Warning... Panerai Service (TX) returned my panerai with case damage...
 

Heard a lot of bad things about the service center in TX. Despite hearing all the bad things about them, never thought they could botch a simple bezel replacement (deeply scratched my 8 Days bezel on cement and nobody else has OEM bezels... :thumbsdow).

Anyways, got it back and while the bezel looks great and the polish job is excellent (they even removed the screwdriver scratches from frequently changing straps), they left a pretty deep / gnarly set of DEEP scratches on the back of the case right near the screwdown back :thumbsdow... like someone was trying to unscrew or pry the back off with a pocket knife ?? clearly happened pre-polish so obviously not shipping/handling issues.

Not even sure if I'll even send a complaint... I'm not planning on ever selling this piece (still love it).... or getting another Panerai ever again for that matter :thinking:.

http://i.imgur.com/bHKeaL5l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/x0sJSc6l.jpg

Why wouldn't you send it back? All parts are replaceable and you paid for service

The service is notoriously crappy there. Sending pieces back with gaskets sticking out etc. I will send them an email I suppose, but I have seen dozens of complaints about the service center and not a single positive resolution.

They owe you a new case. I would expect nothing less. That Richemont service center botched a polish job on my IWC Ingenieur. It came back with severely rounded corners and bad tooling marks on the case that were visible to the naked eye. Switzerland had to make a new case for it since it was a discontinued 3227.

I'd send a detailed letter with documentation. I sent mine in with a letter noting all of the scratches on pictures I wanted polished and my service was perfect. I'd think if you showed pictures with the scratches they caused that it would get rectified at their cost. It would cost you time without the watch but it seems like the best way to go.

Thanks for the advice everyone.. Do you guys know if there is a serial number anywhere on/inside Panerai cases? Having matching serial numbers would be very important to me.

Sorry to hear - I would send it straight back...

Man that blows and I'd be pissed off too. I hope it gets resolved reasonably.

Having just purchased my first one and now seeing numerous horror stories on this Service Center, I have to ask if there are other options for service of an in house movement in the US, even if it means not having it done under warranty? I know there are plenty of independents who have Rolex parts accounts, so are there independents with Panerai accounts as well?

I have gone through the NYC boutique and quite frankly had great service from OP. Just lucky I guess.

Sorry to hear but you must take it back let them fix it :comeandge

That's why I often wonder if it wouldn't be a better idea to sell off my in-house models in favor of the older 6497 models. There are many parts and watchmakers that can service them well into the future - even I can service a 6497 myself.

That's ridiculous. I'd send it back and demand a new case. You paid a lot of money for that watch. They destroyed the case. Sorry this happened to you.

OP factory service and that is what you get? If that scratch was out in my case by OP service center I would be irate.


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you took the time to post this to the internet, but you're not sure if you want to bother contacting the AD to have it fixed/replaced?

re: the exposed gasket, if i recall correctly, someone posted a picture but didn't post any follow up messages or reply to questions. i take those kinds of threads with a grain of "internet salt"....

anyway, since people are more apt to post negative reviews rather than positive reviews, one needs to take that into account, too. it's not like that PSC has only serviced 5/10 watches over the past couple of years.

Is Texas the only OP service center in the U.S.?

That's what the NYC Boutique told me.....

For anybody interested in the gasket issue, see here:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/35339...+have+an+issue

I can't imagine somebody making this up, and I have the same letter from PASC as the poster in that forum, so I 100% believe that the service center is truly this careless. And even 5-10 or so cases of this sort of mess up out of all their work would still be unacceptable, in my opinion. We are into these timepieces because the level of craftsmanship & attention to detail are unparalleled, and post-sales support should reflect this.

As for contacting Panerai, I will see how they can rectify the issue.

an e mail to them and a follow up phone call wont take long , or cost much ,,, go for it

Terrible news indeed! :crying:

I fortunately had better luck with Richemont N. EU but before I sent mine in, I took photos of it before I sent it (and then again after they returned it).

It wasn't problem-free but the very small scratch / nick on the back of the case (yeah, same place as yours...) was not nearly as bad as yours. If I were you, I'd take it to a local good watchmaker and ask them for their opinion. They may be able to improve it somewhat... .

Of course you can send it back and "demand" a new case but that will take some doing I imagine, but I think it's rather obvious these are marks as a result from working on the watch and not wearing it... .

Best of luck with whatever course of action you choose :cheers:

Update, Panerai did in fact damage the timepiece (they had intake photos!) but are taking full responsibility for it.

-I first phoned in. Representative was taken aback and unsure what to do. I offered to send a photo and he suggested I send it straight to the inquires email with an explanation.
-Another Panerai rep reviewed my photo but replied with denial... their notes noted that case damage was preexisting (I believe this referred to the damaged bezel, which was why it was there originally), and that the finisher noted that the case scratches could not be polished out.
-I requested a copy of the intake sheet and whether or not photos were taken upon arrival. I was pretty pissed about their first reply, but I had to remember that keeping cool and communicating rationally makes everybody's job easier.
-Customer service ambassador consulted their own photos and discovered that the damage was not there. Now they're sending prepaid shipping materials.

I probably won't be seeing this watch for another ~2 months... So yes, Panerai did damage the case but I'm optimistic that they will return it in perfect shape. While the workmanship of the Panerai service center has left a bad taste, I am pleased that Panerai has owned up to it.

Good to hear but I'd be fuming still

Glad you have a resolution in the works but unfortunate you had to take the directive with regards to finding intake photos, which should have been the first thing OP service looked into.

Excellent! It would have been a reasonable assumption that Service departments belonging to larger companies and Groups like Richemont document the entire service-process. It is less reasonable to assume they will use said process to confirm their own mistakes and this is very positive indeed.

Kudos to the service process, if not the actual results... :thumbsup:

Good luck & keep us posted :cheers:

I really want to love this brand, but they keep making it hard.

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I have to agree...
glad to hear OP is getting some relief...

Yep.. it's silly right? But we should really blame richemont group and their shitty service center... I'm still eyeballin' a hobnail 42mm in the future lol... :twit:

Good to hear they're taking responsibility - hope you get it back sooner...

Panerai service so bad. Its their class right here

Agreed. Though my service experience was fine the one time I sent a piece in. I'll only ever have one PAM in the collection. ETA movement required!

+100

Very disheartening to hear of issues like so it is ETA movement or I am not buying.

That's simply amazing.

Imagine taking your car to the service and picking it up with a huge scratch and a dent on your door....