Christopher Ward poor quality

IrishHomer

Just wanting to share my bad experience.

Today I received my new C60 Trident Pro 300 on a steel bracelet. I also purchased a rubber strap. When I removed the steel strap the 2nd side of the strap the pins were jammed and no way would they release. They have the little metal nodules that normally make removal easy just with fingers and no need for tools.

So the 2nd side was jammed, broke my nail and worse the little nodule split off.

So I have it packed up and emailed them tonight explaining what's happened and requesting a refund.

I am a watch enthusiast so changing a strap is nothing new to me.

Extremely disappointed in the quality of Christopher Ward I won't be going to them ever again. :(

fonecrusher1

Thats unfortunate and must be dissappointing. I'm not a watch enthusiast with a pretty small collection and mostly sub 300 euro items excluding one or two and not one has the issue your describing. Not even the Addiesdive cheapo watch i got for the laugh. The bracelet came off no issue.

On a side note I have to return a Timex Velocity 1971 resissue Q watch. 36mm way way too small. Waiting on Timex EU to get back to me.

You'd expect better QC from CW. Hope they sort you out with a full refund.

banie01

I own a Christopher Ward C65 Acquitane GMT that i acquired by way of a swap.
I can hand on heart say I've found it to be a very good example of what CW can do.
I just had a look at their pricing and at the time I swapped, the were €1.2k, today they are almost €1.8k…
Thats a fairly ridiculous rise of 50% but, similar to the Sinn 104 I swapped it for also now being €1.8k new!
I loved my Sinn, and as everyone knews they are bulletproof.
I am happy with the trade I made and the CW, the one I own at least ;) is a decent watch.

Now that said, I have seen more and more complaints of a nature similar to your own on the CW sub-reddit.
Everything from recalcitrant quick releases, to helicoptering rotors and poor timekeeping.
Every brand has issues and anyone who's ever spent any time in a manufacturing environment knows that no brand has a 100% perfect quality record.
But?
It does seem based on recent trends that CW have a problem stating on top of quality.

Addendum:
The impact of inflation on new watch pricing over the last 2 years is pretty mental isnt it!
+50% on 2 relatively basic entry level luxury brands is mad, especially when CW's spiel is that they offer "value".

Fitz II

Every product can have defects thats nothing to be all that disappointed by. They test is how they deal with the issue. At the price you have the reasonable expectation of good quality and good customer service. I would hold off on summary judgment until you see how it pans out.

Darwin

Sorry to hear that OP. I have three CW now (C60 Atoll and two Trident Lumieres), two of them were bought in a sale so they were customer returns. Happily no issues with any of them. It would appear that during sale periods, they are under pressure to cope with the demand and perhaps QC is not as thorough as it ought to be. US buyers complaining on reddit seem to have a lot of problems dealing with their CS department.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123708613#Comment_123708613

Yeah they may win you over yet in how things are handled from here…

IrishHomer

Update

No emails or no communication at all today from CW

I emailed them over the weekend but I was too busy at work today to try calling them myself.

I'm surprised by this :(

H_Lime

Was it this type that was jammed, or just a conventional springbar?

IrishHomer

Yes that type exactly

H_Lime

And both sides were jammed and the tabs broke off?

I'm guessing the bracelet end links are a tight fit too?

IrishHomer

Yes both the tabs were completely jammed. One broke off. I think the links were normal.

IrishHomer

This is the piece that broke off

H_Lime

Initially when I read your post I was like "returned due to a springbar!?!"

But yea your stuck having to now get creative to remove that. I'm confident I could have but would I be absolutely sure I wouldn't mark the case or bracelet in doing it? Absolutely not, so yea return it!

Such a shame a bad springbar ruined the purchase. FWIW I dislike that style of sb, especially so if the bracelet reliefs the tabs ride in are only sized for tabs and not big enough to allow conventional removal tool access. Give me double flange 2.5mm fat bars any day over them.

In my experience when a solid end link is a tight/fiddly fit to seat both sides of the springbar sometimes they can get bent and jam up when installed. Even uncle seiko will supply slightly undersize (diameter) spingbars with a slight bend to accommodate the above when an end link is a recalcitrant fit.

IrishHomer

Thanks for your comments and opinions I really appreciate it.

Yesi was same I'm afraid to go at it in case I permanently mark it.

fonecrusher1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123714983#Comment_123714983

You shouldn't have to go at it at all. You've bought something that has a defective component. Unacceptable. Especially considering the price. If it was a 60 euro Addisdive yeah sure i'd have a crack at fixing it myself.

Also if you did try to resolve it and left a few marks i'd be concerned CW might just consider that voiding their return / refund policy…

Then you really are in trouble.

Side Note: Timex EU have sent me a postage label to get the wee Volicty 1971 Q watch returned. Refund will take a good few days but thats fine.

IrishHomer

Bit of an update.

I was finally emailed this morning and was offered an apology, a replacement and 10% refund of original purchase, id paid €1,250

I replied immediately and sai no thanks and that I wished to proceed with a return and refund.

Still no response even though I told them I wanted to send it back asap as I'm going away on holidays tomorrow

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123716927#Comment_123716927

I appreciate that you want the watch returned and a line drawn under this but, I think your expectation of turnaround time for reply is hopeful to say the least.

I won't deign to guess at how many people they have working care & returns but, I'd guess that replies are managed via a CRM platform and once they reply the CRM moves them along to the next queued case in rotation until all cases get their "1st response". Then the queue will progress to "2nd response" and so on.

I think an expectation that the watch will be picked up before you head on holidays tomorrow is very optimistic.

What do you think of their offer to make good? I fully appreciate that you've gone sour (understandably so) on the brand after your experience, and I don't mean to sound as if I'm advocating for them or telling ya it's grand. Rather that I'm surprised they went straight to offering you a replacement and partial refund. Usually in my experience of other brands it's a replacement only until the customer pushes back.

scwazrh

it’s 4 days since you’ve had the problem . You’re being unrealistic to expect a solution in a week .30 days for a solution is within reason.

I purchased a Tudor in a bricks and mortar store and it had a problem and it took 6 weeks to resolve so expecting an online purchase to be solved in a week just ain’t going to happen .I think they’ve handle it well so far by offering a replacement and discount

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123716927#Comment_123716927

I must say I consider that a reasonable offer from them to make right on the situation. Just my opinion, of course.

893bet

A spring bar can break on a 50k Rolex. A little harsh to say the watch is poor quality.

Assuming you bought online then I assume you can under distance selling exercise your right to return but that is a decent offer from the company.

fonecrusher1

Not a bad outcome at all. I know its very dissappointing but if you really fancy the watch I guess you could accept the replacement and a few bob back in your pocket?

Usually your offered a replacement or refund. And thats it.

How about responding with a cheeky counter offer? Make it 20% and all is forgiven? Worth a try.

IrishHomer

The moment I sa the watch in reality I thought the quality was poor for the money.

I just took it out to take another look at it and I still feel the same.

My daily watch I wear is a Titanium Hamilton Khaki Field and it feels and looks far better quality in my opinion.

fonecrusher1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123717658#Comment_123717658

Sounds like you want out. Hey at least you get back into the chase for your next time piece. Any ideas on what you want? Assume not another CW.

IrishHomer

I might wait a while save more and get a Tudor Pelagos or BB58 2nd hand

Trigger Happy

I have had a couple of CW watches and never seen an issue. I still think my C3 Morgan is one of the best value pieces I have ever bought…I do love it.