sebvad Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Hi folks - i made my first purchase from Sead and i gotta say his communication was great, and this watch is beautiful. it's going to quickly become my favorite i think. The issue is it's not working out of the box. Before i engage Sead with troubleshooting, i'd like to sense check here to be sure it's not something silly i'm overlooking or a very easy fix. One thing i'd noticed - and this may or may not be an issue - is the 'pusher' pin that, in my experience, usually requires an unscrewing before pulling out to the various stop positions (wind, date, time) doesn't seem to want to fully push 'in' and lock down. It never screws down to a 'stop' position, but it's default position seems to be 'wind'. May simply be the design of the watch, i dunno. The date and time set stops work fine - i've wound it up, but it just doesn't engage. I do notice that the self winding rotor (i'm probably calling it the wrong thing - but the half moon-ish piece of metal that very freely spins to wind up the watch) is pretty sticky - it doesn't free spin at all, sometimes it doesn't even at all. For those of you who have this watch, does the pin position sound right, and is there anything i can be doing myself to troubleshoot before i chat with Sead? Thanks for you insight! Edited January 24, 2015 by sebvad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Hi folks - i made my first purchase from Sead and i gotta say his communication was great, and this watch is beautiful. it's going to quickly become my favorite i think. The issue is it's not working out of the box. Before i engage Sead with troubleshooting, i'd like to sense check here to be sure it's not something silly i'm overlooking or a very easy fix. One thing i'd noticed - and this may or may not be an issue - is the 'pusher' pin that, in my experience, usually requires an unscrewing before pulling out to the various stop positions (wind, date, time) doesn't seem to want to fully push 'in' and lock down. It never screws down to a 'stop' position, but it's default position seems to be 'wind'. May simply be the design of the watch, i dunno. The date and time set stops work fine - i've wound it up, but it just doesn't engage. I do notice that the self winding rotor (i'm probably calling it the wrong thing - but the half moon-ish piece of metal that very freely spins to wind up the watch) is pretty sticky - it doesn't free spin at all, sometimes it doesn't even at all. For those of you who have this watch, does the pin position sound right, and is there anything i can be doing myself to troubleshoot before i chat with Sead? Thanks for you insight! First and foremost, I am assuming you mean HUBLOT, not Sublet, lol. Second, the Hublot crown default position is the winding position, it does not "screw in" or lock. Next, give the watch a more vigorous swirl, this may free the rotor, looks like its an issue of a stuck rotor. You could otherwise open up the caseback, assuming that you have the tool (a common screwdriver) and the skills (to turn the mentioned screwdriver). See if the rotor spins freely after caseback is removed. If not, let us know again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 yeah, stupid autocorrect 8-) i can't edit the title. I did give it a whack actually before i posted, which loosened the rotor for a bit, but it's gone back to being stuck again. i can certainly open the caseback, but am hesitant as i don't want to further much it up (i don't really know what i'm doing). i'll give it a shot being careful not to be overly enthusiastic about poking about.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 actually, i see what it is now - before i've opened it up. there's a small loose round piece that appears to have either detached from somewhere else, or perhaps is just an extra that's gotten in there, that's wedged itself between the rotor and the case back. It's not immediately obvious to me where it should go - i think i'll take a photo of it and send to Sead with the description of what's occurring and see if he's willing to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 That is most likely the rotor washer. If so, I would not recommend sending it back..send it to a watchsmith and its an easy fix. Get the watch serviced meanwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for the suggestion. I'd suspect there are cautions to consider when taking reps to watch smiths? if so, i'm open to suggestions about how to identify appropriate ones or approach the topic with them. Out of curiosity, why would you not send it back and ask for a replacement? Sorry for all the questions, this is the first time i've had one arrive not working, little bit of uncharted waters for me. I'd post a pic of it to show the piece that's loose, but i can't seem to do so. Apparently i need more coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I hate to be the "bad guy", but it's pretty obvious that you didn't read much about rep watches, dealers ,etc. but to be kind and hopefully helpful, here goes. You have been around here for a while, so It's surprising that you aren't more up to speed about the ins and outs of buying rep watrches. First off you need to do some reading on watch terminology. the "pin" is called a crown, and some do screw in to enhance the water resistance. others do not. on watches that screw in, when you pull the crown out to the second or third position, you should be able to see threads on the end of the tube that the crown screws on to. If there are no threads, then the watch more than likely is one that does not have a screw in crown. Next thing, obviously from your lack of knowledge, I would definitely not try to "fix" the watch. If you start messing with it and lose any parts, strip out screws, etc., it's going to cost a lot more to get it fixed. Depending on where you live, you should be able to find a watch smith that you can take your watch to or at least find one of the for forum recommended watch smiths who can repair your watch. As legend stated, while it's apart, great time to have the movement serviced, which will improve both the accuracy and longevity of the watch. Now point three why not send it back to the dealer? Well, here are my reasons. First you are going to have to pay for the shipping both ways to China. Probably almost what the cost of getting your watch serviced. Second,you are going to be without your watch for a while. Chinese New Year is coming up, and everything stops, so you are probably looking at a couple of months, minimum. And third, you are exposing your watch to another trip through customs in your country, increasing the risk that it could get seized, lost stolen or damaged in transit. I would go to the list of watch repair people on the forum and try to find one that is in your country or close, contact them explain the problem and see if they can help you out. also, there are quite a few members here that are pretty handy doing basic watch repairs, and it's possible one or more of them will chime in with offers to help. I would post a request for help in the "other brand watches" forum as Hublot doesn't have it's own brand forum here. Oh, and don't keep trying to get the rotor to turn, just leave it be. if that loose part moves and gets down into the mechanism, it could cause a lot of damage to the moving parts. Let a watchsmith take it apart and get the loose part back where it belongs. And finally, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Well mate, i suppose it's like anything - the closer you are to a given topic, and the more important the details are to you - the more you know. Personally i'm a casual participant, and while it's true that i started by buying my first rep some 4 or 5 years ago - i am - and am likely to always be - a casual participant. I do not need to, nor want to, know the scientific name of every subpart. I freely admit up front that i've likely gotten the name wrong. I've also never had a watch arrive in pieces - and while others may have and have posted to that effect, since i'm casual and it wasn't relevant to me at the time - it was not on my radar. I have a full time (more than full time actually) global director job, a family, and other hobbies - so while i do appreciate your response, and i'm quite certain that you know this stuff inside and out, backwards and forwards, i'm sure you can appreciate that not everyone does, and part of that is why this very forum and others like it exist. I am considered a subject matter expert in my particular field, and i can assure you that almost everyone who isn't in my field routinely gets the details wrong. And that's ok. I actually have read quite a bit here about the dealers and the specific units before purchasing fro them - so i'm not quite certain where that comment was targeted, but since my readings were so focused on the topics that were relevant to me at the time, i now find myself looking at different topics as those have now become relevant. Thanks for the tip on the watch smith - i'll look in the appropriate forum for one nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I wasn't casting aspersions on you sir, I realize that watches are not necessarily embraced as a hobby by a lot of folks. We all have our interests. It just so happens that one of mine are watches. I have a bit more free time in the winter, as I don't have nearly as much outside work to do keeping up my fairly large yard and property as well as a full time job, rather more than full time as well, as I have call obligations at the hospital where I practice (In fact I'm on call this weekend, so can't do much more than sit around and wait for the phone to ring)!! I can assure you when the weather turns warm and the grass starts growing, I spend considerably less time here as my activities at home and work keep me pretty busy. I might have come across wrong, but what I was trying to get across was mainly, if you aren't good at watch repairs, best leave that to the experts. That part that's locking your rotor went somewhere, and just unscrewing the back and removing it probably won't solve the problem. Also it takes pretty special tools to work on watches, the guy that does a lot of work on my watches both rep and genuine has a screwdriver set that costs around 600 USD!! Also the statements about why it's best not to send back to China are based on both personal experience and reading lots of "horror story" threads here related to watches that were sent back to China and were lost, seized, kept for months and sometimes were sent back in the same shape or worse than they were originally. I feel sure that myself and some of the other folks here would be glad to help you find someone who can get your watch sorted out. If you let us know where you are located, generally, not specifically just your home country, I'm sure someone can get you pointed in the right direction. Have a good weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 ok, so i was looking for the insert a file icon at the top menu bar, but now see it's on the bottom. here's a photo of the back, one can see there's a small washer above the "U" in the hublot name on the rotor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) All good, fine sir - i do appreciate your insight and suggestions, and have inquired in the repair section. I think you've sufficiently scared me away from doing the operation myself, as i'm fairly certain i'd do a fantastically great job at making it worse Edit: i understand the yard maintenance, believe me - we built our house on top of a mountain, and our driveway's over 1000 feet. With the snow we've had the last two years, my plow's getting the workout of it's life 8-) Here's to hoping for a quiet weekend at the hospital... Edited January 25, 2015 by sebvad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 ok, so i was looking for the insert a file icon at the top menu bar, but now see it's on the bottom. here's a photo of the back, one can see there's a small washer above the "U" in the hublot name on the rotorDSC03622.JPG There seems to be a small screw missing too, near the 2 o'clock position when viewing the picture. Any chance that it's rattling in the movement? Sent from Mars using tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 After looking at the photo, it looks like the culprit is a movement clamp and screw. This is a simple fix, and if it were a screw on/off caseback, it would literally take someone about a minute to fix. It will take a little longer because you have to unscrew the caseback screws, but any watch repair person could do this while you wait. It's too bad the rep manufacturers don't seem to have any QC and it's getting worse. I have gotten to the point that I almost never buy directly from the dealers, I buy M2M. At least you know that the first owner has gotten everything sorted out, or if not you buy with full disclosure at a significant discount. Sometimes it takes a while for what you are looking for to come up for sale, but sooner or later they all go through the sales forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Thanks - I'll do some digging to see if there's a local 'guy' that can do it. It's been my experience that Sead's been good to work with thus far, i've no doubts it'll all work out in the end. I don't mind taking a run at it myself, but i don't have any of the tools. Appreciate the assist fellas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike on a bike Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Title fixed and yes do not open get to a smith looks like an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Title fixed and yes do not open get to a smith looks like an easy fix. Nope mike title not fixed lol. It reads "Hublet" now Sent from Mars using tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Nope mike title not fixed lol. It reads "Hublet" now Sent from Mars using tapatalk It's a journey - certainly better than the original autocorrect of Sublet 8-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 No matter what the title is, hopefully we gave the OP some good information, and he is on the way to getting his Hublet repaired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 It's a journey - certainly better than the original autocorrect of Sublet 8-) Indeed, we all know this thread is about the issue in your watch and I'm glad you've been given relevant information by my friend p153. Hope it gets sorted out well. Sent from Mars using tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike on a bike Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Nope mike title not fixed lol. It reads "Hublet" now Sent from Mars using tapatalk OOPS just put "H' in now better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 well, i took it to two watch repair shoppes today and both said they were unable to fix it. I'm not sure what comes next. I'll ask Sead if he's got any suggestions as to further attempts at repair or if he's able to replace - i'm quite happy to return it to him if that's suitable - not really sure! I certainly do appreciate the thought given to me here by those in this forum - thanks folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Where are you located? Maybe someone can give you a suggestion for a watch repair person on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 well, i took it to two watch repair shoppes today and both said they were unable to fix it. I'm not sure what comes next. I'll ask Sead if he's got any suggestions as to further attempts at repair or if he's able to replace - i'm quite happy to return it to him if that's suitable - not really sure! I certainly do appreciate the thought given to me here by those in this forum - thanks folks. Some watchsmiths would not work on reps. Is that the case in your experience? I actually could not believe that they "were unable" to fix it. It sounds to me more like "unwilling to". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebvad Posted January 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Could very well be, i was very up front with them that it was a rep (and i'm sure it was obvious to someone who knows what they're doing anyway) - both were small, independent shoppes; one gentlemen was from China (not that that matters). I'd posted in the repair forum a few days ago but haven't had a response yet. Sead's been very good to work with, and he's walking me through trying a few things myself, and i have confidence that if we're unable to get it in working order, he'll provide a replacement. His responsiveness has been great - my father in law just asked me the other day if i could get him a rolex rep, and based on his attention to me (i'm just some guy, no reason to treat me better than anyone else), i've no reservations sourcing it through him. I've got patience in spades, so if it takes a little time to get it sorted, that's fine with me. It's quite a beautiful watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Could very well be, i was very up front with them that it was a rep (and i'm sure it was obvious to someone who knows what they're doing anyway) - both were small, independent shoppes; one gentlemen was from China (not that that matters). I'd posted in the repair forum a few days ago but haven't had a response yet. Sead's been very good to work with, and he's walking me through trying a few things myself, and i have confidence that if we're unable to get it in working order, he'll provide a replacement. His responsiveness has been great - my father in law just asked me the other day if i could get him a rolex rep, and based on his attention to me (i'm just some guy, no reason to treat me better than anyone else), i've no reservations sourcing it through him. I've got patience in spades, so if it takes a little time to get it sorted, that's fine with me. It's quite a beautiful watch. I am certain this could get sorted out without getting it returned to Sead..it really is a matter of fixing the screw back into where it belongs, I do not see another visible problem with the movement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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