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Looks straight to me but it really needs much better, straight-on photos to be sure.
Hi all
Just arrived from Fed ex this morning and on opening the package and putting it on my wrist something is not right, it looks/feels as if the dial is not straight in the case and the 3-9 markers do not line up with the crown
The 'shark diver/helson' seems to be running uphill
My girlfriend says its fine but a mixture of dread and disappointment i cant work out if it is right or wrong (i dont want to think its wrong) and she is rushing me out of the door so i cant look anymore at it :(
I know the pics are poor but please somewhere confirm I'm not going insane
Dont know what to do if its wrong, my girlfriend is already livid!
Help
Looks straight to me but it really needs much better, straight-on photos to be sure.
You need to take a much better photo of the watch and you need the centre of the dial in line with the centre of the lens and the watch plane to the lens.
There is too much distortion in your pic to tell anything.
I think the reason it looks a little cocked is because the 12 marker on the bezel is slightly to the left which gives the effect of the dial being not straight. Is the bezel fixed????
it looks like the 12 hours mark is a bit off but the dial looks fine to me.
The bezel is as aligned to the dial as much as possible, measuring between the 12/6 markers to the internal part of the case shows a discrepancy and placing a straight edge across 3/9 it is not central to the crownOriginally Posted by Franky Four Fingers
I agree but setting up a better shot is not possible at the moment (assume i need a dslr and tripod to be perfect) and phone was at hand
The bezel position to dial is actually not as bad as in the pics but its in relation to the case/crown where i see the problem
So say it is not right i take it i have to arrange with helson to ship it back to HK to be looked at? At my expense?
Sorry for the questions but i have never purchased anything from overseas (typical my luck)
Based on the pics it looks a bit off-centered to me. But it's difficult to see.
While it looks fine to me, you should at least run a ruler across the dial to check for alignment/symmetry.
It looks O.K. from the pic but you really need to post a better photo with the marker bang on 12.
I have and its off :(
Thanks all will do pics again when im home, so gutted
Can you take a picture of it? It will help you when dealing with the company.
I am really struggling with this, my girlfriend is convinced its fine and we have now had a row because it looks blatantly 'off' to me
The pic shows the crown and helium valve on the case centred on the middle line on the graph paper
It appears to be about 1 click of the bezel misaligned with the case, when you align the bezel with 15-45 markers to the centre of the crown and helium release valve the dial markers are 1 click off.
Looks off from that pic ^^^
Looks off to me too. So does the writing on your first photos (the patterning on the dial seems level, but the writing goes uphill as you put it when compared).
Having said that, is it worth an argument that could reignite every time you wear it when she's around?
Take a photo looking straight down while sitting on the graph paper. It does look off to me though.I am really struggling with this, my girlfriend is convinced its fine and we have now had a row because it looks blatantly 'off' to me
The pic shows the crown and helium valve on the case centred on the middle line on the graph paper
It appears to be about 1 click of the bezel misaligned with the case, when you align the bezel with 15-45 markers to the centre of the crown and helium release valve the dial markers are 1 click off.
Bit of an inconvenience but Helson will fix/replace it.
Right
Excuse the reflection of my sad/gutted concentrating face but this pic is a straight down view with the case (crown and helium valve) centred on graph lines and the bezel aligned to the dial markers
Looks off to me, the marker at 45 seems a little lower than at 15
Me too. The whole thing feels like it's 'leaning' ever so slightly.
Thanks everyone email sent so we will see what they say, this is just my luck lol
Looks fine on the wrist, but off on the graph paper.
Very bright idea to use graph paper, BTW. :)
Looks fine to me (thus disproving Burnsey's theory that I am OCD).
Either that, or you are MEGA OCD... I am guessing by your use of the lined paper, it's the latter.
I noticed when I replaced the bezel insert on my steel SD that it wasn't a perfect match for the dial markers. If I lined up the markers at 30 and 45, the one at 15 was a little bit off. It might just be my cack-handedness, but now I wonder.
I did find Marc at Helson very helpful and responsive to emails, though.
I guess the thickness of the glass may be causing a little distortion?
There may be errors in the printing/production of the dial; we're not talking about Omega quality here. I had a Seiko diver in pieces last week and that wasn`t exactly 'true' either. I drove myself mad when trying to synchronise the hands; after refitting the minute hand twice I realised the dial was slightly 'off', making the hands slightly out of synch at 9-0-clock but correct at 12.
I don`t think it'll be possible to pick up the errors properly in pictures. Try looking at straight at the watch with one eye to asses whether there really is a fault. That's what I do when fitting chrono hands and deciding whether the sweep hand zeros correctly.
If you send it back, is a replacement likely to be any better?
Paul
With all the consumer protection now a days:
If in doubt, return.
Looks on the piss to me. Sorry.
Yes it is leaning, but might be an optical illusion. Set the time to midnight or 9:15 and it may show up better.
Appreciate all the comments, i know its not Rolex quality but the moment i put it on the 'shark diver' wording looked to be running uphill, when you look straight on with the case square the centre of the crown is a couple of mm's lower than the 15 marker on the bezel and it looks really bad (to me)
When i measured with calipers the 6 oclock marker to each case side there was a fair difference each side and in my eyes that is not really acceptable
I am OCD and an insurance inspector by trade so that may explain a bit
Like i said to my girlfriend i could go down the seafront and pick a watch out of the crane machine with a straight dial so for me it has to be sorted whether £250 or £2500
I compared to my BC3 and that is perfect to the nearest thou
Also used a folded business card as a straight edge between the 3-9 oclock markers, notice the helson and shark diver is square to the card but not the top of the case
Looks out. Regardless now that it's in your mind it will drive you nuts so you need to get it sorted, is it a 60 click bezel ?
Seems off to me as well.
In general I don't mind the bezel being slightly off the markers (well, that bothers me as well tbh), but this seems would definitely bother me as well.
Yes it is, the bezel is slightly off the dial markers (ever so slightly) but i can live with that but when on the wrist the dial looks on the skew and it is very noticeable in fact the most noticeable part is the logo running uphill you have ti look hard to notice the markers
Looks like the dial and bezel are in alignment with each other but they are both a couple of degrees off relative to the case. There doesn't appear to be any manufacturing errors but rather an error in assembly.
Agreed, thankyou im sat here hoping im not being over picky
Just updating this in fairness to Helson
Marc has replied to my email straight away and told me that it is difficult so see without having the watch in front of him and that the bezel is 6mm higher than the dial and so it could be an optical illussion but if i am not happy they will take it back.
I know this is very inconvenient for them under the circumstances and believe me if i could believe it was an optical illusion and live with it i would, i have sent further photos trying to confirm the misalignment (still not perfect)
Has anybody got any more ideas on how i can highlight this 100%? I have debated removing the strap and placing the case against a straight edge perhaps on graph paper?
I dont want them thinking i am an awkward customer
If they're happy to send it back, that's the best option. Can`t see any point in trying to take more photos etc.
The dial may be slightly off-centre; difficult to say without seeing it.
Paul
No matter how many measurements you take or opinions you get thats it's ok or not ok, you will always have a doubt so will always be unhappy with it, just send it back and get another and hope its a one off, which it probably is as it would be a known issue in forum world.....
They have confirmed they will refund and send shipping details, i have asked if i will receive the watch back once rectified? I know it will cost them more to reship but i want a watch at the end of this especially as i still expect import duty costs etc
So what your asking for is an exchange, not a refund... If your refunded you will have to place a new order in the usual way and get a new different watch I would imagine ....
if this is going back as a repair you won't be refunded , if import duties are involved then you need to fill out a special specific form to avoid getting charged twice for importing once done....
Last edited by JasonM; 13th August 2014 at 09:44.
I want what i ordered, bearing in mind this piece is sold out i assumed i would keeo the same watch once rectified, i havent once asked for a refund i just highlighted the problem via email and asked what could be done.
If it could be easily rectified by a watchmaker over here id do it (obviously if costs were refunded) but for a £250 watch its unlikely.
I know that its a nightmare for Helson having to ship 3 times but from my point of view i dont want import costs with no watch
Knew i should have just bought from an AD with my luck this was neber going to go well
It is only very slightly off and I would be inclined to forget about it.
I respect your opinion but it looks worse to me than the photos, would you really accept a faulty item no matter how trivial?
Imagine this was a grand seiko were talking about, i know you wouldnt be happy and price should really not come into this, i can accept the quality/finish not being as good as more expensive pieces but this is a manufacturing error
If they have offered a refund then that's what they assume you want, you need to be clear that your looking for a warranty repair, no dealer or manufacturer I know will refund while they effect a repair. Unless you tell them what you expect then how will they know, your assumptions might be a lot different to theirs.
Just to be clear i have asked for the watch back once rectified or an exchange, bearing in mind the piece is sold out this may be impossible.
I have been told that they can only refund due to not knowing what the problem is and they may not be able to rectify it, i think as a watch manufacturer it is likely it can be sorted out somehow, i get the feeling they dont believe there is a problem (i cant blame them for that)
That makes more sense now, cheers..... Bare in mind that ( I expect ) Helson isn't really a manufacturer in the true sense on the word, I expect they commission the watch to a company that makes them for them, I would be surprised if Helson gets hands on with any of the watches, so your watch would need to be fettled by a watchmaker local to them or sent back to the manufacturer, I'm sure they have a mechanism for warranty repairs though.... Your problem starts if they disagree with you that there's an issue I guess...
This is a worry, i will see how it goes as i have asked what options i have, i certainly cannot expect anymore from them at this point as they communicated brilliantly and bearing in mind the issue is not straight forward i understand their stance on seeing the watch before deciding
I may just cut my losses (not that i have recieved a bill yet) and take it on the chin as a valuable lesson learnt
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