My Panerai/Richemont service experience.

[Mystro]

My 7yr old Pam 661 was keeping time a bit slower than I like. Not terrible but a quick regulation would make it outstanding again as this watch will easily keep +2 a day. I called the concierge at Panerai and explained to them I wanted to have my watch regulatedand the amplitude was very strong so nothing else. They took down my info and sent me a return kit and label.



Excellent service and the pop up shipping box was very clever.
Panerai received my watch and after “examining” it they said the watch needed a full service. My options were to either pay the $90 for them to return my watch with no service or proceed with a routine service. Not really happy with those options considering I told the Panerai concierge I only needed the watch regulated and they agreed when they sent the return shipping packet. Had I known this, I would have sent my Pam661 to Rikki and have him regulate it but I am now forced to pay the $720 otd price for a routine service.

Here is the report:




The watch was returned 3 weeks later fully serviced but I feel like the service center in Texas just went though the typical motions to extract money and really didn’t want to do just a simple regulation.





I did get a nice watch case and some swag after I expressed my concern for pushing me to do a full service when a regulation was all that I wanted.
Regardless it’s done and I am moving on. I did get a 2yr warranty on their work. So if you send a watch on to Panerai/Richemont, they will probably default to a full service regardless what you ask or need.

[chrissimons]

Thanks for your feedback @Mystro !

[RW16610]

Glad to hear the watch is back and working as it should. Too bad they couldn't just regulate it, but I see where they're coming from given the age of the piece. Glad you received the additional items as well and hope that you're able to now enjoy this great watch to the fullest extent possible!

[Auto16610]

Not to bad on the speedy return. Nice looking watch. Should be good for a long time to come!

[thsiao]

Thanks for sharing your story! Glad to hear that they at least did a good job with the service!

[waterman1]

Cool watch and nice hat. Glad all went well.

[Old Expat Beast]

Why did the hands need replacing, and why were they free, I wonder. And what's the difference between hands and hand set?

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Why did the hands need replacing, and why were they free, I wonder. And what's the difference between hands and hand set?

That’s pretty common when removing hands for a routine service. They are 18k rose gold so I am not sure what they do with the ones they take back. Lume and everything looks exactly the same.
Like Rolex, it’s funny when they state condition of the watch face because everything looked new/pristine as it did when new by comparison of all my macro pics. They all do this as a CYA strategy. I will say there is not one spec of dust or mark on anything on the face of the watch post service. ..


Panerai sends reference pics when they review your watch pre service which is a nice touch. They don’t clean/wipe all the dust off so I am not sure how accurate a state of condition pic will show. I wish all manufacturers did this.

[alllexandru]

Nice watch! It looks like new.
You have now a complete serviced Pam, all in all not bad at all for your peace of mind

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by alllexandru

Nice watch! It looks like new.
You have now a complete serviced Pam, all in all not bad at all for your peace of mind

Yea, that’s how I feel about it and about normal what you pay for a routine service from most luxury manufacturers. It’s a keeper with a very unique combination of lightweight, robustness on the wrist with a lot of attitude.

[travisb]

Well, at least it's back and good as new.
Thanks for sharing the experience.

[Cru Jones]

This watch is so cool, looks great.

I would have been annoyed at the outcome, too, but then again, it’s one thing to ask the service center to do one thing and another for them to state what they think your watch needs. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have expected them to simply regulate the watch…

[brandrea]

Well it’s the same with Rolex FWIW.

I sent two into RSC a few months back and one was simply for slow time keeping (not a 32xx movement either). Full service was the recommendation which I sort of half expected in all honestly.

I get the sentiment, but I can see it from their side too … it’s just easier to do the full Monty and offer up the 2 year warranty, then regulate and potentially have a different issue pop up

Fantastic watch BTW @mystro

[Easy E]

I think the full service was most definitely the way to go. An out of warranty watch needing regulation, not even a question. That's $720 well spent.

[56Diver]

Great looking watch, love the color scheme they used. Looks pristine! I also got the blue case and some goodies but no hat or bag!

[Jwcinsd]

Wrong post. Sorry

[rolexjackson]

It’s a beauty! Thanks for sharing your story and it all came out well in the end.

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by rolexjackson

It’s a beauty! Thanks for sharing your story and it all came out well in the end.

Follow up: The watch is keeping good time now as I have checked it several times to see how it the movement settles in. So overall the service was probably the best long term move.

[rajurama]

Originally Posted by Mystro

Follow up: The watch is keeping good time now as I have checked it several times to see how it the movement settles in. So overall the service was probably the best long term move.

awesome , i would do it just for the swag

I would once again repeat the carbotech in Panerai is the best in the business on par or even better than RM ....

[Horologest]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Why did the hands need replacing, and why were they free, I wonder. And what's the difference between hands and hand set?

Hands are friction fit. Once they are removed they can not be put back because the tolerance changed. This is standard practice with literally all luxury watch brands. I work for Panarai and worked for Omega as well and I can tell you that the watch manufacturers produce a large quantity of OEM hands just for service watches. They are always of the same specs and quality. And BTW hands and hand set are the same, they are a kit depending on the watch since some watches have only two hands while high complication watches can have many.

[Mr. Greene]

Interesting, but at least it’s all taken care of and you got some swag out of it. From everything I’ve seen Panerai at least has some good customer service compared to Rolex.

[Jwcinsd]

Congratulations on getting it back. May I ask how long it took? Your OP was the end of February and your recent follow up was the second week of June? I saw the estimate was 8 weeks. My PAM00184 was sent in at the end of March (estimate was 10 weeks) and I’ve not heard anything yet.

I was bummed out a bit that they said it was a GMT so it’s considered a “complicated” movement, and 50% more expensive than a standard movement. The 184 is simply a time watch with a fixed hand that moves around the dial once a day so it’s simply one more wheel to drive it. You can’t move the GMT hand independently and you rotate the outer bezel to your alternative time zone. It’s way less complicated than a chronograph or a calendar watch. The jeweler I bought it from said they rebuilt the watch but didn’t replace the seals, which made no sense, so I sent it in. The estimate was $910 plus it needs a new strap, but Panerai says they don't have any straps for the watch so I should go custom. I have never heard of a watch boutique sending someone to a custom shop for a strap.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Horologest

Hands are friction fit. Once they are removed they can not be put back because the tolerance changed. This is standard practice with literally all luxury watch brands. I work for Panarai and worked for Omega as well and I can tell you that the watch manufacturers produce a large quantity of OEM hands just for service watches. They are always of the same specs and quality. And BTW hands and hand set are the same, they are a kit depending on the watch since some watches have only two hands while high complication watches can have many.

That’s exactly what I was told as well