Having issues with my Ingenieur and need advice

I have owned an Ingenieur since 2000 and in the last 10 years, the watch has required 3 complete services and one maintenance service. I wear the watch daily, but not in harsh conditions, never in water, not when I play sports etc.

It seems this watch is requiring complete services at a much faster rate than it should (approx once every 3 years rather than every 5 years).

I am getting the complete service done now again to get the watch back to excellent condition, but I don't plan on spending $900 every 3 years for complete service going forward.

Is that something I have to live with or do I have any recourse other than to try and sell it and buy a new/different IWC?

Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Welcome to the Forum.

Which reference do you have? I agree, 3 services in a decade is not satisfactory. What prompted the services in the first place? The watches of the 1990s are quite different to the Ingenieurs produced today.

Hi Austin??
You have not mentioned what the issues are, nor why the watch is requiring service.

Mark. The Ingenieur is a Chrono Alarm from roughly 1995-2000 (my father bough me the watch in 2000).

The issue is always the same. After 2-3 years, the battery is out of juice and the watch stops running (I assume this means it's a Quartz movement) and when I send the watch in to Richemont in DFW, they counsel a complete service.

I have no noticeable issues with the watch otherwise.

Sorry...I am a relative newbie. What is a reference?

btw...this is not my watch but one that looks exactly like mine. Based on this, I assume my reference is 3805.

The reference number is applied to each model of watch and the variations of the watch.

Check out this post.

Chrono alarm

and this ...

Meca quartz

$900 to change the battery is very steep. Take it to a local watchmaker for a battery change and see how it goes. There could be another issue to cause the rapid battery drain, including the frequency of use of the alarm.

It looks like we're crossing posts but we're also on the same path.

1) I never use the alarm (that's what my iphone is for)
2) IWC claims:

• "Following careful examination of your timepiece by our Master Watchmaker, diagnostics show that the movement of your timepiece has a restriction in the motion of the movement and requires cleaning and re-lubrication in order to ensure good working order. We therefore conclude that a Complete Service is necessary."

• the hands are damaged and require replacement and that a polish is required.

That said, the watch ran fine. Locally here in Austin, I wonder if anyone will replace the battery...

P.S. I called IWC and asked them if the complete service is truly required or if a maintenance service is possible for now...

So the issues you are having are actually the battery life coming to an end, which is normal for 3 years. It may be longer or shorter depending on how frequently the chronograph is used.

If memory serves - there is a battery end of life indicator - where the seconds hand jumps every 3 seconds instead of the normal 1 second jump.

Ralph has the right idea, it is not necessary for a complete service, a simple battery change is all that is required.

Regarding the "restriction of movement" comment from IWC this is possible as the Mecaquartz movement is rather complex.

It is entirely your choice to replace the hands or to have the case polished or not.

Good Luck

Hi,

The ref. 3805/3815 was my first IWC and I enjoyed it for many many years. Love the 'Genta' design and certainly regret selling it....

It is true (and logical) that the battery of this 'meca quartz' runs out after 2-3 years, however, I agree it will certainly NOT need a complete overhaul every (!) time!
I regularly had 'just' the battery replaced, and despite warnings about waterproofness bla bla bla, that worked out fine for me (and at a low cost). Like you, I wear my watches carefully.

So, I'd suggest to 'instruct' the service center/your dealer a bit clearer and trim down on the service.

Enjoy your fantastic watch.

Regards,

B.

Since I already have the watch at IWC, is it reasonable to ask them to simply replace the battery and omit the remaining work? Or will I need to ship it back and have the battery replacement done locally?

Thanks so much for the feedback. Makes me feel good not to have to spend North of $800 yet again.

I just wanted to thank everyone and close the loop by reporting that after your feedback, my pushback to IWC resulted in them doing the right thing by performing the complete service at the same much lower price as the maintenance service that would have been appropriate from a standard maintenance interval point of view. It would not have been possible without your help.

That's great news and thank you for the feedback.
I really glad we could help and clear some confusion for you :-)

That's good news in the end but I don't understand why a complete service is recommended all the time. This sounds a little bit like street robbery to me.

In the good old days that I wore two quartz IWC watches I just entered the shop of the AD and asked for a new battery. I could collect the watch one or two hours later, I paid a reasonable price, and that was just that. I would expect this to function this way today too, or? I would reject any other offer on service if the watch was just fine besides the battery.

Kind regards,
Paul

Paul, that is exactly the way it should work, nothing else!
If you have a serious shop, that's the way they would treat you.

Michael, that's absolutely correct. You're right and I forgot to think about that before I first answered. But that won't cost a fortune either. And a skilled watchmaker will do that in a few minutes.
Thanks for clarifying.

Indeed, sometimes the AD suggested this, it could be done within the same time frame of one or two hours, with a marginal cost increase. I may have agreed to this, I forgot. It is quite something different from a total check and an exchange of hands when the only thing one needs is a new battery. What I encountered felt normal, while what I read in this thread, and the threads about service issues in the Far East a few months ago, feel exaggerated and unnecessary, it indeed feels like being robbed as the client hardly has a position to argue.

Kind regards,
Paul