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Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

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baldrick
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Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Hi, gang,

I've just - literally - taken delivery of an Alpina Alpiner Quartz from Watchmaxx and, right out of the box, the date window jumps out at me as being out of alignment.

It was set to "2", but I've run through a few other dates and all appear to be shifted off to the left.

What do you think?

Assuming I'm not going crazy, is this an easy fix? I'm not in the US so returning is likely to be a massive and costly pain....

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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by Miggyd87 »

What warranty, if any, is provided by watchmaxxxxxxxxxxx? You can always contact them and see what options they provide you.

That would bother me, assuming it's across all dates, and I would be looking to return/exchange it.

Getting the date wheel realigned would require opening the case and probably removing the hands and dial to access the date wheel.
baldrick
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Yeah, I've sent them an email to see what they suggest.

They are not an AD, but have a warranty and state they will carry out repairs. Pretty standard, but sending it back, whether for return or repair, is going to be a costly exercise and I won't get that money back.

I'd rather get it repaired at my location at their cost, which I have suggested to them.

However, as you say, it requires opening up the watch and I don't know if this problem is even fixable or whether an entirely new movement is required. (That assumes it is accepted as a defect - it seems pretty clear to my eye but others may think otherwise.)

Sigh. Always a risk when buying over the Internet, I suppose, especially from overseas. I've been lucky so far, so I guess this was overdue. Still, not nice for the first reaction on opening the box to be [emoji53]



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baldrick
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Just following up on this whilst I wait for watchmaxx to respond.

I've pored over loads of pics of this watch online. It does appear that there is a tendency for the date wheel to be slightly off-centre to the left. Not always, but common enough to spot if one is looking for it. Mine appears to be particularly pronounced, though.

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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by flypanam »

Honestly stuff like this doesn't bother me too too much. But that's just me. In my mind, it's a relatively inexpensive watch, not a high-end piece you'd expect top level QC, nor is it a piece of surgical equipment that requires the most minute details to be perfect. A small misalignment really doesn't strike me as too terrible. That said, if it bothers you (and I totally understand if it does) I can't imagine it wouldn't cost *too* much to have a watchmaker align it.
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baldrick
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Yeah it's in that niggly bracket where the cost of the watch means repairing or returning internationally is disproportionately expensive. Finding a competent and reasonably priced watch-maker where I am might be a struggle.

Also no response from Watchmaxx, which is disappointing.

Shame because everything else about the watch (and, in fact, Watchmaxx's service) is good. It looks great - really sharp and well laid-out, feels quality and was sent and arrived very quickly. Just this one fly in the proverbial ointment.

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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by pdsf »

baldrick wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:09 am Yeah, I've sent them an email to see what they suggest.

They are not an AD, but have a warranty and state they will carry out repairs. Pretty standard, but sending it back, whether for return or repair, is going to be a costly exercise and I won't get that money back.

I'd rather get it repaired at my location at their cost, which I have suggested to them.

However, as you say, it requires opening up the watch and I don't know if this problem is even fixable or whether an entirely new movement is required. (That assumes it is accepted as a defect - it seems pretty clear to my eye but others may think otherwise.)

Sigh. Always a risk when buying over the Internet, I suppose, especially from overseas. I've been lucky so far, so I guess this was overdue. Still, not nice for the first reaction on opening the box to be [emoji53]



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Yes, I agree....a disappointing first reaction usuaully stays, unfortunately. The misalignment in this case would bother me. I hope the whole thing ends on a good note.
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Watchmaxx responded saying it is aligned "to allow for 2 numbers", ignoring it is off to the left with 2 numbers as well.

Pretty disappointed by that response tbh. I don't mind debating warranties, repair costs etc., but that is disingenuous.

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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by pdsf »

baldrick wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 7:36 am Watchmaxx responded saying it is aligned "to allow for 2 numbers", ignoring it is off to the left with 2 numbers as well.

Pretty disappointed by that response tbh. I don't mind debating warranties, repair costs etc., but that is disingenuous.

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Argh, one of those "are you kidding me?" responses...
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by baldrick »

Circling back to this with a happy update.

After some back and forth with Watchmaxx they asked me to send it back to them. Fair enough, that's their policy and I have no issue with that. However, it seemed a waste of everyone's time and money to do that. I countered with trying to find a local repair at their cost, to which they agreed.

I managed to get the issue sorted with the local Citizen service centre (Citizen owns Alpina, I believe) for the princely sum of USD 27 and change - far, far less than shipping internationally would have cost - which Watchmaxx have said they will refund.

So, all's well that ends well. Watchmaxx came good and, after their initial response, have been pretty reasonable and cooperative. (I guess it also shows that it is sometimes worth suggesting alternatives to the stated policy.)

After a few weeks of faff, I'm finally enjoying a nicely aligned Alpina and now just waiting for my StrapsCo order to show up (grr) so I can get it on some leather.

Would I buy from Watchmaxx again? Yes. Problems can arise in the best of businesses, but I'm happy with their customer service and resolution. I would, however, make sure they check the watch before shipping internationally.
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by TheJohnP »

Glad to read things worked out and that Watchmaxx worked with you to a suitable resolution
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Re: Alpina date alignment - opinions sought

Post by Split-Time »

That is awesome [mention]baldrick[/mention]! Probably the best/most reasonable/affordable outcome. It is a beautiful watch...enjoy it now!
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