The Panerai Source Forums

An Australian watchmaker has started a petition to address Richemont Australia's refusal to supply spare parts to 'non-authorised' watch repairers, and then charge excessive amounts for work that is not required. If you're interested, or experiencing similar issues where you are, you can read more here: http://www.clockmaker.com.au/watch_petition.html
Marty

Nice idea but it'll never happen. All makers pretty much do the same like car manufacturers and their warranties to a large extent.

A gun to the head? yes but the best way is to vote with your feet and not buy a Richemont product in the first place. Rolex (in the UK) are no different ime

Yeah.. it is a nice idea but I don't see any motivation on the part of Richemont to do this - even with a petitions. As more and more movements become in-house you will have to take your watch to an authroized repairer.

A continuing argument from Richemont's side will be that non-authorized watch repair places may not do the job properly - which may be true in some cases. Like baz said - vote with your wallet.

Alternately you can help keep the pre-owned market vibrant by continuing to purchase non-in house movement pieces. Even more of a hedge against this is getting base models. For example, I don't anticipate my 112 ever needing to see the inside of a Panerai service center except in the most severe of circumstances, if I want an overhaul or in case parts need replacing. For routine maintenance most competent watch folks should be able to handle the job.

True, most Panerai owners won't mind the upcharge. Panerai from what I've heard has hit-and-miss customer service issues, but I won't address that because I have no first-hand experience with them in this regard. For everyone else that don't place their watches on an altar every night this may not be as critical.

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PAM 210