WATCH POP

Ah yes.... another horror story from a gray market buyer. My grisly little tale happened about 8 months after buying a new Speedmaster Broad Arrow from a gray market dealer. At the time of purchase I was assured that the dealer would honor the Omega warranty for a year. I got a great price and a beautiful new Speedy. Alas.. after a fun little road trip I discovered that my Speedy had acquired a bad case of water vapor condensation.
Crap!!!! It must have been thermal shock or altitude change or the combination of the two. Anyway, the dealer assured me he would take care of it. He took it to his "swiss" watch-maker-extraordinaire pal who would return it to tip-top shape. Unfortunately they forgot to fix the water damage to the dial, the hands and god only knows what else (turns out there were a few other items that they neglected to fix). So... after I went to pick up my watch and arguing with the dealer (who acused me of deep-sea diving with the crown open while banging the case against something immovable) I knew I had a problem. The argument quickly turned to the irrational and at that point I suggested that we might better resolve this difference of opinion in small claims court. Several nail-biting days later he seemed to have a change of heart and agreed to send it to an authorized service center "to keep the customer happy". So... here are several lessons learned for what its worth.

1. Stuff happens.... (surprise!, surprise!) even to an Omega. If you buy from a gray market dealer be prepared to pay for repairs yourself.

2. Don't be shy about demanding that a dealer honor their warranty and commitments to you. Demand that they fix it correctly and show that you intend to seek all avenues of legal remedy should you require it.

3. Mentioning that you will talk with Omega doesn't hurt. Often times these dealers get their stock from authorized dealers who don't want to get caught violating their contracts. All it would take to irritate Omega would be one irate customer who is determined to be "made whole". No one needs that frustration. This, of course, assumes that the serial numbers are left intact so that Omega can trace the point of original sale.

4. Let the buyer beware! Sometimes its worth the piece of mind just to cough up the extra dough to get the assurance of quality customer service. I've always considered the money I saved by buying gray market as somewhat equivalent to the insurance or warranty that I DIDN'T buy. Meaning, that if the watch failed, I knew I was probably going to pay for the repairs myself, regardless of what the dealer told me before the sale. Of course, I'd try to get the dealer to pay, but I knew there was always the chance that I'd end up paying.

Luckily, I haven't had that happen and the money I saved stayed in my pocket (or went to buy straps, tools, vintage watches, etc).

Russ