[Bostonhedonist]

I wanted to make a public record of my ongoing experience with JLC's warranty repair service based out of the London boutique.

Early this past summer I bought a brand new Master Ultra Thin Moon, in white gold with gray dial. A member of this forum alerted me to the fact that a few of the indices were not properly affixed to the dial. So, on July 20 I took it into the shop. Everyone I've spoken with was polite and reasonably attentive.

However, it's been more than two months and 5 phone calls with no resolution. All that needs to happen is the dial to be replaced. I've now heard twice from the boutique that JLC HQ had sent a new dial and that the dial had the same flaw.

As a businessman, this perks my ears up as a possible massive quality control issue at JLC. That on one of their more premium models they'd let dials pass quality control with obvious flaws really doesn't bode well for the perception of quality that is supposed to allow these artifacts to command such a premium.

Again, on a personal level, everyone at the company has been lovely to deal with. But I'm far less confident in the brand now that I actually own one of their pieces.

Photo of the flaw (look at the hour markers):

 

[cmchong77]

Somehow I am not surprised, as I had an indice fall off my AMVOX too. The JLC people were pleasant to deal with. In my case, the indice fell right off and rolling around on the dial. They glued it back and recommended a full service which I paid for. It kind of bothers me that the dial can be so flimsy.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Um, what exactly is the problem with the hour markers? I'm not seeing it in that pic.
Do you have a straight on pic that shows the problem?

 

[Triton9]

Um, what exactly is the problem with the hour markers? I'm not seeing it in that pic.
Do you have a straight on pic that shows the problem?

12 o'clock hr marker?

Btw, How much is this watch? $300?

 

[MisterV]

Isn't it the 4 o'clock marker that's the problem? Or is that a shadow on it.

Anyhow, I find it always sad. You buy luxury, you expect luxury until the end. I cannot fathom that watches for 100k$ have a warranty of 2 years, it's just ridiculous. A shame that you're going through this OP, I would expect JLC to do it better. However, 2 months seem to be a rather short time in the watch world, since people

Also, didn't someone in the High End forum once post something about having indices fall off a Lange 1, and someone else having to return a Journe 3 times to fix something rather trivial? I guess there's just duds everywhere, but how it doesn't get properly fixed, I really can't see.

 

[Legion681]

I have a JLC that has a very minor asymmetrical defect (on the top indice), too. It was also pointed out by someone on these forums. I had to look very close to see it, but it's there. Seeing that I am a proponent of the concept of wabi-sabi and it doesn't bother me, I will keep it as is. But to each his own. Best of luck.

 

[vexXed]

Could the OP clarify what the issue is?

Is it the fact that there are gaps between the the pointed parts of the indices and the dial? I just checked my silver dial version and they look to be the same, ever so slightly raised off the dial at the points.

I think this is due to the dial being slightly curved and the indices being straight.

 

[cmchong77]

At the 12 o'clock I can see white glue or unpainted portion underneath the indice.. and this is on a white gold JLC (probably in access of $10k)

 

[timefleas]

Welcome to the world of mid to high end watch repair, where the typical (industry-standard) turn-around time is about three months for any problem that requires opening the case or tampering with the movement--disgraceful, I know, but it is what it is. Not really anything particularly unique to JLC on this one. The key word here is patience.

 

[l66666]

I completely agree with you about this should not happen when spending such money on a timepiece.
I guess you'll have to be patient as suggested and hope JLC will fix the matter properly, but absolutely a watch like that should come out of the factory in PERFECT conditions, and possibly remain in such conditions for a long time!

 

[VolckerRuled]

That's a bummer to hear about the London boutique. The New York JLC boutique was very friendly and helpful when I visited this summer, but I don't have any after-sales experience with them. MAybe someday, though.

 

[georges zaslavsky]

You are not the only one to expose this matter, others did on another forum as well as on other facebook groups and I know two friends of mine who sold theirs jlcs and invested their money in vintage Rolex sports models. Sadly the watchmakers and the quality control at JLC aren't on par with the brand's reputation.

 

[Berty234]

I don’t know what I’m looking at here - have you got a face on shot?

Certainly puts me off JLC though...

 

[Jack646]

It's almost as if they just wanted your money. Very odd.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pheeelco]

Yes, there is clearly something amiss at 12 o'clock and the 4 o'clock marker is definitely not properly fixed to the dial.

I am literally gobsmacked that others seem aware of this issue with JLC. With the sort of prices they demand for their timepieces I cannot understand how they get away with this.

You wouldn't have this sort of nonsense with a Seiko or an Eco-Drive -- and if you did they would replace or fix the watch for you promptly.

Thankfully such watches are safely outside my budget. I suspect that if I shelled-out that sort of money and got fobbed off in this fashion the result wouldn't be pretty

I'm really sorry that this has happened to you. You are right to make a public record of it. Hopefully they will get their act together and fix this for you soon.

 

[Chris Stark]

I remember when you first posted a pic of your MUT Moon. I thought it could have been a refraction of light through the crystal at an angle but it must obviously be a flaw.

Is the issue with JLC or the Boutique or both?

I have pretty much got it in my mind that whenever I purchase my next expensive watch I will do it in person and with a loupe.

 

[MediumRB]

About a year ago I started asking the dealer for their loupe to examine watches in detail and different light before buying. Saved myself some heartache after finding a flaw on a dial that I could not avoid seeing once it was identified (and so I bought the other iteration that was on hand).

I have been wary of JLC over quality control issues that a lot of people have raised over time, especially considering their price premiums. The London boutique should have just replaced your watch altogether, in my opinion.

 

[ramdawg]

What I find so remarkable is that I've never had any kind of a flaw like this on my mass produced watches....orient, Seiko, Bulova. And to have it happen on such a high end watch is outrageous. They are supposed to have human eyes look at every detail. This one could not be missed.
I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Synequano]

Seems like the marker aren't properly fixed to the dial...for something in this price range I'll be really upset too...

But in this thread I saw other Richemont's brands are being mentioned as well (ALS) perhaps their quality control are not doing their job properly

 

[Bostonhedonist]

Um, what exactly is the problem with the hour markers? I'm not seeing it in that pic.
Do you have a straight on pic that shows the problem?

Could the OP clarify what the issue is?

Is it the fact that there are gaps between the the pointed parts of the indices and the dial? I just checked my silver dial version and they look to be the same, ever so slightly raised off the dial at the points.

I think this is due to the dial being slightly curved and the indices being straight.

The indices, not all of them but you can most clearly see it here at 11:00 and 4:00, are slightly raised off the dial. I may have let this pass in a steel model. But for a watch that retails for around $20,000, any perceptible flaw is unacceptable.

You are not the only one to expose this matter, others did on another forum as well as on other facebook groups and I know two friends of mine who sold theirs jlcs and invested their money in vintage Rolex sports models. Sadly the watchmakers and the quality control at JLC aren't on par with the brand's reputation.

It's long been discussed that JLC's expertise was in the movement and that their finishing was not up to, say VC or PP standards. This confirmed it to me. Up to now, I'd thought JLC was quite a smart option at the high end due to the less exorbitant pricing when compared to those two. Well you know what they say, you get what you pay for.

I remember when you first posted a pic of your MUT Moon. I thought it could have been a refraction of light through the crystal at an angle but it must obviously be a flaw.

Is the issue with JLC or the Boutique or both?

I have pretty much got it in my mind that whenever I purchase my next expensive watch I will do it in person and with a loupe.

The issue is with JLC much moreso than the Boutique. At the boutique we compared my model with the floor model and the watchmaker confirmed that the indices should be properly affixed and that the new finishing on the gray dial combined with the slight curvature no doubt has lead to some manufacturing difficulty.

Really I wanted to ignore this very slight flaw, but once I knew about it, it was all I'd see when I looked down at it.

At any rate, it would be ideal if the boutique had just replaced it. But I hadn't bought it from the boutique, so I wouldn't have expected that. The chief issue here, in my opinion, is twofold: 1) That JLC seems to be manufacturing entire "bad batches" of dials for their premium models and 2) That these seem to be regularly getting through quality control.

The real kicker was that two times, JLC sent the boutique replacement dials and that both times the dials were flawed. It's one thing to miss a flaw on a single watch. But an entire batch of parts, particularly the parts that the eye falls on the most? That's just not good business.

Wabi-sabi perhaps. But you don't see Seiko's having these issues...