My New Patek 5990 Flaw...

[neurotichamster8]

This is the thread that's making me look at ALS or other high-end watch maker over PP....My work friend has a 5711 that he sent in service last year (fast ~20 seconds per day); took them 15 weeks for turn around--watch still fast ~15 seconds per day. Still debating if I should take the plunge or not.

[SubKing]

I personally don't think I would buy another patek after this one.. Not impressed. I threw patek a bone by purchasing a 5990 as my first patek putting faith in the brand for such a high dollar purchase and I feel let down. Never heard a peep back from the email I sent last month.

I'm going to stick with AP for my high dollar purchases moving forward I think. I have never had one problem with any watches from AP and if you hear a negative story about an AP that has a defect, it is far less common than what you hear from patek.

I feel Clearwater AP is on top of their game when it comes to customer service.

A member here was nice enough to reach out to me via pm and share his contact at PP.
so I will contact them and see what they say. Ill keep everyone posted. Sorry to hear about everyone else's problems as well in this thread.

[yjfang]

I am documenting my experience in getting a warranty repair for my 5960/1A. Will report back once the entire process completes. I am expecting several months before I get my watch back.

I also do not have further plans to buy more PP's.

[DaveDhc]

I was going to get a Patek earlier this year. But after reading about problems with the watches I started having second thoughts. Then there was a thread about a second hand falling off. At that point I canceled my order and got a gold Daytona.

I decided to see what was up with this forum after about 3 months of not coming here and this is the first thread I saw. I feel like I made a good decision by not getting the Patek. I am now working out how I am going to get a Lange and Sohne 1815 chronograph. I believe in Lange and Sohne as a strong company and would be happy to have one of their watches.

Part of my point in posting this is to say that this forum provides a service to the members and allows us to make more informed choices. I am thankful to those posting issues they are having.

[Joe.King]

I hadn't had Patek on my radar until recently, highly seeking one to go with my AP. I know every brand has had at one time or another problems. What bothers me most is the length of time it takes to get these problems resolved and the lack of communication from the service center to the customer. Very poor to say the least.

[yjfang]

I don't understand why this can't be addressed. AP does it well with their APSC in Florida. Why can't PP?

Originally Posted by Joe.King

I hadn't had Patek on my radar until recently, highly seeking one to go with my AP. I know every brand has had at one time or another problems. What bothers me most is the length of time it takes to get these problems resolved and the lack of communication from the service center to the customer. Very poor to say the least.

[Joe.King]

Of course when you have a brand as compelling as Patek, I guess they can do as they please.

[yjfang]

Advance apologies to SubKing if I am re-opening old wounds but I had hijacked his thread for my own issue.

I received a call yesterday from HSWA that my 5960/1A is ready to be returned to me. It has been out on warranty repair since middle of August. (The issue was that the rotor would not wind the power reserve which could only be wound by the crown. Also when the crown was pulled out, power reserve goes to empty instantaneously.) 1 to 2 weeks after HSWA received my watch, I received mail that said they will repair my watch under warranty and I did not hear from them since until the middle of December to say that it was ready to be returned.

The watch is arriving today so I am excited! So about 4 months for a warranty repair.

Originally Posted by yjfang

My 5960/1A is off to HSWA today. Customer Service email reply stated that lead time to come back with a repair estimate is 2-3 weeks, if the work is being done in NY. The repair should be covered under warranty so hopefully there is a priority to fix my watch.

[yjfang]

Here it is! They did not return my AP traveling leather box that I sent with my 5960.

Box it came in.


PP traveling pouch.


Sealed.


QC'ed.

[Wing-Co]

That was a long time to wait. I hope the wait has re-engerised your love for the piece?

[yjfang]

I definitely still like the watch a lot but haven't open the Patek sealed bag yet.

Had plan on selling it prior to needing warranty service (just to consolidate my collection a bit) but not sure now. May just keep it.

Originally Posted by Wing-Co

That was a long time to wait. I hope the wait has re-engerised your love for the piece?

[lapince]

Originally Posted by RussW

Another issue! I don't know what to say. Patek will fix it for you though (not that that is really the point), so I wouldn't give up on the brand. I'd rather have a 5990 than any other comparatively priced chrono from any other manufacturer - even if it did have to go back for a service.

I'd rather have a ALS Datograph, old model of course than the 5990, yes I know the PP has GMT but couldn't care more...

[lapince]

Originally Posted by yjfang

Here it is! They did not return my AP traveling leather box that I sent with my 5960.

Ask them to give back the box, it's really cool, I have one, and they're great and far from cheap so get it back, or they give you a Patek leather box, not pouch, even better than the AP, have one too but without PP written and dark blue not brown, but if they lost your AP they NEED t either get you one or give you the same from PP…

[lapince]

Originally Posted by DaveDhc

I was going to get a Patek earlier this year. But after reading about problems with the watches I started having second thoughts. Then there was a thread about a second hand falling off. At that point I canceled my order and got a gold Daytona.

I decided to see what was up with this forum after about 3 months of not coming here and this is the first thread I saw. I feel like I made a good decision by not getting the Patek. I am now working out how I am going to get a Lange and Sohne 1815 chronograph. I believe in Lange and Sohne as a strong company and would be happy to have one of their watches.

Part of my point in posting this is to say that this forum provides a service to the members and allows us to make more informed choices. I am thankful to those posting issues they are having.

ALS is as good as Patek IMO, but not sure that would stop me one second from getting a 5712 back as I loved that piece incredibly and it worked great but all these problems is bothering though I'm sure Patek will in the end react and increase the QC level...

[perpetual92]

Originally Posted by SubKing

I personally don't think I would buy another patek after this one.. Not impressed. I threw patek a bone by purchasing a 5990 as my first patek putting faith in the brand for such a high dollar purchase and I feel let down. Never heard a peep back from the email I sent last month.

I'm going to stick with AP for my high dollar purchases moving forward I think. I have never had one problem with any watches from AP and if you hear a negative story about an AP that has a defect, it is far less common than what you hear from patek.

I feel Clearwater AP is on top of their game when it comes to customer service.

A member here was nice enough to reach out to me via pm and share his contact at PP.
so I will contact them and see what they say. Ill keep everyone posted. Sorry to hear about everyone else's problems as well in this thread.

SubKing, what ever happened ?

[SubKing]

Originally Posted by perpetual92

SubKing, what ever happened ?

it's a very very long story... To make it short without all the dirty details.

I have been working directly with the pres of patek USA and he is working to get me a 5990 that has been triple checked from HQ in Geneva. Geneva has capabilities he does not. Being HSWA NY is not authorized to work on 5990's, this is the best way. My last replacements were random pieces that were shown no special attention and were routed to me. each one had issues.

Obviously I am now looking at these pieces with a paranoid eye, so I am bound to find something on each piece right? I have said there are certain defects I am willing to accept as nothing can be absolutely perfect in this world, but it can be close to perfect right? But the mechanical/visual defects on the prior pieces were big enough that I could never accept it.

The pres agreed given the circumstances, I deserve a better piece. So it is now in Geneva's hands. I just hope giving their lower "QC tolerances" they have currently, That they send me something better than what I have been given thus far.

After the holiday's, I hope to hear something. I have not been given a time frame. Been waiting since beginning of Nov on this new one.

We both agreed that if this one does not meet my expectations, that I would gladly take a refund.

It has been a very long road. I cannot complain as they have been working with me. So in return, the only thing I can do is be patient and understanding.

[Archangellight]

Dont buy patek. Get LANGE

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by subtona

The 12 on my AP was also misaligned (opened up slightly at the bottom) but thankfully my 5711 is spot on as far as I can tell so far

But I have also had a few issues w Rolex: speckled text/ porous lume/ misaligned lugs, not to mention lots of bad service.

You’d expect a few hiccups from Rolex, seeing as they churn out circa 850-900K of the buggers each year.
Patek shouldn’t be comparable, given they only produce 80K, although they’d probably claim it’s a lot less than that.

Originally Posted by Zuger

This is unacceptable for the amount of money they are charging us!

Precisely.
Interestingly though, you can be rest assured that Patek is putting your hard earned money to some good use – and about time too it would seem!

Originally Posted by FT.com

“For example, I would like to have a production line just for testing and prototyping so we can discover how best to produce a new product, and this takes a lot of space. We are keen to improve our quality all the time, so if you want to build the finest watches in the world, you should also be able to test them fully internally to be sure that everything is perfect. For me, quality has been always the number one concern.”

The company has endowed a chair at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and Mr Stern hopes the new facility will enable Patek to have purpose-built white rooms with dedicated air systems that will achieve the same levels of sterility as top medical and scientific sites.

FT Special Report article regarding new all-encompassing Patek building due in 2018.

Originally Posted by dysondiver

wonder whats in the back of a seiko , maybe its the imperfections that make handmade unique,,,,,,

Assuming you’re referring to Grand Seikos, then the answer is nothing.
That’s because Seiko operates a clean room (and Seiko UK has similar) and the watchmakers all wear caps.
Any visiting journalists, have all had to wear head and foot caps, resembling that of a hospital operating theatre.

Neither Patek (Nautilus/Aquanaut/Calatrava/etc) nor Grand Seiko are handmade, they’re hand assembled – a small but important distinction worth remembering.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by Lausanne

These sort of things are yet one more example of the perennial challenge of the requirement of human involvement in the manufacturing process and the accompanying reality that humans do in fact make mistakes.

That’s nonsensical, since there’s human involvement in rectifying the problem that the original human involvement created in the first place.
Humans aren’t necessarily the issue, but more a case of the procedures and lack of proper and suitable conditions in place, which allow the issues to occur.

As an example…post #34

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by Passionata

Originally Posted by Clivek

Disgusting and completely unacceptable behaviour.

I know Clive, it’s a complete sacrilege to put a display caseback on a Rolex.
Some people have no shame!

[texex91]

[OneEyedHito]

Here's my brand new 5726 :(



uploadfromtaptalk1450715495114.jpg

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

[Passionata]

Originally Posted by SubKing

it's a very very long story... To make it short without all the dirty details.

I have been working directly with the pres of patek USA and he is working to get me a 5990 that has been triple checked from HQ in Geneva. Geneva has capabilities he does not. Being HSWA NY is not authorized to work on 5990's, this is the best way. My last replacements were random pieces that were shown no special attention and were routed to me. each one had issues.

Obviously I am now looking at these pieces with a paranoid eye, so I am bound to find something on each piece right? I have said there are certain defects I am willing to accept as nothing can be absolutely perfect in this world, but it can be close to perfect right? But the mechanical/visual defects on the prior pieces were big enough that I could never accept it.

The pres agreed given the circumstances, I deserve a better piece. So it is now in Geneva's hands. I just hope giving their lower "QC tolerances" they have currently, That they send me something better than what I have been given thus far.

After the holiday's, I hope to hear something. I have not been given a time frame. Been waiting since beginning of Nov on this new one.

We both agreed that if this one does not meet my expectations, that I would gladly take a refund.

It has been a very long road. I cannot complain as they have been working with me. So in return, the only thing I can do is be patient and understanding.

crazy , the Force will be with you

[Passionata]

Originally Posted by OneEyedHito

Here's my brand new 5726 :(



Attachment 691388

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

it s hand assembled,like it

[Watchurself]

Originally Posted by OneEyedHito

Here's my brand new 5726 :(



Attachment 691388

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

That would drive me crazy tbh.. I'm a bit ocd about things and it's just unacceptable for a watch at this price point.

[Passionata]

Originally Posted by Watchurself

That would drive me crazy tbh.. I'm a bit ocd about things and it's just unacceptable for a watch at this price point.

if you want perfection buy a Casio

[SubKing]

Good news, I just received an email from the president of patek USA telling me that Geneva had responded to him and they have selected a 5990 for me.

They won't ship it till after they get back from Holiday break which is Jan 11th.

I really hope they selected a piece that will be in stunning condition both mechanically and visually.

I will update a new thread when it arrives.

[RussW]

Originally Posted by SubKing

Good news, I just received an email from the president of patek USA telling me that Geneva had responded to him and they have selected a 5990 for me.

They won't ship it till after they get back from Holiday break which is Jan 11th.

I really hope they selected a piece that will be in stunning condition both mechanically and visually.

I will update a new thread when it arrives.

Good luck. I hope this is the one!

[PJ S]

Indeed.
Fingers crossed, 3rd time’s a charm, etc.

[SubKing]

Originally Posted by RussW

Good luck. I hope this is the one!

Originally Posted by PJ S

Indeed.
Fingers crossed, 3rd time’s a charm, etc.

thanks guy's, I hope so!