Very frustrated: My new 5270 has a sticking / loose Day aperture

[nyc2la]

Two nights ago, the Day aperture got stuck - I noticed it when I awoke in the morning yesterday. It didn't complete its move from FRI to SAT. Having read about recent Patek QC issues, I was aware others have had this problem as of late. I reset the watch and wore it yesterday, and watched it until just after midnight. The Day slowly moved from SAT to SUN, but it never made it as of 12:15am when I went to sleep. I woke to find the Day aperture as shown in the first three pictures below. Needless to say, I was very frustrated.

This morning, I have been wearing the watch over next hour or so to see if that would do anything. While wearing it, I noticed the Day moved around slightly, as if it's "loose", within the aperture. Depending on how I twist my wrist, the Day moves around. It doesn't happen with gentle, normal movements of the wrist, but rather if I twist it a little aggressively (I stress "a little" here so some don't think I'm slamming my wrist around). Mind you that is not how I normally move my hands, but FWIW, the Month aperture doesn't move at all. This leads me to believe that the Day aperture is defective and possibly loose (?).

You'll see in the final four pictures that the day is in slightly different positions, each taken after I twisted my wrist a little hard. You can see the time is several seconds different after each photo to demonstrate the "chronology" of events.

Any thoughts and advice on how to get it inspected / repaired would be greatly appreciated.

I plan to go back to my AD initially, but what about for repair? Do I send it to HWSA? Or does it go to Switzerland (is this even an option?)? Is HWSA reachable by phone?

Thanks in advance.

[ap1]

Oh no. Sounds like a job for stern

[GB-man]

Very sorry to hear that Stephen. I would go through your AD assuming you bought it direct. I have an email contact at HSWA but I would think the AD would prioritize helping you considering the significance of this piece.

I assume it needs a trip across the pond?

[Mgary]

Sorry mate

[subtona]

My stomach just sank.

H stern I suspect will want to send it directly to Geneva for the top tier to address it.

I would not be hopeful of an especially quick return, Be prepared to hunker down and wait.

[goog53]

So sorry to see this. To my knowledge PCCs go back to Geneva. Hopefully this can be expedited. I love PP and own two and am hoping to add a third soon but the more and more I see this stuff it just makes me sick. Hang in there buddy

[nick c]

Wow sorry I hope you fix it good luck Stephen.

[dom007]

Sorry to hear, thats really frustrating!

Believe me, I can feel with you...

[goog53]

Sorry for duplicate post

[Nat123]

What happens if you manually advance the time running from 6pm through to 6am? If it doesn't advance correctly it unfortunately needs a trip back to Stern. But I would go through your AD and have them advocate for you to prioritize the issue. Quite surprising for this type of Grand Complication.
I think we all feel your pain. It will definitely be resolved at the end of the day.
Just not something you expect for a brand new watch of this caliber.

[antbkny]

Guess you'll have to slum it with the platona on your wrist til she comes back from service
All joking aside, I hope they get you sorted in a timely manor.

[Iflylo]

Bummer! So sorry to see that..my heart sank too.

Hopefully it will be an easy fix, quickly done!

[agsstructures]

What a mess. Sorry to hear.

[Oryx]

This is totally unacceptable - I would get straight onto your AD.
You should request a replacement rather than a repair.

[nyc2la]

Thanks everyone for your support and suggestions. I will be at my AD once they reopen.

Originally Posted by Oryx

This is totally unacceptable - I would get straight onto your AD.
You should request a replacement rather than a repair.

Is this really an option? I certainly can / will ask about this, but has this ever been done before, a replacement?

[subtona]

Is there a quality control ID referenced in your paperwork, perhaps we can post it in the watch out section?

[nyc2la]

Originally Posted by subtona

Is there a quality control ID referenced in your paperwork, perhaps we can post it in the watch out section?

I don't see anything of that sort on the Cert of Origin. Would it be anywhere else? The rest of the paperwork seems "stock." Did you have one referenced on your 5170 paperwork anywhere?

[texex91]

For OP, this is very bad news indeed--such a great watch to deal with these issues within the first week.

Unless they have changed something, that one will need to go to Geneva. Without some sort of escalation, it could be a 4-6 month trip.

Please keep us updated as to PP response.

Sad the QC seems to be getting worse not better at Patek.

[RussW]

Gutted for you Stephen. I agree with Oryx, get a refund and replacement if at all possible. Patek will fix it for you, but at this price that's hardly the point.

[nyc2la]

Ok. A quick follow up. As suggested above, I manually moved the time for several days worth at a slow pace through the midnight hour. The day moves promptly and with authority. And interestingly, if I shake my wrist around with the watch on it, the day doesn't move at all. Therefore, when the date is moved manually, and therefore at a "faster" pace than otherwise would be the case, it seems that the day is in its proper "place" gear-wise (?). I clearly am not an engineer, so please pardon my lack of terminology. If the aforementioned makes any sense, any thoughts? I still plan to go to the AD, and I also plan to watch it again tonight at midnight.

Thanks.

[texex91]

Originally Posted by nyc2la

Ok. A quick follow up. As suggested above, I manually moved the time for several days worth at a slow pace through the midnight hour. The day moves promptly and with authority. And interestingly, if I shake my wrist around with the watch on it, the day doesn't move at all. Therefore, when the date is moved manually, and therefore at a "faster" pace than otherwise would be the case, it seems that the day is in its proper "place" gear-wise (?). I clearly am not an engineer, so please pardon my lack of terminology. If the aforementioned makes any sense, any thoughts? I still plan to go to the AD, and I also plan to watch it again tonight at midnight.

Thanks.

Sometimes newer watches need a 3-4 cycle of time slowly (might want to do a weeks worth). I had that with my RM's and once completed no issues. It had something to do with the AC catching.

Hope that is all that is wrong here.

[fmc000]

Damn, I'm so sorry. I knew that there were many cases of QC @PP but I would never have imagined that those could afflict the 5270s. So what the next step will be? Mute minute repeaters? Unbelievable.

I really hope that someone @PP will stand up for this, that's beyond acceptable.

[nyc2la]

Originally Posted by texex91

Sometimes newer watches need a 3-4 cycle of time slowly (might want to do a weeks worth). I had that with my RM's and once completed no issues. It had something to do with the AC catching.



Hope that is all that is wrong here.

Thanks. I did another 3 more days manually. I also set the watch to 10:55pm so I can see what happens at this "fabricated" midnight in about an hour. Now, I realize this won't be 100% reflective because I manually moved the time from the 6pm hour until 10:55pm, so I don't know if that will artificially give extra "power" to the gears as it moves through midnight (does this make any sense?). Anyway, if the date doesn't flip in about an hour, I can reason that it is defective, I suppose.

To be continued.

[texex91]

Originally Posted by nyc2la

Thanks. I did another 3 more days manually. I also set the watch to 10:55pm so I can see what happens at this "fabricated" midnight in about an hour. Now, I realize this won't be 100% reflective because I manually moved the time from the 6pm hour until 10:55pm, so I don't know if that will artificially give extra "power" to the gears as it moves through midnight (does this make any sense?). Anyway, if the date doesn't flip in about an hour, I can reason that it is defective, I suppose.

To be continued.

Fingers crossed--will check back here in 1 hour.

[subtona]

Perhaps a call direct to h stern head technician can confirm or deny if there is a breaking in period for the gears to settle in?

When I received my 5170 back, I had a question about my winding crown and with a phone call they were quick to confirm it was normal.


But I suspect that should be a part of routine assembly and testing pre shipping but you never know?

I don't recall seeing a quality control inspector among my paperwork but there must be a record of it somewhere?

[nyc2la]

This may be overkill, but I'll post a pic every 5 minutes or so to see the progress. Sorry in advance to those who find this to be too much information!

Here are the first two.

[nyc2la]

[Passionata]

Originally Posted by subtona

Perhaps a call direct to h stern head technician can confirm or deny if there is a breaking in period for the gears to settle in?

When I received my 5170 back, I had a question about my winding crown and with a phone call they were quick to confirm it was normal.


But I suspect that should be a part of routine assembly and testing pre shipping but you never know?

I don't recall seeing a quality control inspector among my paperwork but there must be a record of it somewhere?

I think on the shipping box there s a record of QC

[RUK]

Oh dear! I'm gutted for you. Can't even imagine the frustration after only having it for such a short time.

I won't sent it away and be quiet about it. There are too many similar issues like this. If demand a refund or a replacement and pressure the AD.

It'll have to hurt them to get something done fast.

I was planing on a 5205 or a 5140 but post like this keep pushing me towards simple three handed pieces or consider brands like ALS and VC.

Hope your get sorted soon. Please do keep us all updated on your progress.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nyc2la]

On my box, there is a code:

Check
M
07 / 18

It also has the light blue "Quality Control" sticker with the Calatrava cross, but that sticker does not have a number on it.