Stephane Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 St Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 You know what Pix? I've been the one who said ..."cool, chill out, blabla". My current opinion is that everyone should post about a bad experience before it hurts more members. Lani would say : live and learn Thank you, I think exactly the same : post before it hurts ! I feel so bad each time "small problems" are debated, and the victim gets bashed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 What the [censored] is this? I agree WTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMK000 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 PS: if I ever have a crystal to send out for AR, whatever new EU member offer it in the future, I will send it to Chief! Period. I might go for it soon. Stephane , my dear friend ... you know that this is not always possible. This can only be done if one is skillful enough to disassemble the watch without breaking something and has also the right tools to do so. Send the whole watch head to US , .... most EU customs will "trap" it when it comes back (...apart the fact that Chief is not disassembling watches) That's the reason why many EU members are looking for a good AR treatment in EU (combined with movement service). ...... this hobby of ours is killing me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Stephane , my dear friend ... you know that this is not always possible. This can only be done if one is skillful enough to disassemble the watch without breaking something and has also the right tools to do so. I wrote something like that somewhere in this thread... and was considered lazy... Sorry, I had to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 One point to think of.... Rocketeer may in fact still be doing all he can to get this sorted out, the more negative flack that is posted in this thread about him the harder it will be for him to come here and post what is going on. In other words just by the constant damning we can turn this situation from one which (possibly) is an over his head problem to a cut and run Jacob type problem. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhitesox Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Good point Ken as it seems some members are getting their crystals back...Just very slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Sorry Kenberg, with all respect I owe you : do not expect me to hide anything or refrain from informing the members of the status of any operation which come to my knowledge and linked to Rocketeer. I know this thread is not only about my case, but I express here my intention : no understanding on what he did, information with what is being reported here and there. The "constant damning" is IMO the result of his stuborn refusal to have a minimum of common sense (communication) in the disaster he created. Because he's not accepting he's the origin of all this mess. I have decided to start this thread to make pressure on him in a more "efficient" way (he never cared to answer my emails), to warn the community, and maybe to make some (still confident) customers aware that they should start chasing for their watch/crystal, and get any kind of help and feedback wherever possible. I fully understand and agree on the need to have a discussion between reasonable people, but we cannot just sit and wait, hoping he's doing the best. He won't come here and post, he would have already if that was his intention. As he would have in Chief's section. His method is mailing each and every member that has an issue, and tell him BS (sorry) in order to pass the mistake on someone else and gain time. Today, after 4 monthes, I ended in writing an answer to his mail, asking for an immediate return of the watches and full refund. What have I gained ? Watches I will have to probably spend money on, hoping he did not screw anything else when "working" on them : dials, rotating bezel, stems or anything else. Maybe the Breitling is even lost, as its crystal is broken. And promises of a replacement one is something I don't trust so far, as the rest of what he told me. I find it strange he confirmed that he cannot source the crystal from his usual dealer Hont, but had to go to an alternative (of course unknown) source, which is "slower". Do you imagine what slower means ? He's proven to be particularly unefficient in sourcing spare parts for many members screwed watches. This could last an other 2 monthes. I hear you Ken, and will refrain from posting useless assertions. But for the rest (information), I'll stick to them and make them public. Good point Ken as it seems some members are getting their crystals back...Just very slow. So far I only know of Asim having got his crystal(s) back and now on his watche(s), being satisfied. Rooster got 2 (one being the greenish thingie). For the rest, noone yet with a confirmed correct crystal or working watch. I hope this ratio will change quickly, honestly. Rocketeer can decide to stop trying to "fix" his mistakes. But he can't run away : there are at least 30-40 members who know where he lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 There are at least three others besides Asim and Rooster who have received crystals to my knowledge, and presumably more that I don't have knowledge of. If these people don't wish to post publicly, that's their perogative but I will say that, interestingly, one person has told me that of his 6 crystals received, one is green and another 4 are damaged. So its anyone's guess as to what went on with his crystals. I would guess Rocketeer successfully coated one in the UK, and muffed the others? But why did he send all of them back? Now, keep in mind also, that supposedly there were two runs worth of crystals accumulated in the UK by April, which would mean about 60 or so. And who knows how many more between then and now... but the point is that crystals being returned now may have never been in the chieftang run. The extra 30+ crystals may have remained in the UK this whole time and have been coated there... Where else did the green AR come from? I HIGHLY doubt in the two weeks he's had the chieftang crystals that he's done another run locally... There just hasn't been enough time. So IMO there has been a run ongoing locally in the UK in parallel with the USA run. FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Interesting... Why didn'I get an email? I guess it would have sounded more like: "Hi Rooster I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Stephane , my dear friend ... you know that this is not always possible. This can only be done if one is skillful enough to disassemble the watch without breaking something and has also the right tools to do so. Send the whole watch head to US , .... most EU customs will "trap" it when it comes back (...apart the fact that Chief is not disassembling watches) That's the reason why many EU members are looking for a good AR treatment in EU (combined with movement service). ...... this hobby of ours is killing me Agreed AMK! The difference NOW is that we DO have a watchmaker in EU: Domi. I would be very surprised if Domi wouldn't do this for us for a cheap price... And Domi's place is known by a lot of German members of this community: I doubt they would have propose Domi if they suspect he could run away with the watches Just eMail him something like: "Hey Domi, can I send my watch so you take the crystal out and send it straight to Chief? When the crystal come back, pls reinstall it on the watch and send it back to me" Same for Lume on a dial, hands, or whatever we fear to send a whole head to US or Canada. Think it over. Cheers Stephane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 The 2 crystals that I received from Rocketeer were also a bit green hued. Though the AR is quite well. IF this is not a Chieftang AR, than it is a rip off. Because I remember very well that Geoff mentioned on the phone that the UK AR lab is a LOT cheaper than what we pay for Chieftang. Well, it matters to me that I pay a lot for an not so good UK AR with different quality. We only wanted the Chieftang AR... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Now, keep in mind also, that supposedly there were two runs worth of crystals accumulated in the UK by April, which would mean about 60 or so. And who knows how many more between then and now... but the point is that crystals being returned now may have never been in the chieftang run. The extra 30+ crystals may have remained in the UK this whole time and have been coated there... Where else did the green AR come from? I HIGHLY doubt in the two weeks he's had the chieftang crystals that he's done another run locally... There just hasn't been enough time. So IMO there has been a run ongoing locally in the UK in parallel with the USA run. FYI This is very likely indeed, all facts go in this direction, starting by his information that the run was doubled. This is a point I first did not understand and I told you about in one PM/mail : doubled run. Eventually it is very clear that one run was sent to the US, an other one to the UK. Without permission. And the explanation on it is "Chief screwed the crystals". As easy as that. Don't want to sound insistent : but this is a SCAM. Chief's activity was hijacked, very obviously. email 30th march Hi after all the hassles, your crystals should be with Chieftang any day now. We eventually almost doubled the size of the batch going over to cope with the extra demand, and there are still enough pre-bookings to fill the next batch. I'll update you as soon as Chieftang has any information about the return shipping date. Rocket Has anyone wondered why some crystals have not been sent to the US ? There's indeed only one explanation : money saving !!! Here we are... The most unacceptable is that he does not admit that and is blatantly lying to explain wy we are going to get green crystals. He knew he would do it, since the beginning. He told that to some persons, I have a 100% reliable source about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailboss Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 IF this is not a Chieftang AR, than it is a rip off. Hokky: If there is any sign of a green tinge it either ain't CT AR or the prep work was bad. CT apears to think that the most likely explanation is that it is not his AR at all. Draw your own conclusions. I get realy upset at the (aperant) implications from Rocketeer that any of this is Chief's fault. We know that is untrue. Chief is a perfectionest of the highest order. Col. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Hokky: If there is any sign of a green tinge it either ain't CT AR or the prep work was bad. CT apears to think that the most likely explanation is that it is not his AR at all. Draw your own conclusions. I get realy upset at the (aperant) implications from Rocketeer that any of this is Chief's fault. We know that is untrue. Chief is a perfectionest of the highest order. Col. NO PREPWORK WAS DONE ON THESE CRYSTALS........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therooster Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Sorry AMK, I unfortunately don't know the details. I trust TheRooster will give you an answer if he comes to read my post. Well, the UPO crystal was sent unmounted and unprepped by myself. I assumed that R would do the prepping and send it off to Chief. I have no idea what was done to the crystal that I received. All I know is that it's green/yellowish and certainly nowhere near the Chief quality we are used to. Interestingly, the other Omega crystal that I sent came back fine, with what looks like a proper Chief double AR. Whether the UPO crystal was done somewhere else or it wasn't prepped properly, I don't know. I got my money back, but that doesn't pay for all the hassle and wated time. I guess an easy way to work out what happened behind the scenes would be to start a separate thread in all the forums where members list the number of crystals sent to R. Then we do the sums and compare them to the total of crystals received by Chief. If the numbers don't add up, we can draw our own conclusions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailboss Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 NO PREPWORK WAS DONE ON THESE CRYSTALS........ If no prepwork was done/required you did not recive CT AR if there was a green tinge. There is no green tint to a CT AR'd crystal. I guess an easy way to work out what happened behind the scenes would be to start a separate thread in all the forums where members list the number of crystals sent to R. Then we do the sums and compare them to the total of crystals received by Chief. If the numbers don't add up, we can draw our own conclusions. It appears that some 60 crystals were involved. Hard to prove tho. Col. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 NO PREPWORK WAS DONE ON THESE CRYSTALS........ Wow, then there is no doubt in my mind at all that there have been parallel AR runs going on in the UK. Rocket also told me of a cheaper local alternative, and mentioned the specs... They were not up to my standards and I did, at that time (February), recommend against it. He didn't mention the green hue. I honestly can't figure out how someone thought he could get away with this big time bait and switch. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 [Edit by Pix] Not my role to ask what I asked for in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialvat Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Any updates gents ? I ve still not had any contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmarin.72 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Any updates gents ? I ve still not had any contact. My two Breitlings are in the post office as we speak,i got a notice to go an get them so hopefully tomorrow i will be able to post some pics and let you know about them. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Haha....I hope so too...otherwise I would have to use my extra special convincing method just for you my friend . This is not hot at all Where can I buy a few bottles of these? 1 will easily be finished before a week is out... yes I know it's bad for me but I like it hot and spicy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I'm just glad that a side-effect of me being sick meant I wasn't involved in this. I guess all the participants can do is hope and wait. It really does sound like he took on too much. Only time will tell if he did a bait and switch, but after reading everything, it may also be a case of unprepped crystals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oberblender Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 My two Breitlings are in the post office as we speak,i got a notice to go an get them so hopefully tomorrow i will be able to post some pics and let you know about them. John any news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmarin.72 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Ok guys,here it is I just got the 2 watches and they seem to have the superior Chief's AR. The only problem now is that every little flaw in the dials is visible to the naked eye since the AR coating has made the crystal literally vanished. Chief has done an excellent work. For the history,my watches did not need any kind of prep since there was no rep AR on the crystals.Also they were sent to CT with the first of the two batches so if Rocketeer has decided to send the second batch to a local AR lab i was one of the lucky ones. I am posting some pics(every little flaw or mark is due to poor dial quality which i intend to fix by replacing them,and not due to the AR quality) Chief will also be able to see the AR and tell us if this is his work The greenish effect on the top of the crystal is due to the reflection of tree leafs As you can see there is no sign of a crystal installed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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