I bought my first AP...and it broke.

[htrap2294]

Hello all,

I need some advice.

So, I bought my first AP. I'm very new to the brand and my prior watch history has been Hamilton, Seiko, Tudor, Omega, and Rolex (primarily Rolex, honestly).

I've had some issues with Rolexes new movements in the past, so it led to me giving up on modern day Rolex.

As a result, I got rid of my Pepsi and went for a 26420Ti. I picked this watch up grey market. It was a year 2022 and the warranty expires in 2027. The previous owner of the watch never wore the watch really, so when I picked it up, it was practically brand new.

When I picked the watch up, first thing I noticed was that when winding the watch, the seconds hand subdial did not start going of its own accord even after 80+ winds. It only started after starting the chronograph and then resetting it.

I did make mention of this to my dealer, but I didn't think too much of it as I put it on the timegrapher and it seemed to be running +4 seconds per day.

Later on, that same day the watch had stopped running at night. I only noticed because it was several hours behind. When I checked the time, the subdial second hand was running but it must've paused at one point.

At this point, I investigated further and made a video. On the video, I noticed when I pulled the crown, I could not get the watch to start again without starting the chronograph.

After talking with the dealer, I agreed to send the watch in for service and a small compensation ($600 + new strap, as the strap nub for the keeper seemed to have fallen off as well).

However, looking on here, it seems that the Caliber 4401 has quite a bit of issues. Is this an issue anyone has come across? AP ended up accepting the watch but I am curious to understand what may have caused this.

[mickyd329]

It's a known issue with this caliber. AP service center will update the movement and get it right.

[puckybadger]

Seems like you might be experiencing the same issue I have. Or hopefully had, as my 26420SO, purchased February 2022, is currently in Clearwater for warranty service.

In a nutshell, the watch looses time rapidly with the chronograph function off and stops completely if off the wrist almost immediately.

[supernova]

AP service will fix it right with a full service before warranty runs out, and you got $600 for your troubles. Sounds like a win win to me!


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[messikens]

I had to get my 26420SO fixed (twice) but now works perfectly

Don't sweat it, send it into service, enjoy the warranty period and get an updated movement / fix.

Annoying - yes. Dealbreaker - no....

[srvrf]

I had the same issue with my Offshore after a year. Sent it in and now everything is perfect with over three years of warranty. Sucks but it should come back fixed and freshly serviced.


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[7sins]

Suppose I am in the minority, I owned one for a bit over a year, never had any issues and used it frequently.

[supernova]

Originally Posted by 7sins

Suppose I am in the minority, I owned one for a bit over a year, never had any issues and used it frequently.

I would assume you are in the majority, I also have a 4401 for nearly a year now with no issues. Like everything else, the ones with issues will let it known moreso than those without.

[Mercutio]

Welcome to the club I‘m afraid - bought a brand new 26715ST with the FP 1185 caliber, and had more or less the same issue after an impressive 7 days of wearing it :-). Watch stopped, and would only briefly operate when chronograph engaged and minute hand manually moved forward, but would stop again after a minute or so.

Apparently, this is part of the AP journey & the watches’ character ;-). Five weeks and waiting for the repair, will provide more peace of mind how neatly these issues can be fixed once I get the watch back :-)

[1William]

Sorry to hear. Service will get it sorted out.

[srvrf]

Originally Posted by Mercutio

Welcome to the club I‘m afraid - bought a brand new 26715ST with the FP 1185 caliber, and had more or less the same issue after an impressive 7 days of wearing it :-). Watch stopped, and would only briefly operate when chronograph engaged and minute hand manually moved forward, but would stop again after a minute or so.

Apparently, this is part of the AP journey & the watches’ character ;-). Five weeks and waiting for the repair, will provide more peace of mind how neatly these issues can be fixed once I get the watch back :-)

That's a little unusual, because the FP 1185 has been a workhorse for AP and other brands over the years. I currently have two ROCs with that movement and over my collecting years other FP 1185s with no particular problems. On the other hand, the in-house 4401 in many Offshores and the 41mm ROCs have what seems like a higher than normal problem rate, typically with the chronograph minute hand "wandering."

But as I mentioned in the previous post, my Offshore was fixed in Clearwater and with their 5 year extended warranty, I feel comfortable knowing that any problems would like show up in the warranty period and if so be fixed.

[htrap2294]

Originally Posted by puckybadger

Seems like you might be experiencing the same issue I have. Or hopefully had, as my 26420SO, purchased February 2022, is currently in Clearwater for warranty service.

In a nutshell, the watch looses time rapidly with the chronograph function off and stops completely if off the wrist almost immediately.

That is EXACTLY what happens with mine. Glad to know it's a common issue and from what I am reading here, it seems like they've worked out a fix for it.

[Mercutio]

Originally Posted by srvrf

That's a little unusual, because the FP 1185 has been a workhorse for AP and other brands over the years. I currently have two ROCs with that movement and over my collecting years other FP 1185s with no particular problems.

That is very encouraging to learn and raises my hopes that the lapse was indeed an unfortunate one-off. Thank you very much for sharing!

Currently, I‘m more a tad disappointed that the issue is taking its sixth week to be fixed; I would have hoped that, as this had happened to a brand new watch within a week, there’d be a bit more punch behind sorting this. Then again, absence makes the heart grow fonder :-) - I really, really love that watch :-)