A way to tell the case steel quality?

[rodia77]

I know it's been a while.

I returned the watch for repair on 12 Dec 2018, I received it back on 18 Apr 2019.

Dealing with the merchant deserves a separate thread, but as they have dedicated threads on other forums, I'll probably contribute there and provide links here.

From their last email:

"Your watch has been inspected by our watchmaker, Zodiac UK’s watchmaker and the Swiss team.

We are all happy that your watch is built to the correct standards and specifications."

I opened the package on camera today, checked out how it wound and slapped it on a timegrapher. Timegrapher readings looked OK, and the winding felt fine (which surprised me), but then I wound it up and:


(If the video does not embed, here's the link to it on Imgur: https://imgur.com/e8L3Dh7).

Geniuses.

I found someone describing what looks like this exact issue here: https://thewatchforum.co.uk/index.ph...-hand-winding/

I've engaged a legal counsel so I know which direction to go with this.

[happyscrappyheropup]

Isn't that a pretty common issue? I've seen it a lot on the forums. My local watchmaker would not charge much to sort it. I know it's a pain in the ass dealing with it on a new watch, but it seems like an easy issue to fix.

[rodia77]

I don't know how common it is but it does seem to be an easy fix, yep.

[happyscrappyheropup]

I don't know how common it is but it does seem to be an easy fix, yep.

Do you think you can enjoy the watch once you get it sorted?

[Seriously]

Isn't that a pretty common issue? I've seen it a lot on the forums. My local watchmaker would not charge much to sort it. I know it's a pain in the ass dealing with it on a new watch, but it seems like an easy issue to fix.

Reverser wheels

They're either worn or gummed up with oil

The 2824 (and similar) don't respond well to hand winding, so it's to be avoided if you can.... just shake the movement to get it started, set time and put on your wrist.

This explains what the problem is:
https://rwg.cc/topic/180990-lubricat...-gears-how-to/

[rodia77]

Do you think you can enjoy the watch once you get it sorted?

It's a good question. And tbh, I don't know.
When I finally opened the package yesterday, I was happy to see this watch again -- it still appeals to me, appearance-wise.
It didn't immediately feel low-quality in hand -- until I remembered how much I paid for it.
Then there's the negative vibe: the sense of being cheated, the shady (to put it lightly) movement, the rather shitty accuracy, the PITA malfunction, the experience with the seller -- it all makes me want to have little to nothing to do with this watch anymore.
Even before I returned it last December I thought about auctioning it for charity -- so at least some tangible good comes out of this disappointment. I still see it as an option.

[rodia77]

Back from the Zodiac to WEW for a mo.

My biggest gripe is the chromed case that is reeking with some cheap Far East manufacture, this includes the caseback. The bracelet is solid but very thin. Now, thin matches this watch very well, so it's a good thing, but 'solid' is an overstatement, it's either a very poor quality steel alloy or just aluminium. The crown's action is perfect, but the crown itself feels almost plasticky and unpleasant to touch.

So, the bracelet. Yesterday I handled it after a long break, trying to fit it on my Zodiac, and I was surprised that it didn't feel crappy to me anymore. It's thinner than my other bracelets and its weight felt adequate in hand. I thought I'd perhaps been a little harsh with my initial judgement. Then I was messing around with the end links and they felt kind of suspicious. So I figured I'd compare the weight of end links of different bracelets and was sure I'd catch some irregularities that way.

(Now, no pics, these are more notes for myself so I don't forget).

Fortis (folded), 0.5g
Casio (folded), 0.8g
ML (solid), 1g
Ham Avi (solid), 1.8g
WEW (solid), 2g

No irregularities really. Nothing seems off. I think I have to accept that, at least in the case of the bracelet, it felt too light because I'd been used to thicker, chunkier, heavier stuff?

[rodia77]

Dealing with the merchant deserves a separate thread, but as they have dedicated threads on other forums, I'll probably contribute there and provide links here.

Well, I was slacking and the circumstances have changed, so I'll repost here what I originally posted on TZUK a moment ago:

I wanted to use this thread to post the details of my negative experience with P&C, but now that they've gone I don't think it's worth the effort. So in brief:
- they sold me a watch they didn't have in stock and only let me know about it after the purchase, which meant ~4-week wait time for the delivery
- after I returned the watch for a warranty repair, they kept it for 4 months, claimed it went back to Switzerland (which I didn't believe), and returned unfixed claiming it was performing fine
- when I requested refund after a few nudges, they ignored it and the unfixed watch was immediately sent back to me

A little more here.

Dealing with such people makes my blood boil and I wanted to sue the crap out of them, but my legal counsellor was thinking cold and adviced against it, knowing how much of a waste of time and effort it would be for just a symbolic sum of money. I ended up heeding his advice and having the watch fixed independently.

Some of you are saying it's sad to see a retailer go -- in my eyes, not keeping stock, P&C weren't even a retailer, but merely a middle man, or agent, through whose hands goods were going.

Just gotta keep our eyes open now and raise flags when the scum of a P&C owner tries to surface in watch business again.

I want to treat it as a sort of closure. I'm not in a hurry to get rid of the Sea Wolf and I'm actually kinda curious if I can't stand it, or if I like it despite the poor experience or perhaps if I get to like it because of the experience (as in, gone through hell, know its flaws, but got it fixed and working).

[tribe125]

I know where the owner lives - in the psychiatric hospital where I did my training.





Now an ‘executive’ housing development. The water tower remains, as does the church and the mansion that housed the training school.

Page & Cooper were OK when they were small-scale, selling stock from home. Then they expanded and made promises they couldn’t keep,

[rodia77]

I know where the owner lives

I'm sure there are quite a few chaps who would appreciate the coords.