About to find out how much Officine Panerai HQ will charge me for an early ceramic bezel (and movement service).

Apr 20, 2024,19:59 PM
 

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A crappy strap replacement job (by the richemont owned/run PAM boutique nonetheless) resulted in a loose lug which I took back for re-screwing in, only for it pop off again

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 20th, 2024-20:42
but this time the watch snapped off my wrist and fell on marble flooring. The bezel cracked and flew off. Fortunately, the case didn’t crack too ...  

I’m sorry but

 
 By: Derreck : April 20th, 2024-21:08
isn’t it their fault, so shouldn’t they be the ones who pay for the service? If they should have screwed the strap correctly, the watch would not fall…

It absolutely is.

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 20th, 2024-21:13
Minor issue: the boutique shuttered the following day. Phone number is disconnected. How’s that for salt on the wound?

Whaaaat?! That’s crazy!

 
 By: ArmisT : April 20th, 2024-22:53
And really scary how variable the quality of service is 😤

Yessir 😢

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 21st, 2024-17:40

Terrible

 
 By: Derreck : April 21st, 2024-07:59
I hope you can track them and make them agree that what happened to the watch is their fault and they should be the ones to cough up the money for the repair. Please update us on this, if you feel like it of course.

Pffff

 
 By: Derreck : April 21st, 2024-20:50
I feel for you my friend. Hope you can resolve this situation with as less damage as possible to your wallet

Oh! That's infuriating!

 
 By: patrick_y : April 20th, 2024-21:18
A lot of Panerai boutiques have very inadequately trained staff. Also, double check if your model is supposed to come with four black screws. And I also warn friends that authorized dealers will scratch watches, chew up screw heads when they change the st... 

Nothing professional about any of the folks who handled my watch this time. Maybe they knew they were about to be laid off.

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 20th, 2024-21:33
Horror stories for sure. If the repair costs more than what I paid for the watch, I’ll be hard pressed to not consider it a sunk cost

I've got a lot of those kinds of stories sadly...

 
 By: patrick_y : April 21st, 2024-04:07
It's important to note, those ADs carry more than Patek. So your Rolex, Breguet, etc. will all get scratched! The problem is that these employees that the stores hire - they're just not good with a screwdriver.

I've always feared this lug design of classic Radiomirs. :(

 
 By: JCF81 : April 21st, 2024-06:00
...and ceramics too. Unfortunately both materialized here, I'm sorry to read about it. I'm curious, why is the lug at 5:00 showing silver sheen? Is that one worn or loose too? If it's any indication, an Omega ceramic bezel was quoted $2k on another forum.... 

Thanks for the sympathy.

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 21st, 2024-17:43
The silver sheen is because it’s PVD coated and bc there is a PVD coated cap that is still screwed in inside the case. They two separated, and the lug failed. Terrible design, if you ask me. Omega makes their own ceramic, and still make and sell ceramic w... 

 
 By: TomasEriksson : April 21st, 2024-12:28
How long since you had the strap replaced? Strap doesn't look all that new, even a properly installed screw can come undone over time.

15 minutes, tops

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 21st, 2024-14:32

Ugh! Oh no!

 
 By: patrick_y : April 20th, 2024-21:00

good luck

 
 By: Chronometer (aka yacomino) : April 20th, 2024-22:07

This watch is supposed to be indestructible.

 
 By: gary_g : April 20th, 2024-22:46
Made for military use. This is BS. I would raise hell.

Oh, that sucks! It's hard to trust some store people to be gentle and thorough.

 
 By: Steve E : April 20th, 2024-22:57
Not a Panerai guy, but may I ask - doesn't that seem like a weird lug design - 5 piece split lug using little set screws to stay in place? Maybe there's no better way to keep the look of the watch. Good luck with it.

In an Italian forum....

 
 By: sergio : April 20th, 2024-23:49
...no longer active, we used to say: leave ceramic to Richard Ginori. They know what to do with it Jokes apart, one knows he's buying something delicate and that it comes with risks. Same as the super fragile Panerai composite material. I wouldn't fuss ab... 

My post was 2 pronged...

 
 By: sergio : April 22nd, 2024-07:40
the part about ceramic, to put things in mechanical perspective, and avoid frustration on your part (things break). The second part, to egg you on in earnest in your, pursuit of fairness and ethical sense, in the discussions with Panerai. It has been my e... 

The experience is truly ridiculous ..🤬

 
 By: S F : April 21st, 2024-00:29
How unlucky it is then for the boutique to shutter….hope you get a fair outcome for the incident. My experience with the boutique here in Marina Bay Sands is much better. The staff are knowledgeable and definitely handle stuff with more care. A full servi... 

I’m hoping that OP HQ will share the same customer focus (financially-speaking) as the US service center.

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 21st, 2024-17:38
Since they aren’t producing black ceramic radiomirs anymore, it may not be a case of grabbing an extra bezel off of the shelf. But let’s see. I’m gonna ask for fresh caseback and lugs too. As for the boutique shuttering: I live in a Rolex/RM/AP city, and ... 

This is terrible! Thank goodness

 
 By: Darron : April 21st, 2024-15:00
the case did not crack. I am very familiar with changing straps on the pin cushion Radiomir, and indeed to Patrick’s point you often get either scratched case or screw heads. I have seen a handful of collectors pair the OEM rubber with pin cushion Radiomi... 

It was a very helpful PAM boutique manager, manning the panerai website chat feed, who confirmed that the luminor rubber strap would fit.

 
 By: Lankysudanese : April 21st, 2024-17:34
And I enjoyed many a lovely water-soaked vacation that way. But the pin cushion stuff is just not a classy way do do strap changes; scratches galore and the potential of lug failure is high. I’m not holding out any hope that the fact that the case went un... 

Sorry that this happened to your rad

 
 By: yming : April 22nd, 2024-16:21
Looking at your pics, I think I know what happened. The wire lugs have a little notch to secure it in place when you screw in those tiny screws.. from your pics, it seems they were installed in the opposite direction and so the screws weren’t catching the...  

 
 By: Beef : April 25th, 2024-03:23
I believe this is exactly what happened. I’ve been changing straps on rads for nearly 20 years without issue. I’d try to run this up the ladder at Panerai to see if you can get a good-will repair at no cost. I do believe it was the fault of the AD/boutiqu...