Should i expect faults on a UPO?

[slask111]

Hi,

Im pretty new here and have bought 3 watches from a recommended dealer. Its the Tag Link (blue face), Carrera racing and UPO. Now all off them have had diff. errors like gasket to big and pointing out from the case, non working chrono, badly aligned datewheel etc. Did not really care about it for the first 2 watches but now when i got the UPO im starting to wonder if i should expect faults on the watches. I mean they are not for free heh, almost spent 1000$!

Below you can see the UPO. Its not as bad as the previous ones but the 3h marker is not 90% straight it looks a bit tilted, same with the Omega logo. I cant see these "faults" on the dealers website.

Expected? Ask for a new watch? Crying over nothing? I know its not the biggest faults on a watch, but it annoys the living ** out of me.

Thnx for the input.

[chiefwiggum]

Those faults would drive me nuts too. If you purchased from one of our recommended dealers', I am confident that they would do whatever they could to resolve this. If this is the "best" of the bunch I certainly wouldn't hesitate to try and resolve it with the seller, but certainly on an amicable basis. Don't forget, some dealers drop ship and may not have even seen the products in the flesh.

Good luck and let us know how it all works out.

[slask111]

Thnx for the input. I have no doubt the dealer will help me if i ask for it, question is more if its ok with all these small faults. These 3 watches are all the "best" version, and in my mind they should be flawless... Dont mean compared to the rep more that a logo should be straight, a datewheel should be aligned etc.

[b16a2]

I'm afraid in the rep game you have to expect these minor niggles. Im sure some of the dealers would be willing to help out where they can, but buying a rep from China with no QC will have results like this.

Things like a non working chrono is slightly different because it suggest the movement is faulty, but if its a simple fix, generally a watchsmith is a better bet than going to the dealer, because sending it back can be laborious

[LordRasta]

If we pointed out all the flaws you wouldn't want the watch anymore. All these watches have QC issues because they aren't QC'd by the factory. They are made in very un-clean conditions.

[Toadtorrent]

Ditto what others have said. There are varying problems with most of the reps. Misaligned datewheels are probably the most common, and not something that can really be fixed unless the factories reprint the datewheels...which is not likely to happen. That is why one of the most common upgrades is to fix font flaws, and date alignment by buying gen datewheels.

Collectors will likely fix the problems for you...especially if your $1000 in purchases was from the same dealer. If you send back all your watches and complain about small problems...don't expect them to treat you with Rolls Royce service after awhile.

The marker misalignment at 3 is far less a problem than some of the marker misalignments on the IWC Pilot watches (not the Spitfire, but the 3717-01). The bigger issue IMHO is the wrong Omega logo (happy feet vs. flat feet)...and that's just the problem with the UPO...

The real issue is, is the issue worth sending the watch back, not having it for 2 months, only to have the watch returned with problem "A" fixed, and problem "B" and "C" introduced...with the risk of customs, etc, etc.

Aaaah...the joys of the rep game.

[FxrAndy]

Aaaah...the joys of the rep game.

You have to take the good with the bad some times, looks like you have had your share of the bad, i would see what the seller is able to do, i assume that they are all from the same seller i would be definatly asking what they are willing to do

[slask111]

Thanx alot for your replys, the solution seem to be that i should buy watches from dealers that do proper qc. Why didnt i listen before...

I have bought all watches from the same dealer so i guess i just have to ask him what he think about it.

But it is sad that my 300$ wont get me a watch without faults on it. Stop buying them? No way hehe. This hobby is not god for the mental health..

Thnx again for your time.

Edit* Btw, not including my whining above, i have to say that the UPO is a monster!!! In a good way that is. My wrist have never looked this good *edit

Edited October 14, 2008 by slask111

[Toadtorrent]

You have to take the good with the bad some times, looks like you have had your share of the bad, i would see what the seller is able to do, i assume that they are all from the same seller i would be definatly asking what they are willing to do

Not too many really...mainly slipped datewheels and things like that. The other problems were essentially "known" problems for particular watches that I think are unreasonable to expect a collector to fixed (e.g. mis-aligned datewheels...that's a pretty common problem on a lot of these watches that I think is systemic with rep datewheels).

Dust on the dials I've had...which I don't think is a problem...a quick de-casing and some Rodico and we're good to go...that sort of thing.

A misaligned Omega logo might not be too bad...remove the dial...pop out the glued feet on the back, and re-glue...possibly the same with the 3-o-clock marker. For me...YMMV of course...issues I can solve in an hour or so I'm more than willing to do, if it means having my watch on me at all times. Sure the collectors will replace it or fix it if I contacted them...and things like misaligned markers or logs are certainly part of the QC/QA thing that should address...but I would rather not take the downtime with my new toy...and other issues like the aforementioned datewheel or cheap threading on the SMP Chrono are inherent problems with particular reps and are hard to get addressed readily.

[slask111]

Update from dealer: He offered to send spare dials for the UPO. Even though i have no idea how to change it i belive its a good solution. The best even. Easier to find rep friendly watchguy where i live then sending the upo back to .ch.