Bel Canto Christopher Ward Delayed

[Bigdaddy38]

Ordered one about 5 months ago for Fall Delivery. Just received an email saying spring of 2024 now. Not the end of the world, but a bit annoying to pay in full and have such a wait. Anyone else having this kind of delay?

I think in the end it will be worth it, such a cool piece, but frustrating non the less.


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[Carguy87]

I don’t have one on order (yet lol) but I have heard others make mention of delays. I think the cool design coupled with the complication in that price point has made it far more popular than they expected when they initially gave those timelines. I wouldn’t be surprised if they raise the price of it significantly over the next year, so at least by paying up front you’re locked in at the price you paid.

[ZOOK]

The delay was reported in this thread starting at about post # 195.

Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto - Like a MB&F?

[Enzo954]

Why did you pay in full? I put a deposit down on one and mine is apparently delayed until this upcoming November if I recall correctly.

[Bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by Enzo954

Why did you pay in full? I put a deposit down on one and mine is apparently delayed until this upcoming November if I recall correctly.

I need to go back and check, maybe I am mistaken on paid in full. Thanks for the feedback!

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[Kliminator]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy38

I need to go back and check, maybe I am mistaken on paid in full. Thanks for the feedback!

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Think the deposit is a thousand or something and fully refundable last time I looked

[INC]

Originally Posted by Kliminator

Think the deposit is a thousand or something and fully refundable last time I looked

I think the ratio depends on the models, ie. 100% for the limited editions, but it is always refundable.

[Bigdaddy38]

Looks like I paid 1200 and now instead of Feb 2024 it is May 2024.


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[windingmybusiness]

Originally Posted by Carguy87

I don’t have one on order (yet lol) but I have heard others make mention of delays. I think the cool design coupled with the complication in that price point has made it far more popular than they expected when they initially gave those timelines. I wouldn’t be surprised if they raise the price of it significantly over the next year, so at least by paying up front you’re locked in at the price you paid.

QC issues with several reported broken / non-operational on delivery.

[Bigdaddy38]

Originally Posted by windingmybusiness

QC issues with several reported broken / non-operational on delivery.

Guess I would rather them get it right then get a broken one . I am surprised they didn't forsee the demand on the unique piece and complication.

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[RolexSimon]

Deposit on the standard models but 100% pre-payment on the LEs. I paid full for my watches@ LE version - now delayed until November. Not really fussed - it will be amazing when it arrives :-)

[Lukla]

I received the same email. I hope it is worth the wait. I've acquired a few more other pieces since the order and the image of the Bel Canto is gradually fading away from my memory. LOL

[rockdrock]

Same here. I got a LE @watches and paid in full. I got an informative email from the brand about quality concerns from parts revived from manufacture. Expecting to get it in September but foresee it coming in November or longer.

Disappointed, yes. But, I appreciate the communication from CW and more importantly, look forward to a working LE model. Will post pics.

[break]

Yikes. Unsurprised - Bel Canto demand has been hot, and there are always painful spots in scaling up production.

What is "@watches?"

[Emphasis]

Some interesting news, the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve has nominated the C1 Bel Canto for the "Petite Aiguille" category.

The other competitors in that group are the Bulgari Octo Roma Automatic, Habring2 Chrono-Felix Top-Second, Louis Erard Le Régulateur (Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin), Massena Lab Magraph (Massena LAB and Raúl Pagès), and the Tudor Black Bay.

[enjoythemusic]

Am curious of the cost manufacturers have to pay to be part of the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve. Also, if they win, can the manufacturer use the logo gratis, or is there a fee for that as well. Anyone know all the costs involved for a Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve award?

[INC]

Originally Posted by Emphasis

Some interesting news, the Grand Prix D'Horlogerie De Geneve has nominated the C1 Bel Canto for the "Petite Aiguille" category.

Thank you for sharing. This competition seems interesting, since the watches are so different that it is difficult to even find a common point in them. However, looking at the competitors, Bel Canto has a very good chance to win.

[Spartan2009]

Ordered a C1 Moonglow for my wife. The watch was delivered 3 months late. The reason they gave was the batch of date discs they received did not meet quality specifications

[trackingtime]

just received mine last week

[ZOOK]

Originally Posted by trackingtime

just received mine last week

Congratulations. I love the green.

[trackingtime]

Originally Posted by ZOOK

Congratulations. I love the green.

thank you!

[wesdaniel]

I ordered a purple Bel Canto on 12/20/22 and paid a $1,200 deposit. On 1/17 I got an email advising of a June delivery date which was fine.

Then, on June 29, I got an email telling me that June wasn't happening and that they couldn't give me an updated or estimated delivery date. I found it to be unacceptable that they waited until the very last possible day to communicate about a delay and that they further wouldn't give a new estimate, so I sent an email asking for either a refund or an estimated delivery date.

I got a response asking me to be patient, that they were sure the date would be forthcoming soon.

I found that email to be strange as they completely glossed over the refund portion of the email. But, I still gave it another 2 weeks to see if they would provide an updated delivery date - they didn't.

So, I called them and asked for a refund, which they said they would process within 24 hours.

24 hours later, no refund. Called them again. They apologized and said that, this time, it would happen within 24 hours. The next day, I got a PayPal from them for $970 of the $1,200. They sent me $1,000 as a Goods & Services payment which meant that PayPal took $30 of fees out of it (not a big deal), but also meant that I would receive a 1099 at the end of the year for $1K.

In addition, there was still the additional $200 that wasn't refunded. Soooo... I called them again and, this time, they said to wait another 24 hours. I waited and got the $200, but nothing to correct the G&S payment.

Called them again and walked them through the fact that, if I let it stand as it was, I would end up paying $300 - $400 of the refund in taxes due to the 1099 and they were completely unaware that there's a difference in how PP handles G&S payments versus refunds.

They asked me to return the $1K that they sent so that they could refund it properly, which I did the same day.

Two days later, the money was debited from my account, but I had no close out and no refund from CWW. Called them again early the next week and, this time, they finally acknowledged the issue and set about making it right. I got the full $1K as a refund the next day.

At the end, they called me back and apologized profusely for everything that happened and offered me a 10% discount code to use on a future watch with them (but not applicable to Bel Canto).

After all this, I doubt that I would buy another watch from them. First, it seems that their back end can't support the size of their business. Beyond that, it also concerns me that, while they're struggling with all of this Bel Canto stuff, they keep rolling out new pre-order items.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid with the whole TPG thing, but, it seems like they're using pre-order funds to finance their design and production and, if that's the case, at some point, they're going to run into a problem they can't dig out of and people are going to be out. Fortunately, they're not (individually) big sums of money, but, it's still a tough position.

They're an innovative company and they produce more interesting pieces than most any other startup group out there that I've seen. So, from that perspective, I really do hope that I'm wrong and they deliver all of the watches and things work out. Great designs, creativity, etc. This was just bungled badly IMO.

[Mahatma]

just got my LE (bespoke) Bel Canto edition about 2 months later than scheduled date. Took 8 months from order in February.

[tufa]

Originally Posted by Mahatma

just got my LE (bespoke) Bel Canto edition about 2 months later than scheduled date. Took 8 months from order in February.

Which edition?

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by tufa

Which edition?

Watches at edition (won't let me post asperand)

[MichelleP]

Originally Posted by wesdaniel

I ordered a purple Bel Canto on 12/20/22 and paid a $1,200 deposit. On 1/17 I got an email advising of a June delivery date which was fine.

Then, on June 29, I got an email telling me that June wasn't happening and that they couldn't give me an updated or estimated delivery date. I found it to be unacceptable that they waited until the very last possible day to communicate about a delay and that they further wouldn't give a new estimate, so I sent an email asking for either a refund or an estimated delivery date.

I got a response asking me to be patient, that they were sure the date would be forthcoming soon.

I found that email to be strange as they completely glossed over the refund portion of the email. But, I still gave it another 2 weeks to see if they would provide an updated delivery date - they didn't.

So, I called them and asked for a refund, which they said they would process within 24 hours.

24 hours later, no refund. Called them again. They apologized and said that, this time, it would happen within 24 hours. The next day, I got a PayPal from them for $970 of the $1,200. They sent me $1,000 as a Goods & Services payment which meant that PayPal took $30 of fees out of it (not a big deal), but also meant that I would receive a 1099 at the end of the year for $1K.

In addition, there was still the additional $200 that wasn't refunded. Soooo... I called them again and, this time, they said to wait another 24 hours. I waited and got the $200, but nothing to correct the G&S payment.

Called them again and walked them through the fact that, if I let it stand as it was, I would end up paying $300 - $400 of the refund in taxes due to the 1099 and they were completely unaware that there's a difference in how PP handles G&S payments versus refunds.

They asked me to return the $1K that they sent so that they could refund it properly, which I did the same day.

Two days later, the money was debited from my account, but I had no close out and no refund from CWW. Called them again early the next week and, this time, they finally acknowledged the issue and set about making it right. I got the full $1K as a refund the next day.

At the end, they called me back and apologized profusely for everything that happened and offered me a 10% discount code to use on a future watch with them (but not applicable to Bel Canto).

After all this, I doubt that I would buy another watch from them. First, it seems that their back end can't support the size of their business. Beyond that, it also concerns me that, while they're struggling with all of this Bel Canto stuff, they keep rolling out new pre-order items.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid with the whole TPG thing, but, it seems like they're using pre-order funds to finance their design and production and, if that's the case, at some point, they're going to run into a problem they can't dig out of and people are going to be out. Fortunately, they're not (individually) big sums of money, but, it's still a tough position.

They're an innovative company and they produce more interesting pieces than most any other startup group out there that I've seen. So, from that perspective, I really do hope that I'm wrong and they deliver all of the watches and things work out. Great designs, creativity, etc. This was just bungled badly IMO.

What a mess. I don't I would purchase from them either if I'd gone through all of this

[dmottley]

Originally Posted by MichelleP

What a mess. I don't I would purchase from them either if I'd gone through all of this

It definitely seems like they have taken on more than they can handle. Long wait times are the norm for desirable pieces, but putting down a big deposit with a small company for a long time makes me nervous.

[Russell996]

Just to add some balance to the experience of some, I ordered my original blue Ltd piece when launched in October 2022. I received it before Christmas 2022.

I also ordered a purple version when launched and was given a delivery of June this year, however in March I decided having two similar pieces made no sense. Within 48 hours of contacting them I had my full refund. I have nothing but praise for them, they are however victims of their own success and are very honest that they rely on lots of other companies to make their watches.
The Bel Canto is worth waiting for.

[enjoythemusic]

Speaking of Purple, hope they are ale to adhere to the Nov '23 date after the delay.

[enjoythemusic]

Delayed to December... anyone get an email yet for the purple dial version?