Had a bad experience with Tissot
Got my Tissot Seastar 1000 quartz back from the repair shop. It had stopped working, thought it was just a battery change, so I took it in.
Turns out, it had "water in it". They kept it for 9 days for it to dry out and investigate, get a call to pick it up, the movement is rusted and will cost 350 usd to replace. I decided not to fix it, can get another diver for the price.
Picked it up today, they tell me it was a manufacturing flaw, the seal was bad from the factory, water was probably soaking in for a long time. Thats a 1000ft capable watch, right? The most water time it got from me was the pool, never in the ocean.
I would think Tissot would have better QC, but I guess not. Pretty bummed out coz this was my first "real" watch my wife gifted to me when I first got into the hobby. Really loved the watch.
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
Man, that is too sad! Have the shop write that down and send it to Tissot with your story and asking if they would fix it.
Maybe have a look at the longines hydroconquset
Regardless of Water Resistance I do not trust chronographs inside water.
You can get a movement for 140.00 on eBay. Need to pop the back and get the number then Google is your friend
Open it up and get the movement number. Order it and swap it out. Hands off, dial off and remember to order a new seal. Good project! It will not be expensive, certainly not $350. I bet you will get the movement for less that $50
While still not infallible, this is one of the reasons why I like certified divers because they are required to be individually tested for wr. Unfortunately, stuff like this can happen to anyone regardless of precautions, and occasionally the unlucky winner is you. If you can manage it psychologically, I would suggest getting it sorted and continuing to enjoy it the way you have been, water included. That's what I'd try to do anyway, but I get that anecdotes hit especially hard when they're our own.
Editing to add: I have a bit of a angle on mechanical things like watches and cars that are subject to expectations of performance and enjoyment. I try to avoid genuinely poorly built products, but even the highest regarded products have lemons, in part if not in entirety. Once I'm looking at a company I believe will put a decent, if imperfect, effort into providing me a long lasting product, I shift my eyes over to the enjoyment. I'd much rather have a watch or car I enjoy a lot than choose one I enjoy less because I think that, on average, I might be slightly less likely to have an issue. I feel that way because I may very well not have had an issue, in which case I am getting less enjoyment in exchange for nothing, or I may very well have an issue with the "more reliable" one, which will make the trade off feel entirely wasted. Things break sometimes, even good ones, so I try to pick products with a reasonable reputation for longevity, while acknowledging that stuff breaks, people mess up, and manufacturing makes errors.
How new is it? Was it older than the reach of warranty. If it’s past warranty Expiration there isn’t any responsibility on Tissot. I work with many workshops and watchmakers, I personally wouldn’t trust someone telling me it was a manufacturer defect unless it was sent to a certified brand service center.
How old is the watch? It's recommended to have any watch that will be around water to be pressure tested once a year as seals do fail. Not that I would expect them to fail after a year or two, but it happens.
How new is it? Was it older than the reach of warranty. If it’s past warranty Expiration there isn’t any responsibility on Tissot. I work with many workshops and watchmakers, I personally wouldn’t trust someone telling me it was a manufacturer defect unless it was sent to a certified brand service center.
100%
Tissot is the worst and the last I’ve ever bought anything from them.
Five PRXs, seven faults, one watch went to them three times. After that I demanded a refund, got it and that was it. Forever.
Tissot can eff right off.
What is the movement? I own a Tissot Crono with ETA G10 for like, 10 years, never had any sort of problem and works like a horse. I have used in a pool recently. The seals must be checked every 2 years before water use (yes, I completelly missed the service time).
Man, that sucks. Sorry, brother. Especially being a precious gift from your wife.
I agree with the others, this is a great opportunity to put in some sweat equity and swap movements to save the watch - and for much less than repair or replacement costs.
You can get ETA G10 movement from online and just give it to watch shop to get it swapped and put in a new seal. The G10 movements cost between $40-70 depending on the variant. All the Tissot chronographs use the same G10 series movement.
The 30 minute counter variant is ETA G10.212
Exactly why I don't wear watches in the pool or ocean.
I have the same watch in green. I love the look but the bottom pusher I can't turn the seal. It's not that expensive a watch to have it repaired so I just enjoy it.
Tissot is the worst and the last I’ve ever bought anything from them.
Five PRXs, seven faults, one watch went to them three times. After that I demanded a refund, got it and that was it. Forever.
Tissot can eff right off.
That sucks!!!! My two PRX’s are going strong so far.Thats way too many faults.
Hey, everyone, really appreciate all the support and suggestions. I'm going to try and summarize here. Bear with me!
Most importantly, my wife understood and didn't kill me (just yet, I'm sure she'll find a reason to, eventually!)
I have had it for about 18 months'ish. Thats my best guess, coz I didn' buy it, it was a gift from my wife because she saw me insessantly looking at dive watches all day.
Honestly, I have been happily going down the watch enthusiast rabbit hole ever since and kinda lost track. I bought a lot of watches since then (all under 500 usd, thats my budget right now), and have received a beautiful seiko gmt ssk001 from my wife just last month. Honestly, I shouldn't complain, I love the watch and I wont stop getting more, honestly.
But, that means I get to buy another dive watch!!!
I am so down the rabbit hole and loving it!!
Thanks for the support and suggestions! I will keep the actual watch forever for the memories but get a new diver! (Or two, maybe more.....)
I dislike the “but it costs money” approach to repairing watches. Maintenance comes with the territory. The watch is important to you and it can be fixed. Imo, you should suck it up, get the thing fixed, and keep wearing it. Not really a good reason too let an important watch die just to buy another.
Sorry to hear that. Mass produced watch, it can happen. If Tissot knew that and didn't do anything about it that is at least poor business practice
Unless someone is a professional diver (in which case they’d probably have some sort of digital dive computer) I don’t see why I’d ever wear a watch in water and never have. It’s not like I’m likely to desperately need to know the time when in a pool. I have a Hydroconquest an Aquis and a Mido Ocean star. I didn’t buy a dive watch to go diving (I don’t dive) or just splashing about the pool on holiday I got them because I liked the style and look of them. Despite them having supposedly 200/300m water resistance why take the risk and wear them in water when it only takes a second to take it off.
That sucks!!!! My two PRX’s are going strong so far.Thats way too many faults.
These were two different watches… and three faults in total.
Maybe you can spot them. Such a fun game.
☝🏻 the last one‘s the hardest, admittedly
The first two pics are from the watch I had to send in three times. After getting it back fairly quickly (I even made a post about this, praising Tissot) it showed the same mistake again. After getting it back a second time, the rotor stopped working, i. e. the „service center“ didn’t lubricate it again. To add insult to injury, they officially stated on the document that the watch is „technically fine“ and „running to the specifications“. This would’ve been the fourth time I sent that ONE watch in but I requested my money back (which took another six weeks for Tissot to greenlight).
The last went to Tissot two times because I got it back with the same fault, just in a different location.
Maybe have a look at the longines hydroconquset
I can recommend, such a beauty 🔥
These were two different watches… and three faults in total.
Maybe you can spot them. Such a fun game.
☝🏻 the last one‘s the hardest, admittedly
The first two pics are from the watch I had to send in three times. After getting it back fairly quickly (I even made a post about this, praising Tissot) it showed the same mistake again. After getting it back a second time, the rotor stopped working, i. e. the „service center“ didn’t lubricate it again. To add insult to injury, they officially stated on the document that the watch is „technically fine“ and „running to the specifications“. This would’ve been the fourth time I sent that ONE watch in but I requested my money back (which took another six weeks for Tissot to greenlight).
The last went to Tissot two times because I got it back with the same fault, just in a different location.
My aging eyes were unable to see damage on picture 1&3.Two was very obvious.Guess tissot wants to beat seiko on WC issues.Had to send new KS twice to seiko.understand your pain.
My aging eyes were unable to see damage on picture 1&3.Two was very obvious.Guess tissot wants to beat seiko on WC issues.Had to send new KS twice to seiko.understand your pain.
Pic 1 has misaligned hands. Minute hand is dead on 12 and the hour hand should be dead on 6.
Picture 3 is a bit harder to see, I admit, but if you look slightly to the bottom left of the T of TISSOT on the dial, there will be a short white line on the dial. That's a bright silver scratch on a dark green dial. Once seen it can never be unseen. I got that scratch fixed and got it back with another scratch on the dial. Just in a different spot.
Pic 1 has misaligned hands. Minute hand is dead on 12 and the hour hand should be dead on 6.
Picture 3 is a bit harder to see, I admit, but if you look slightly to the bottom left of the T of TISSOT on the dial, there will be a short white line on the dial. That's a bright silver scratch on a dark green dial. Once seen it can never be unseen. I got that scratch fixed and got it back with another scratch on the dial. Just in a different spot.
Of course now I see them thank you.you are right on both defects.Did watch store try assisting?
Of course now I see them thank you.you are right on both defects.Did watch store try assisting?
They sent it in to Tissot, yes.
In the last case they actually forced Tissot to refund me (and them) the money because the justification from Tissot for NOT repairing it was bogus and a downright lie.
This company (and basically every Powermatic 80) is dead to me.
Was the watch in warranty? Where did you take the watch to?
They sent it in to Tissot, yes.
In the last case they actually forced Tissot to refund me (and them) the money because the justification from Tissot for NOT repairing it was bogus and a downright lie.
This company (and basically every Powermatic 80) is dead to me.
Totally understand your feelings towards them,after such horrible customer service.They should have provided a new watch for you.
Totally understand your feelings towards them,after such horrible customer service.They should have provided a new watch for you.
After all this dumbfuckery, a "new" watch that breaks after three months just would've been the icing on the cake.
I'd rather have my money back.
“Dumbfuckery” sure describes it right!! You’ll just have to move to a new brand