Disappointment, Dissatisfaction just....diss
Recently I purchased this brand new IWC ingenieur in titanium for $21,700 Aus. It's wears very comfortably. It looks great. It's too expensive for what it is. I know that.
Did the whole boutique experience. Drove almost three hours to Sydney (the streets smell like urine).
The staff were wonderful. I was chuffed with the watch.
A few days later I noticed that it was running slow. I gave it a wind and reset the time.
A few days later, same thing. Noticed it was running slow again.
I'm an amateur watchmaker so, I de-magnetised it and put on my timegraph.
It was running 155 seconds slow per day with an amplitude of 165 and a beat error of 2.6.
I immediately contacted the boutique and explained to them in no uncertain terms that this is unacceptable. I asked them to take the watch back and get it sorted.
I face timed the staff so I could show them the results in real time.
After 2 weeks of trying to organise a courier to pick the watch up, they said that they couldn't get the watch picked up because it was going to cost them over $1000 Aus to get the watch picked up from my location and shipped to them.
They sent me a link to go through IWC directly.
So now I'm waiting for a package from IWC to arrive so I can send my new watch to the IWC service centre.
Disappointed is a very PG description of how I'm feeling right now.
Retired Infantry Soldier. Only collecting since 2021. I've gone far down the rabbit hole in a short time..
Sorry to hear that. I hope they sort it out to your satisfaction
What a crock of shit. That's as bad a customer service as I have heard of.
And putting up with streets that smell like piss.
Hope it gets sorted asap
Sorry mate. That sows me that even if we pay 20k it’s just a watch. I mean, it could have similar problems as a more affordable one. (Or do I just want to convince myself’cause i don’t have that kind of money?)
Absolutely shocking, you have been very patient. To be honest I’d have insisted on a refund from the AD as they sold an item unfit for purpose.
That's shocking performance and shocking customer service. I'm afraid it would be bye bye time for me.
I would have driver the 6 hours round trip and billed them, shocking behaviour
I'd just return the watch if I were you.
If you really only wanted the Genta experience, a Tissot would have been a safer choice.
Sorry to hear that. Pretty bad qc for that price. I wonder if the watch somehow got damaged on its way from the factory to the AD. Like poor handling (couriers roughly throwing boxes around). It's hard to believe iwc would let a watch of that price leave the factory without stringent quality tests first.
I hope everything gets resolved so you can enjoy your watch soon
Wow. Thanks for sharing and so sorry you’re experiencing this!
Yep I'd get a refund for a fault so soon. You shouldn't have to wait months for a repair after spending so much money
Sorry to hear about this.
I agree with those who are saying you should just return the watch for a full refund. Do whatever you have to do to get back to Sydney ASAP.
For me the 2023 Ingeniuer was one of the best and worst watch releases of all time. Tried on a couple of the variants myself, love it. But a year on from the release at W&W 2023, I'm still trying to get over the price! Not sure how much kool aide was being drunk at the time those decisions were being made in the IWC Boardroom?
I know a handful of staff at IWC Sydney. I'm sure they were lovely and helpful knowing that you were about to hand them $21k ! But when it comes to after sales service, yeah, they do need to improve (Richemont Group in general do in fact).
Yeah, for that amount of money and to avoid more headaches, I’d probably find an excuse to drive back to Sydney and get a refund. Maybe see a play or exhibit and stay overnight. Or find an AD there you can trust. I was in Sydney last year and didn’t notice foul odors, but of course it’s a big place.
Wow, just wow.
I live in the USA, so I’m not sure how, but goodness how can it cost the boutique $1,000 AUS just to get it back to the boutique. I can ship it it Switzerland for significantly less.
Regardless, sorry about your experience and let’s see if IWC as a whole can make it right.
Sorry to hear about this. This is shocking behaviour from AD, not to mentionn the watch performance. I can't imagine shiping cost for 3h driving distance is 1000AUSD. Is armoured truck picking it up? Oversea shiping with insurance doesn't cost that much. I would go for full refund, no going back from this kind of treatment. Hope all will work out in your benefit, whatever you wish for.
Have to agree that IWC is too expensive for what they are, especially given the accuracy concerrns I have about the brand. It is the main reason I don't have one yet though the Mark II Pilot's watch is tempting.
PS: Sounds similar to that Seiko US Only Ice Diver Turtle I got, albeit much less expensive. I didn't bother with the shop as I bought it on a quick weekend trip out of town. Seiko did respond fast, like they gave it priority servicing as it was back within 10 days.
Sorry mate. That sows me that even if we pay 20k it’s just a watch. I mean, it could have similar problems as a more affordable one. (Or do I just want to convince myself’cause i don’t have that kind of money?)
I might be guilty of a bit of confirmation bias here, but out of the 30+ mechanical watches I’ve bought and sold in the last 4 years, ranging from $50 to $2,100, the only one that’s had to be shipped back to the manufacturer for service was the most expensive.
That shifted my mindset a bit. It was under warranty, to be fair, but still. I’ve had numerous “workhorse movement” powered watches worth less than a basic service on a luxury watch, that have happily ticked away with no issue.
I have an IWC Mark XX that had the same problem with the movement running about 35 s a days slow. Same movement as your ingeneiur. However, had a great experience with IWC service center. They took care of shipping and were quick and now it runs within 3 s a day. Hope the same for you! Great watch.
Really sorry to hear of your issues, it puts you off pretty quickly.
Sadly IWC is a brand I would never buy again due to a similar experience; the thing literally fell apart they day after I got it.
I hope you get yours fixed and back swiftly.
Like a smoking hot blonde, it's high maintenance but godd*amn is it nice to look at👌
Hopefully you can get things sorted out the way they should be.
How does an ingenieur get magnetised in the first place? 155sec slow a day is shocking.
I actually would love to try this on because i think it looks sexy af. Can you tell me if the bead blasting finish is smooth to the touch or grainy feeling?
You payed with a credit card tell your credit card company fill out a claim believe me they sort it out quick
I get your frustration. That sucks donkey balls. For that price a staff member should drive to your house. Hope everything happens quick for you bro.
What a dumpster fire. Get your money back . Don’t take this bullshit
Ouch that is not a pleasant experience. Part of the reason to get a luxury watch is stellar after sales support.
Let's hope IWC makes it REALLY right
Wow….TERRIBLE customer service.
Duly Noted
Thank you for the “heads up”
Blows my mind how people operate a business.
True shame, will be hard for them to make it right after all of this palava that already happened prior to even having it looked at!
Sorry to hear this. For that kind of money they should have been falling over themselves to help. A watch on that level should not have issues like that. No wonder smaller independent outfits are filling up the integrity vacuum created by larger brands.
Depending on your consumer law/purchase protection I’d look to reject it and get a refund. Sod that…