AP Service Frustration

[asb396]

Hi All -

I wrote here a few months ago about servicing my 1984 25594ST. AP could no longer service old movement so they had to replace it - after some back and forth (and hard work on the part of the AD), we cut the cost in half. After about 3 months and $3,000 I got the watch back.

Immediately there were problems, the moonphase wheel wouldnt turn and when in position to change the moonphase the crown felt like it was floating. Then a few days later i noticed the watch was running +30 sec.

Its been a month since I dropped off the watch to be sent to AP again and havent heard anything. Has anyone experienced the same issue with their Royal Oak?

Thank you TRF

[srvrf]

While I've found some of AP Clearwater's service to be frustrating, their communication has always been top notch. I'd just call and see what's up. I'm guessing it is possible that the watch was sent back to Switzerland but of course don't know for sure.

[PJ S]

That’s extremely poor showing, and on the face of it, a stunning lack of quality control/testing prior to releasing the watch.
Did the AD not give it once over upon receiving it, before letting you know it was back?
If they did, I wonder if they cocked it up by using the adjusters at a time setting when it’s not recommended to.
Either way, it shouldn’t have been handed over, and after all this time and expense, you're well within your rights to kick up a fuss due to failings in the chain.

[startrolexendrolex]

They couldn't service a watch from 1984? That's kind of sad.

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[golfski]

Originally Posted by startrolexendrolex

They couldn't service a watch from 1984? That's kind of sad.

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Yeah, pretty big difference compared to PP, who will hand make new old parts! I would have expected the same from AP

[asb396]

Originally Posted by PJ S

That’s extremely poor showing, and on the face of it, a stunning lack of quality control/testing prior to releasing the watch.
Did the AD not give it once over upon receiving it, before letting you know it was back?
If they did, I wonder if they cocked it up by using the adjusters at a time setting when it’s not recommended to.
Either way, it shouldn’t have been handed over, and after all this time and expense, you're well within your rights to kick up a fuss due to failings in the chain.

AD was helpful in getting AP to give me a reasonable quote, watch was in great condition AP just just unable to service the watch...

Dont know if AD looked at anything - very frustrating but good news is so far I'm the only one this happened to which makes it an anomaly.

[V25V]

As unimpressed with AP sales and their sales strategy/releases at this point, there is not one negative thing I can say about APSC. I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them and only one was an actual "issue" which required the watch to be sent in. Rest were just maintenance/services and they have been excellent. Love me some Betsy Toelle!

[SMD]

Originally Posted by V25V

As unimpressed with AP sales and their sales strategy/releases at this point, there is not one negative thing I can say about APSC. I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them and only one was an actual "issue" which required the watch to be sent in. Rest were just maintenance/services and they have been excellent. Love me some Betsy Toelle!

Agreed. No comparison to PP and others. APSC is the best.

I suspect interposing the AD in this process has not helped. I would much rather deal with them directly.

[joshua.pearl3]

Get rid of it, buy a date just. Not joking. Going through all this when you've paid a fortune to buy it and a fortune to service is, is just not worth it.

[Nephro]

Originally Posted by V25V

As unimpressed with AP sales and their sales strategy/releases at this point, there is not one negative thing I can say about APSC. I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them and only one was an actual "issue" which required the watch to be sent in. Rest were just maintenance/services and they have been excellent. Love me some Betsy Toelle!

I have worked with Betsy on multiple occasions with my previous offshores and she was fantastic to work with!

[Jacobson]

The fact that AP are unable to service a 35 year old watch is quite a concern.

[agsstructures]

Originally Posted by SMD

Agreed. No comparison to PP and others. APSC is the best.

I suspect interposing the AD in this process has not helped. I would much rather deal with them directly.

I agree with this, dealt with them on quite a few occasions and personally think they are the best vs. PP/Rolex

[GB-man]

ugh

[Collector2019]

check out the the interview with AP's CEO, it's somewhere posted here on TRF.

He touched upon service in quite details. it might be helpful in your case.

[Andrew NYC]

I had a set of challenging mechanical issues with my H Series Jumbo and after many trips to the service center/Geneva over a very long period AP made it right by replacing the movement. The new movement has been running flawlessly for the past 2 yrs since replacement. So while frustrating, in the end AP stood behind the watch.

[Collector2019]

Originally Posted by Andrew NYC

I had a set of challenging mechanical issues with my H Series Jumbo and after many trips to the service center/Geneva over a very long period AP made it right by replacing the movement. The new movement has been running flawlessly for the past 2 yrs since replacement. So while frustrating, in the end AP stood behind the watch.

this is exactly what was featured in the interview. AP goes above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction even if it meant operating at cost or even below cost.

[singe89]

APSC clearwater has always been a pleasure to work with and has the best service, communication and turnaround times from my experience. One of the main reasons I keep buying APs is Clearwater...it sure isn't the service from their jointly owned boutiques.

[Speed]

Originally Posted by singe89

APSC clearwater has always been a pleasure to work with and has the best service, communication and turnaround times from my experience. One of the main reasons I keep buying APs is Clearwater...it sure isn't the service from their jointly owned boutiques.

Yes

I only deal directly with APSC.

NEVER go through an AD. Ever.

[lucreative]

Originally Posted by asb396

Hi All -

I wrote a few months ago about servicing my 1984 25594ST. AP could no longer service old movement so they had to replace it - after some back and forth (and hard work on the part of the AD), we cut the cost in half. After about 3 months and $3,000 I got the watch back.

Immediately there were problems, the moonphase wheel wouldnt turn and when in position to change the moonphase the crown felt like it was floating. Then a few days later i noticed the watch was running +30 sec.

Its been a month since I dropped off the watch to be sent to AP again and havent heard anything. Has anyone experienced the same issue with their Royal Oak?

Thank you TRF

Hi. Coincidentally, I just recently joined TRF since I just bought myself a GMT Master II. However, I saw this post and had to respond. This is my very first post on TRF!

I have an AP 18K Chronograph that I just got back from APSC in Clearwater, and similar to your ROO, mine was made in 1983 with the AP 2126/2840 modular DD chrono movement. It needed repair since the chronograph stopped working. However, I also got a service quote back that AP no longer make parts for this movement and they needed to replace the whole caliber. This was upsetting since 1.) it's not that old 2.) this caliber has some sentimental value since it was in the first ROO ever made 3.) I lose originality of my timepiece and it would have cost more than regular service.

After some negotiating with APSC as well (I was working with Norma), I got a small discount to replace the complete caliber to an AP 2326/2840 with a new Extract of Archives. This ended up costing around $2100. It took AP about 4 weeks to ship it back and the watch works well so far. Not too bad to get a completely new movement, but also surprised that they could not repair a caliber from 1983.

However, this is where things got iffy with AP Service. The Extract of Archives had conflicting information regarding my case number and new movement number not matching. They sent me another one, which was also incorrect, movement number and caliber number not matching. AND now they are resending me a third corrected one. This time they gave me a small discount on an 18k AP buckle for the trouble. However, after paying for the item, they told me it was backordered and now it will take another month to receive the item from Le Brassus. Adam did not tell me this before I placed the order AND paid for the buckle. Actually, he had Frank call me with this update.

I must admit APSC communication has been top notch. Adam, Betsy, and Norma, (even Frank) have called or emailed me regarding questions I had, status updates, confirming completed service, and shipping of my timepiece.

Le Brassus is another story, I couldn't call them, but I did email them regarding the possibility of servicing the AP 2126/2840 caliber and it took them over a week to respond with the same answer as APSC (that AP did not have the movement parts anymore).

APSC is great at communicating and very cordial. However, they leave something to be desired when it comes to the nitty gritty of logistics, the actual service request, and quality of work. I suppose getting a completely new caliber for around $2k is a great deal. However, I would expect a tad more from APSC in regards to making sure everything was accurate, including registry and inventory information.

[asb396]

Originally Posted by lucreative

Hi. Coincidentally, I just recently joined TRF since I just bought myself a GMT Master II. However, I saw this post and had to respond. This is my very first post on TRF!

I have an AP 18K Chronograph that I just got back from APSC in Clearwater, and similar to your ROO, mine was made in 1983 with the AP 2126/2840 modular DD chrono movement. It needed repair since the chronograph stopped working. However, I also got a service quote back that AP no longer make parts for this movement and they needed to replace the whole caliber. This was upsetting since 1.) it's not that old 2.) this caliber has some sentimental value since it was in the first ROO ever made 3.) I lose originality of my timepiece and it would have cost more than regular service.

After some negotiating with APSC as well (I was working with Norma), I got a small discount to replace the complete caliber to an AP 2326/2840 with a new Extract of Archives. This ended up costing around $2100. It took AP about 4 weeks to ship it back and the watch works well so far. Not too bad to get a completely new movement, but also surprised that they could not repair a caliber from 1983.

However, this is where things got iffy with AP Service. The Extract of Archives had conflicting information regarding my case number and new movement number not matching. They sent me another one, which was also incorrect, movement number and caliber number not matching. AND now they are resending me a third corrected one. This time they gave me a small discount on an 18k AP buckle for the trouble. However, after paying for the item, they told me it was backordered and now it will take another month to receive the item from Le Brassus. Adam did not tell me this before I placed the order AND paid for the buckle. Actually, he had Frank call me with this update.

I must admit APSC communication has been top notch. Adam, Betsy, and Norma, (even Frank) have called or emailed me regarding questions I had, status updates, confirming completed service, and shipping of my timepiece.

Le Brassus is another story, I couldn't call them, but I did email them regarding the possibility of servicing the AP 2126/2840 caliber and it took them over a week to respond with the same answer as APSC (that AP did not have the movement parts anymore).

APSC is great at communicating and very cordial. However, they leave something to be desired when it comes to the nitty gritty of logistics, the actual service request, and quality of work. I suppose getting a completely new caliber for around $2k is a great deal. However, I would expect a tad more from APSC in regards to making sure everything was accurate, including registry and inventory information.

Wow yeah it looks like we had a similar experience, was quoted $7k and negotiated down to ~$3k, you did a lot better than me. I also got an extract that had the old caliber listed on it, as opposed to the new movement that they put in. I probably should have dealt with CW directly but happen to really like my AD.

[rockdrock]

Originally Posted by asb396

Wow yeah it looks like we had a similar experience, was quoted $7k and negotiated down to ~$3k, you did a lot better than me. I also got an extract that had the old caliber listed on it, as opposed to the new movement that they put in. I probably should have dealt with CW directly but happen to really like my AD.

What will you do about the extract? Request a new one with new movement number?


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[lucreative]

Originally Posted by asb396

Wow yeah it looks like we had a similar experience, was quoted $7k and negotiated down to ~$3k, you did a lot better than me. I also got an extract that had the old caliber listed on it, as opposed to the new movement that they put in. I probably should have dealt with CW directly but happen to really like my AD.

You should get ask to get an Extract of Archives with the new movement number matching the new caliber that matches the original case for your AP. This makes sure AP has the correct info in their registry in case you need to service your watch again or even authenticate your AP in the future. It cost them nothing to send you a new extract, except shipping, though if you want to get another one in the future it might cost $270.

[asb396]

Resurrecting this, I am going to have to send the watch in for service again (3rd time in 6 or so months). Watch is running +30 sec and moonphase doesnt always work when trying to adjust... Does anyone have any information as to who I should reach out to other than Clearwater?

While Customer Service has been great at Clearwater it seems absurd for me to have to send back a watch so many times after such a large overhaul.