- Joined
- Jul 15, 2014
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- 27,702
I got a hold of him last night. He replied to me email very quickly. He was very apologetic. The crash affected his eyes a bit and he thought they were ok but apparently not. He offered to have it sent back and repaired or a refund. Since sending it back may result in it being lost to the universe I took him up on his very generous partial refund. Much more than I would have asked. He also stated he would send me a handmade ammo strap as a gift. Overall I'm miffed but he did make it right. I guess that's all one can ask for in the end. Mistakes happen and he stood up for them so in that respect I'm happy. The bezel....I'm going to do some research to see if I want to try and fix it. I have also reached out to some jeweler friends that don't do watches but might be able to help with skills or advice. The pip I can fix on my own and might do a tutorial here if I'm not too sour when I go to do it. Is it a complete bust? No. Am I miffed? Yes. Will I still wear and enjoy it just as much as if it were flawless? Yes. Please offer any tips for the bezel Thanks for listening to the vent everyone
OK the IP finally landed after a 3 month order time. The watchmaker was in a bad car accident a month or so ago so that added some wait time. Having said that I think his injuries contributed to a few issues with the final product. I'll touch on that later.
First impression: I really really like it. I like the different feel of the piece as I don't think I have seen one that has this vibe to it. At 53mm it is a substantial piece but it's not too tall so it is very wearable. No hard edges so it doesn't have any hard rub points. I had to glue the keeper to the strap so haven't worn it more than to take the pics. More on the strap in a bit. So great case shape and comfy fit so far. The bezel rotates. I would have rather had it be fixed but that's ok. The bezel is super smooth but I am afraid it will be easily bumped off center as it moves easily. I'm easy on my watches so it may not be an issue....just splitting hairs. Crown is easy to manipulate and the hands move cleanly. Easy to wind. I like the hands on here a lot. For some the glance test may be more labored but I'm lucky my eyes are good....for now lol. ETA 2824 is silky smooth. Not much else to say there. Great crystal. I asked for a dome like my VDB pieces but got this. Would prefer dome but maybe he couldn't source them...dunno. The dial finish isn't quite asphalt but has some texture to make it interesting. The engraving has a distressed design so it has breaks and weathering in the engraving. The sammich works nicely and the lume under it is spot on. The lume pip is a little uneven looking in the light but sure does glow bright. That is something I can fix/smooth out if I need to later. Ummm...what else. Oh...the strap. I had the strap made by Zepplin-Craft out of Romania. Super CS and a FANTASTIC strap. One of the better ones I've ever had. Super fast shipping. He custom dyed it to make it match the watch a bit better. It is thick and sturdy but quite supple after I worked it just a tad. I would have liked to have seen one keeper sewn and/or glued in but I was able to glue them so just splitting hairs. Over all I will for sure order from him again. For now I have the tried and true skull buckle on there until the custom brass knuckle buckle in SS arrives. Hopefully in the next week or so.
My only real gripe is that he fixed one set of scratches...which are still there but much lighter...and made more on the other side!!!! And not just a small one but several. I would assume he was far behind after getting hurt but I'm kind of pissed a brand new custom watch arrived in that condition. If that was my first piece from him it would be my last but he killed it on the first one....Vlad with the spikes. So I'm guessing he got rushed and wanted to get it out the door. I emailed him about it so I will see what he says. He is in Thailand so shipping it back isn't doable right now. My question to you is: do I just leave it alone and ask for a partial refund or do I try to minimize the scratches????? Any ideas on how to do that without making the finish unbalanced?
Overall grade: A- due to scratches and a bezel that's not tight.
Please share your thoughts good and bad and please offer advice on the bezel scratch situation. Thanks for looking!!!!!!!
564E7163-4EFD-4EA7-B168-8A2876533565 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
9028DB03-2BF4-4E94-A57E-6A0B3E19E72F by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
8377319B-80B4-4485-A246-7B039A305A93 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
63087E84-7A13-42D9-84E8-7D9A5A363C15 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
E1581798-E326-45EC-9108-369C0DD2B1EF by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
823890AE-3869-4B07-A5F3-255F4A2A9EB3 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
835213CF-263C-4AB9-B527-B07330DBCFA3 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
CCA1410D-F8FE-40DF-AD08-E38DDE96DADD by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
B9089C51-9FD8-4A38-8BB1-70EDAF2ABE6D by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
B0A8F36D-104F-47DE-B929-2049958926D2 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
5EFDD134-FF65-4879-B599-1D0F16BF0C29 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
0F83064B-25E7-451F-81D1-5EDA64492EF5 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
0F7F569F-10A5-4755-AD5D-41D72B52A014 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
655EE6E8-34B5-4BDE-9107-3AA47B67FAB6 by Brad Sotak, on Flickr
OK the IP finally landed after a 3 month order time. The watchmaker was in a bad car accident a month or so ago so that added some wait time. Having said that I think his injuries contributed to a few issues with the final product. I'll touch on that later.
First impression: I really really like it. I like the different feel of the piece as I don't think I have seen one that has this vibe to it. At 53mm it is a substantial piece but it's not too tall so it is very wearable. No hard edges so it doesn't have any hard rub points. I had to glue the keeper to the strap so haven't worn it more than to take the pics. More on the strap in a bit. So great case shape and comfy fit so far. The bezel rotates. I would have rather had it be fixed but that's ok. The bezel is super smooth but I am afraid it will be easily bumped off center as it moves easily. I'm easy on my watches so it may not be an issue....just splitting hairs. Crown is easy to manipulate and the hands move cleanly. Easy to wind. I like the hands on here a lot. For some the glance test may be more labored but I'm lucky my eyes are good....for now lol. ETA 2824 is silky smooth. Not much else to say there. Great crystal. I asked for a dome like my VDB pieces but got this. Would prefer dome but maybe he couldn't source them...dunno. The dial finish isn't quite asphalt but has some texture to make it interesting. The engraving has a distressed design so it has breaks and weathering in the engraving. The sammich works nicely and the lume under it is spot on. The lume pip is a little uneven looking in the light but sure does glow bright. That is something I can fix/smooth out if I need to later. Ummm...what else. Oh...the strap. I had the strap made by Zepplin-Craft out of Romania. Super CS and a FANTASTIC strap. One of the better ones I've ever had. Super fast shipping. He custom dyed it to make it match the watch a bit better. It is thick and sturdy but quite supple after I worked it just a tad. I would have liked to have seen one keeper sewn and/or glued in but I was able to glue them so just splitting hairs. Over all I will for sure order from him again. For now I have the tried and true skull buckle on there until the custom brass knuckle buckle in SS arrives. Hopefully in the next week or so.
My only real gripe is that he fixed one set of scratches...which are still there but much lighter...and made more on the other side!!!! And not just a small one but several. I would assume he was far behind after getting hurt but I'm kind of pissed a brand new custom watch arrived in that condition. If that was my first piece from him it would be my last but he killed it on the first one....Vlad with the spikes. So I'm guessing he got rushed and wanted to get it out the door. I emailed him about it so I will see what he says. He is in Thailand so shipping it back isn't doable right now. My question to you is: do I just leave it alone and ask for a partial refund or do I try to minimize the scratches????? Any ideas on how to do that without making the finish unbalanced?
Overall grade: A- due to scratches and a bezel that's not tight.
Please share your thoughts good and bad and please offer advice on the bezel scratch situation. Thanks for looking!!!!!!!