RWG Technical Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 The owner of this watch had this assembled as a gift for someone. He send it in to me to give it a once over, and make sure it was ok. The first thing I noted was a chunk of silicone sticking out of the CG lever (I forgot to take a pic of it), and I could see a damaged CG screw and glue between the CG and the case. This is not looking good. Keep in mind this is a BRAND NEW watch, never been touched except to by the modder who did the work. Having been down this road before, I informed the owner that I had a bad feeling by what I saw on the outside, and I told him that I was not willing to work on the watch, as I had done this before, and each time, I end up regretting that decision. The owner decided to have me tear down the watch and ship it back in pieces so that he could try and recoup some of his money. Here is the CG screw and the CG removed, remember, this was brand new watch... what you see is the handiwork of the modder. Hands touching the dial Dial missing one dial foot, and not secured to the movement, Dial and hands removed to reveal this on the movement, tape, everywhere...not sure why...it's not double sided tape and I have no idea why it's there... Relume Amazingly this particular modder has been decorated with some special doctorate in modding on another forum, unbelievable. Seeing this always upsets me, I don't know how some people can sleep at night. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Wow, not cool at all. How much did he say this "modder" charged?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted November 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Wow, not cool at all. How much did he say this "modder" charged?? I have no idea. I was asked to look and fix any problems, but decided it best to not try and fix it. The owner then decided to tear it down and try and sell off the parts. It's no fun having to tell someone what I see in these pictures... RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 yikes. that is all I can say. the doublesided tape procedure was rather puzzling, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 i bet i can guess who it was.... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Wow. I know I've never really done any work on a watch before, but other projects I've worked on have required a similar set of skills (if on a much larger scale) and the amount of damage which has been inflicted by screwdriver, and the totally uneven re-lume, makes me wonder if the person who did the work had ever undertaken such a project before. Even worse to think someone paid money to have that done to their watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Did someone actually pay for this garbage? I would be on every forum demanding a refund plus a new watch. Thanks for the post, The Zigmeister. Perhaps it will wake up some folks thinking about sending their watches off to surgery to so called modders with zero watchmaking skills/credentials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Nice lume :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Im just wondering how you butcher a screw so badly? It looks like he didnt have a screwdriver and used a kitchen knife of something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corgi Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 The very definition of "don't fix what's not broken" You ask for a mod, you got one! Just, it won't be much in the way of an improvement!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Im just wondering how you butcher a screw so badly? It looks like he didnt have a screwdriver and used a kitchen knife of something... Look everyone makes mistakes--my local smith, whom I'll stack up against anyone alive, scratched the crap out of a gen muller dial--but constantly destroying peoples watches and having the balls to charge top dollar for it is another matter. BTW, I like the guy who did the above mods. But greed does funny things to everyone, no matter how nice they are. I wonder if there's some sort of way we can come up with as a group to help limit the temptation. Hell, in the real world even the most free-wheeling, fast and loose professions set up some kind of mechanism to protect their customers, if only to keep them from running away en masse. If they don't, either the government or the market will do it for them. We're at the point here that the market is going to start regulating severely if we wont regulate ourselves-- if these horror stories keep rolling in, established modders like The Zigmeister all the more overbooked and it's going to be hard for any new honest, talented modder who may come along to get trusted enough to become an established modder. Either way, lots of us are not going to get our watches modded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFlash Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 When I see these type of posts I am always disappointed to not find the person named who did the work. After all, the reason this forums existence is to protect us members from costly trumpery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfman Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 When I see these type of posts I am always disappointed to not find the person named who did the work. After all, the reason this forums existence is to protect us members from costly trumpery. I have the same kind of problem with a modder with 2 of my beloved PAM. The story began in july when i decided to mod my 005 and 009. At the beginning it should be done in 2 or 3 weeks ... got it back in october . and the superlumed work was just crap, with a lot of scratches on dials ..... i have done him a second chance to fix this issues (error is human) ... but if it's not done at the end of this year .... trust me i'll post the most disheartening review that we ever seen on RWG !!!!! Just hope not to have it to do .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted November 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 When I see these type of posts I am always disappointed to not find the person named who did the work. After all, the reason this forums existence is to protect us members from costly trumpery. The owner of the watch can step up and tell his side of the story. This is not the first time for this modder. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Look everyone makes mistakes--my local smith, whom I'll stack up against anyone alive, scratched the crap out of a gen muller dial--but constantly destroying peoples watches and having the balls to charge top dollar for it is another matter. BTW, I like the guy who did the above mods. But greed does funny things to everyone, no matter how nice they are. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but, as you point out, constantly doing it and charging money is something else. If there'd only been single issues of damage with the watch, then sure, benefit of the doubt to the person who did the work, maybe an accident occured, and, on a single issue, shouldn't be impossible or too costly to correct, but that watch is something else entirely. As Lonnie pointed out, how the hell does someone butcher a screw like that (other than by using completely inappropriate tools) I don't know who did the work on the watch, but I hope the owner does name them, not to humiliate and shame them, but so I can know never to send any of my watches to them for any reason. When I see these type of posts I am always disappointed to not find the person named who did the work. After all, the reason this forums existence is to protect us members from costly trumpery. Absolutely so. Something I've noticed, perhaps it's just my own perception, is that lately, there seems to be an ethos of protecting dealers and such, rather than buyers... Maybe people are just too scared to report poor services for fear of getting their supply-line cut... If that's the case, then should said dealers (or whatever) even be here? I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: On RWG, you don't choose Dealer, Dealer chooses you! I have the same kind of problem with a modder with 2 of my beloved PAM. The story began in july when i decided to mod my 005 and 009. At the beginning it should be done in 2 or 3 weeks ... got it back in october . and the superlumed work was just crap, with a lot of scratches on dials ..... i have done him a second chance to fix this issues (error is human) ... but if it's not done at the end of this year .... trust me i'll post the most disheartening review that we ever seen on RWG !!!!! Just hope not to have it to do .... Pretty much the same as my above post, by all means give the person the chance to correct their mistakes, but seriously, people have a right to know if the person their sending their watches to for work, are actually reliable or not. Keeping names out of things to 'spare blushes' might be noble, but, it also runs the risk of letting some other unfortunate fall victim to someone's 'skills'... Best of luck with a resolution, I hope it all gets worked out to your satisfaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 That lume job looks like the icing on the butterscotch sponge cakes that are sold around here! When I started woodworking, some of the stuff I was so proud of was slopped together junk. A skill set that I was comfortable marketing to the public at large didn't show up until 5 years later. These "watchworker" wannabees are hacks looking to make some quick bucks or overly proud newcomers to the craft who haven't a clue that the idea is to get the screw out and return it to it's original position without leaving any evidence it's been touched. The idea isn't "get the soft headed, overly tightened, screw out by any means available. I think it's testimony to Ziggy's skills and integrety that he disclaims every lume job stating (paraphrased)"minute hairline scretches are unavoidable on the hands when removing old lume material and there will be slight iregularities in application, since it is done by hand." I've looked at the vintage luming he did to my 1665 MBW under a 7X loupe and this craftsman's idea of irregular and scratched is very different than mine. I cant find a flaw. In my woodworking, my client QC is driven by an obsessive perfectionisim. If it satisfiies me, almost no one will have issues with the quality of the work. Who ever did this work has an overinflated idea about their skill set,...or they just dont give a crap. Kind of person who would paint a car with a brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Actually this was the way early Panerais were built. Tape was often used as a waterprooffing device, and to hold jewel caps in place when needed. The broken screw and glued on crown guard may not refflect how the watch came ffrom the ffactory, but do replicate repairs that may have been done by an Italian soldier on the battleffield. As for the lume? Possibly its some kind of mold or ffungus growing on the dial? Again, probably very accurate for a watch of this vintage. Iff someone know who this wonderfful modder is, I'd love to use him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 i bet i can guess who it was.... lol Me too... lol Special doctorate, indeed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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