Others take note. Steinhart are the same. Any fix is done with minimum of fuss. 10/10 Longines
I recently ordered a new VHP GMT and after a two month wait the watch finally arrived in February. Ive had a VHP before and know how hard it is to get a good fit with the bracelet due to lack of micro-adjustment so I contacted Longines UK to ask if there was any plan for a micro-adjustment bracelet or failing that could I order an extra half link to give me flexibility. Unsurprisingly their response was negative on the new bracelet but for the half link they wouldn't sell me one to self fit "you may damage the bracelet" and instead offered to fit one in their workshop free of charge with the express carriage in both directions also covered by them. A week after sending the watch they called me to apologize for the delay in returning the watch which was because the link had be shipped from Switzerland and was due in this week. The watch arrived back today - with the new link fitted and it came in a very smart soft service case with hard outer case. I know in the greater scheme of things its not a big deal but its nice to experience such good service for a change.
Keith
Others take note. Steinhart are the same. Any fix is done with minimum of fuss. 10/10 Longines
Longines seem very good at this sort of thing.
I have a 1913 pocket watch and they provided details about it, including who it was first shipped to (Parisian jeweller), all FOC.
Little things like that make me regard the brand far better than some bigger names.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
My wrist is 7.5". I have the 41mm and it doesn't really seem to wear any bigger than my 39mm Conquest Sport. I tried the 43mm too and thought it wore ok.
I sent mine back to have the time corrected as it had been set about 40s fast. Impeccable service from Longines and I had the same with my Conquest under guarantee when it was gaining randomly different amounts of seconds every day.
I've had to put both of mine on straps due to the bracelets not fitting properly. Pity as top class bracelets imo.
Thanks Mark. Interesting regarding the seconds setting, I thought that would happen with the flash setting to local/travel times?
That might explain the difference between the various VHP'S in their window being different. - none of them being the same, and all out by my Aerospace which is spot on? Odd for a watch that's + or - 5 seconds a year.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
My understanding is that it depends how accurately it is originally set as there is no mechanism for setting it yourself unfortunately. Since then it has been spot on and with the perpetual calendar I think it’s an amazing watch for the money.
I would rate it far above a Grand Seiko quartz finish and capability wise. Admittedly not owned one but have handled them in Japan.
Last edited by markbannister; 2nd March 2019 at 00:48.
Thanks again Mark. I'm planning to pop into my AD and have a play with one. I have a few GMT'S but only a Seiko digital that automatically handles the half and quater hour time zones without stopping the seconds. It would be nice to have an analogue watch in the collection that would do the same.
I like the look of the silver/white dialled one particularly.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Customer service as it should be
Gray
Gents, you can set the seconds hand manually (if you have an earlier VHP the user manual wasnt good, I downloaded a version which was better) - the GMT can be set using the app, I did this with mine when it arrived running fast - just set the local time with the app and its now spot on. Re 41mm my wrist is 7.5" and I think its just right, 43mm too big IMO. Regarding the bracelet fit, having the extra half link fitted solved that for me, its now perfect. They are great watches, as for being better than GS, no I dont think so (i've owned quite a few), they are chunkier and dont have the level of finish but the movement functionality now surpasses the 9F (the flash app may appear to be gimmicky but it works well) and are of course much less money. Now I can add excellent customer service to the list of benefits.
Keith
They do have great customer service. I got in touch and managed to get a certificate from the archives for my old 1973 watch. They were very helpful and seemed very on the ball.
Refreshing.
I wish I could say the same for how they have handled my VHP issue - the minute hand is out of synch with the seconds hand and its been back three times so far. The latest "report" from them says "there is no fault" and it is "behaving as expected".
Jura handled the return and I have told them that if it is still exhibiting the same problem when they get it back then they needn't bother returning it to me.
This is a video of the problem: https://youtu.be/HLoJfHe3jsI
Years ago now, but I also had excellent service from Longines. I was unhappy with a minor repair and grumbled, and so they simply sent me a new watch of the same model, while letting me keep the original, which worked fine; and moreover despatched the new one from Switzerland to a temporary address in the US (with a charming covering letter). A relatively cheap quartz dress watch, but still.
Did you get an outcome? I’m interested to know if they resolved it for you?
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I think I can see the issue, the VHP moves the minute hand every 10 seconds. But the first 30 seconds is the play in the minute wheel teeth being taken up and it only moves the hand once the teeth actually engage. If you set the hands clockwise the the tooth will always be engaged. That said you always have a working tolerance otherwise the watch won’t function and that’s what I think could be whatever seeing in the video. In a model that pulses every 10s rather than most quartz which are every second it’s more obvious but is perfectly normal regardless of if the watch pulses every second, 10s, 20s or 30s. It’s a characteristic of any watch.
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Thanks for the thoughts but I don't think you are correct as I tested this by setting the minute hand two "steps" ahead (i.e. two-sixths of the way to the next minute marker) to sort of anticipate the problem. Having done this the minute hand will then move all the way to the next minute marker when the seconds hand reaches 10 seconds, thus getting itself into exactly the same position. I am fairly sure the movement is trying to be extremely clever about synchronising itself and it is basically just broken.
Good to read the thread on this, I have the same model and had it examined in the Longines workshop at Southampton, mine was doing the same and having spoken with the Technical staff and Customer Care Team, I think this is a characteristic of the watch and it isn't broken. Please keep us updated as to how you resolve this etc.
Really! They said that? So when is it at lets say 12 noon? When the second hand reaches the 12 or when the minute hand does/did?
This is a movement that is supposed to be accurate to +/- 5 secs a year and the hands are not in synch. Plus it is supposed to have a re-alignment feature where it recognises that the hands are out of position and corrects them.
I just cannot believe it is behaving correctly.