online?

Yes, I did register it online and also took it in once already as the bracelet pin was loose and they confirmed it had 3 yrs warranty.


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[benlee]

I had this happened for my 15305OR before. It's not a difficult fix. You should get it back in a few weeks at most.

[MrPorter_008]

Good news is, it should be covered by the warranty. Bad news is, it will take forever for you to get it back.

[sirish19]

Great news! They could fix it there at their service center right there while I waited. They checked it over, checked seals and pressure and it took a back on my wrist now where it belongs.

They said that this model is a little prone to the crown coming off so I must have tugged a little too much. Hey generally just wedge my fingernail under the crown and it pops up enough to change the time.




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[Rachdanon]

"They said that this model is a little prone to the crown coming off" . Totally unacceptable for a watch/brand of this calibre and price point.

[Trailboss516]

What if Ferrari had a car where the steering wheel was "prone" to coming off?

[Abdullasaif]

Originally Posted by Trailboss516

What if Ferrari had a car where the steering wheel was "prone" to coming off?

Not in this context

[G'ed]

Originally Posted by Trailboss516

What if Ferrari had a car where the steering wheel was "prone" to coming off?

More like petrol cover falling off a Ferrari

[KBM]

Glad to see that they took care of you on the spot! Enjoy that beauty!

[Likestheshiny]

I'm happy to hear it's an easy fix, but that's a pretty unimpressive design flaw to allow into a watch.

Still, if I could find one of these at retail price, I'd probably bite.

(But since I'll never find one at retail price, that hardly matters.)

[soran]

Same thing happened a friend of mine with a 15400... terrible

[RolexZen]

Is anything actually broke, or are the stems just releasing more easily than they should?

[Tomas Eriksson]

Originally Posted by Rachdanon

"They said that this model is a little prone to the crown coming off" . Totally unacceptable for a watch/brand of this calibre and price point.

Price point has nothing to do with how rugged the piece is. I would even argue that the higher price point the more fragile it is.

[Trailboss516]

Originally Posted by G'ed

More like petrol cover falling off a Ferrari

I think wearing a watch with the crown missing is a little more severe than the gas cap missing.

Either way, yikes!

[henry333]

I just think this movement is more on the fragile side.. high cost don't mean it's build more like a tank.

[APRolexguy]

ok, so would you be cool with your Ferrari gas cap falling off? or would you demand answers from your Ferarri dealership?

[AK797]

Originally Posted by MrPorter_008

Good news is, it should be covered by the warranty. Bad news is, it will take forever for you to get it back.

No it shouldn't, you're thinking of PP.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by Tomas Eriksson

Price point has nothing to do with how rugged the piece is. I would even argue that the higher price point the more fragile it is.

Nope... just being miserly with the R&D funds to produce a solution to a “do ‘fine’ rightly” keyless works design.
Piaget and others make thin movements, and the crown coming away doesn’t seem to be a trade-off trait.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by Tomas Eriksson

Price point has nothing to do with how rugged the piece is. I would even argue that the higher price point the more fragile it is.

There is very often a correlation between ‘luxury’ and delicateness across all manner of items - but I do think there is a distinction between aesthetic fragility (e.g. prone to scratches etc. on a highly finished surface) to mechanical soundness of a functioning part.

If it’s a known design fault, then one should hope that it could be fixed in a way which prevents a repeat.


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[sirish19]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I agree that this kind of thing shouldn't be common with a watch of this calibre. I do think the crown is a bit too small and slick so it may be more prone to pulling off. Also makes it a bit hard to wind and change the date when necessary. But I think there are trade-offs from a design perspective with every watch.

Nevertheless, I do love the watch and it is great to know that they do have a service center right here in Tokyo and they can take care of any issues there on the spot.

[sirish19]

Originally Posted by RolexZen

Is anything actually broke, or are the stems just releasing more easily than they should?

No, nothing was actually broken. It just pulled out too easily. The second picture above seemed to be intact and clean, but I didn't want to take any chances to took it to the service center.

[Rachdanon]

Originally Posted by Tomas Eriksson

Price point has nothing to do with how rugged the piece is. I would even argue that the higher price point the more fragile it is.

I don't see any sense in this, at least just looking at other watch makers whose keyless works have avoided this, and others who suffer from this, as some other posters have alluded to.

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by sirish19

No, nothing was actually broken. It just pulled out too easily. The second picture above seemed to be intact and clean, but I didn't want to take any chances to took it to the service center.

I understand. Especially since you have the Service Center nearby. Most of us won’t be so lucky. Did they advise you to more gently pull out the crown, or did they say it shouldn’t happen?

I have a Jumbo incoming, so guess I’ll just be as gentle as possible with the crown. I’ve had a number of watches and never had a crown pull off like that. I’ll ask about it when the OB calls.

[DTNSS]

Due to its design, the crown doesn't really pull out much anyways compared to other watches and brands, so its easy to forget and accidentally pull on it too hard...

[MrPorter_008]

Originally Posted by AK797

No it shouldn't, you're thinking of PP.

Sent my 15202 to Clearwater to fix clasp, took over a month...


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[RHIII]

Originally Posted by AK797

No it shouldn't, you're thinking of PP.

Patek should give loaners like BMW does when I go in for service!!! LOL 🤣


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[Andrew NYC]

I have never had the crown come off on my 15202 however I have had a host of other movement and bracelet related problems. The movement problems were so extensive that AP finally replaced the entire movement. Since then it's been running fine but these movements can be delicate based on the flatness of the design and the tight tolerances.

From a winding/date perspective I have always found that the crown is particularly small and difficult to wind and even more so to change the non-quickset date. A few years back I was touring the AP factory and noticed a winding tool on the bench of a watch maker who was working on the 2121 (Jumbo) movement. When I got back home I asked my AD if they could source one of these tools as it would likely make the date changing process much easier. A week later they called and asked that I come in. Not only did they have the tool but it was a much more deluxe version that I had seen at the factory. A few pictures below - this thing has been a life saver.

AP Adjustment Tool by Andrew Cohen, on Flickr

AP Adjustment Tool by Andrew Cohen, on Flickr