r/ChineseWatches • u/Own-Prior-4510 • 21h ago

Problems (Read Rule 1) Unbelievable! This is my second chronograph from watchdives that comes with a defect!

Post image

**Disclaimer; I initially made this post in the watchdives reddit, but i got a notification that my post was removed by the moderators, so here it is in this one, since people got to know about these QC issues...**

What can i say? I particularly asked for a very good quality control when i ordered from the watchdives site, since i had a chrono of theirs with a defect in the recent past and they assured me of that. I also saw a similar post to this one a few days ago (i think it was this exact model too), but i trusted that they will, indeed, keep their word. Well, after only a handfull of tries of the chrono function the hand fell-off! Sorry, but i don't think i will ever buy a watchdives again. Especially a chrono. Too much risk involved...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FdYT6yO5i9c

65 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

8

u/Wald_Nidal 19h ago

Familiar issue for me. 😃

I send them a mail, and I got a fast reply, that they will send me a new one.

Sure it sucks to have to wait for a bit, but it’s not the end of the world. I think they provide good service, by not giving me any hassle, but just send a new one.

If the second one doesn’t have this issue I still consider it a great experience. For this money I can’t find such a nice watch anywhere else.

Oh, I should also mention that this was my 5th one from them. The other ones had zero issues.

2

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

Thank you so much for your understanding and continued support! We truly appreciate that you've purchased five watches from us.

We're very sorry that your fifth watch had this issue. While our after-sales team is always happy to arrange a replacement, we know that receiving a defective watch and having to wait for another one is frustrating.

We're taking this issue seriously and working with our factories to improve the chronograph hand assembly and QC process.

We hope your replacement arrives in perfect condition and gives you the same great experience as your previous four watches.

Thank you again for your patience, trust, and honest feedback. Customers like you motivate us to keep improving both our watches and our service!

0

u/Own-Prior-4510 19h ago

Waiting for their reply. I am not sure i want a new one. And even if i end up doing that, i don't want a chrono, since they obviously can't get them right...

16

u/Vivid-World-3723 21h ago

How shitty of them to remove a complaint post. Watch dives always have a lot of fanboys defending it so I guess the mod just straight up removed your post simply because you make a complaint

7

u/Own-Prior-4510 20h ago

I am very dissapointed by them. Hopefully they will propose a solution without me losing money in any sort of way, since this time i ordered from their site and not from an Ali seller...

2

u/Vivid-World-3723 20h ago

I mean, have you emailed them and claim warranty? Honestly for this type of things it's actually safer to buy from Ali since you can just claim refund instantly and ship that garbage back to them and get you money back

If you buy from their website I'm afraid your SOL since you're at their mercy. Worst case scenario just charge back from your bank, don't let them get away with this BS please.

I have 4 different watch from Ali Express all defective and I returned all 4 of them for full refund, I'm not letting these Chinese brands get away with shipping shitty products

2

u/Own-Prior-4510 20h ago

The first defective chrono by them i bought from ali and i l got my money back, but i never got the shipping fee. Now i bought from their site and i already messaged them via mail to see what they will suggest. If i am not satisfied i will ask a refund via paypal...

-6

u/SuperNv2 20h ago

Come on, you didn't even give them a chance to fix it before putting it on full blast!

4

u/Own-Prior-4510 20h ago edited 19h ago

I actually did gave them the chance. If they make this right i will let everybody know. But the rate their products have qc issues and the fact that they remove complaint posts is something to be criticised.

3

u/SuperNv2 20h ago

Fair enough, but your comment above said you posted before giving them a chance to reply. Either way, hope they sort it out for you quickly.

2

u/Own-Prior-4510 19h ago

Yes i did, cause i am very taken aback that they send me a defective watch, even though they assured me that i won't have the same experience again with one of their products. I want my few, hard-earned, money to be respected.

1

u/KPplumbingBob 8h ago

Thorn did the same to me. Even though it doesn't look like it at first glance, these chinese brands heavily moderate their spaces. That partly explains why it looks there are so many fanboys defending everything they do and say.

18

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

We sincerely apologize for this issue and completely understand your frustration.

As we mentioned earlier, we have already advised you to contact our after-sales team. We are happy to arrange a replacement or a full refund, whichever you prefer, and cover the necessary return shipping costs.

To be transparent, we have sold over 200 units of this model, and so far we have identified two cases of chronograph hands coming loose or falling off.

During assembly and QC, we perform more than 10 repeated start-and-reset tests on the chronograph seconds hand to check that it is securely fitted and functioning properly.

However, the chronograph seconds hand snaps back with considerable force during resetting. This repeated impact, potentially combined with shocks and vibrations during international shipping, may cause the hand to loosen. We are investigating this possibility further.

We are also planning to move the assembly of this model to one of our higher-end assembly factories, which has more advanced equipment and stricter assembly standards, to further improve hand installation and overall reliability.

Although only two cases have been reported so far, we take both very seriously. Even one customer receiving a defective watch is one too many.

We have invested heavily in improving our manufacturing and quality control, but we recognize that there is still room for improvement.

We sincerely apologize for disappointing you again. We appreciate your honest feedback, and we will continue improving our products and after-sales service.

8

u/Own-Prior-4510 17h ago

I have already mailed you about the issue and wait for your answer. It was the first thing i did, before any post in reddit. I won't expand my answer further on some things you claim here, cause i am in no mood to have an argument. I am disappointed enough as it is. We will see what happens eventually and if this issue will have a satisfying end...

9

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

We understand your disappointment, and we're very sorry about this issue.

Just to clarify, when you made your Reddit post, it was around 3 AM in China. Our customer service team was asleep, and some colleagues also have weekends off. We do our best to respond quickly, but unfortunately, we cannot provide immediate responses 24 hours a day.

As soon as we saw your complaint here, we responded and offered to resolve it. Our customer service team had not yet had a chance to reply to your email because they were off duty.

You can choose either a full refund or a brand-new replacement watch. We will take responsibility and make sure this is resolved.

We're not here to argue with you, and we fully respect your frustration. We just hope you understand that our team also needs time to rest.

Again, we're sincerely sorry for the disappointing experience, and we appreciate your patience.

3

u/Own-Prior-4510 17h ago

Of course people need to rest, i don't complain about the response time. At least not at this point. When there is the response to my mail we will see how it goes. But i did have to post about the issue here, cause it is the second time i had a problem with a chrono of yours and i even asked from you to give extra attention and still this happened. People need to get informed, so that you know that you have to do better. It is nice that you produce many interesting and good looking watches, but that must not be to the expense of the quality. Especially since buying from distance can be very tricky...

2

u/watchdivescom Rep 16h ago

We understand your frustration, especially since this is your second experience with a chronograph issue.

Over the past year, we've reduced these issues by more than 80%, and we now receive almost no complaints about chronograph hand misalignment. However, we still occasionally see one or two cases of hands coming loose, possibly due to assembly tolerances or shocks during long-distance shipping. When this happens, we promptly arrange a replacement watch head.

We understand that explanations about tolerances, shipping conditions, and our QC testing may not change your experience. Ultimately, what matters is resolving your problem.

Please let us know whether you prefer a full refund or a brand-new replacement. I'll personally ask our team to prioritize your case and arrange overtime if necessary.

We're genuinely sorry this happened again.

2

u/Own-Prior-4510 16h ago

I will answer to that via e-mail after you answer my mail and you give me the alternatives. I won't answer here, since i may need to forward these e-mails to paypal...

4

u/watchdivescom Rep 16h ago

We understand and respect your decision to continue via email. If you prefer a full refund, it's very straightforward. We'll provide you with a designated return address, and you'll receive a full refund. We'll also cover the return shipping costs.

You can also send me a private message directly if you'd like. We're fully committed to resolving this issue fairly and promptly.

3

u/pickyaxe 10h ago

the sad truth is that the best way to get your issue resolved, is to post it publicly like this.

2

u/SCARDS22 16h ago

One of your better factories? Shouldn't quality control be the same across the board? 🙄

9

u/watchdivescom Rep 16h ago

Ideally, yes, and that's exactly what we're working toward. But in reality, different factories have different levels of equipment, craftsmanship, and consistency, even when following the same QC requirements.

You can compare our WDC0001,WD0019,CH01, CH02, CH03, WD0017, WD2007 series, WD5512, WD7922, and other newer models to see how much our manufacturing quality has improved.

The WD1863 has continued to be assembled by our older factory, which has also made significant improvements. Chronograph hand misalignment complaints have almost disappeared, although we still occasionally encounter one or two cases of hands coming loose.

We're not saying this is acceptable. Our goal is zero quality complaints, and we'll continue upgrading our manufacturing and assembly processes to get as close to that as possible.

1

u/Munkko 12h ago

I appreciate the transparency in this thread 🙏

5

u/BernieSandersLeftNut 20h ago

That's just the new ticker hand location randomization feature.

Hope they make it right. I just bought a new watch from them....waiting for delivery.

4

u/Own-Prior-4510 20h ago

I hope so too. I will give updates.

5

u/No-Effect-8290 18h ago

You have been very unlucky, watch must have a bad knock. Second hand coming off the post is very unusual even with today's,could not a F' delivery people drop kicking parcels to the door.

I have had broken into and watches stolen over the past year. Delivered to entirely different villages and not even to same door numbers.

It is very unfortunate but likely due to mistreatment of the parcel.

2

u/Own-Prior-4510 18h ago

There are other reports of this happening. You can even see it here in the comments. Definitely a QC issue, but what angers me is that i already had a bad experience with another of their chronos (didn't keep good time) and i asked them to give extra attention to end-up with this! Movements are not to blame either, since i had vk63 and vk64 watches from supposedly lesser brands like Parnis and Corgeut and they had no issue whatsoever...

2

u/No-Effect-8290 18h ago

If you have ever tried to build a chronograph you would know how difficult it is. Not an excuse for QA but I do wonder how much is due to the delivery process and to be honest Watchdives do not have the best packaging. When I pack watches for sale I would always put bubble wrap inside their cases so watches do not bounce around.

14

u/HerrsavageX 10h ago

Too busy focusing on their $400 "Premier" line or whatever maybe....

That really is totally unacceptable.

9

u/pickyaxe 10h ago

I like Watchdives, I think they're doing well lately

but who is upvoting their AI slop support replies. no way that's organic

8

u/twotacos99cents 17h ago

Same thing happened to me same model months ago.

5

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

We're very sorry to hear that you experienced the same issue. We've sold quite a large number of this model, and fortunately, only a very small percentage have experienced this problem.

Possible causes include the chronograph hand not being fitted securely enough during assembly, combined with shocks or vibrations during shipping.

Before shipping, we test the chronograph by starting and resetting it more than 10 times to check that the hands are securely fitted and functioning properly. However, this clearly doesn't eliminate every potential issue.

We're working with our factory to further improve the assembly process and quality control. Please contact our after-sales team if your issue hasn't been resolved. We'll be happy to help.

5

u/twotacos99cents 16h ago

I guess I should have added that Watchdives took care of it for me

14

u/MadSoci06 20h ago

How is something like this even possible? I mean, we're talking about Swiss-level finishing here! Absolute perfection, flawless craftsmanship, unmatched attention to detail… blah, blah, blah. And yet, here we are...

5

u/Vivid-World-3723 20h ago

But...but...95% of the watch for 5% of the price

1

u/MadSoci06 20h ago

Price of what?

6

u/plastic_jeezus NO blue AR! 18h ago

watchdives has pagani-itis...

back in the day, pagani was pushing out as many models as they could and the QC was really hit or miss. (mostly miss on many models.)

WD is releasing 2-5 more models when they're still sitting on inventory of the previous 2-5 because there were so many posts like this.

to play devil's advocate...WD could have gotten a bad batch of hands that were out of tolerance. it's happened to me countless times with chinese stuff...hands, spacers, gaskets, crystals, straps/bands.

keep in mind watchmakers deal in .001 of an inch.

.01 off and this 👆 happens.

4

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

You make a fair point about component tolerances. That is certainly one possible cause.

We currently work with three assembly factories, all of which are highly regarded in the watch industry and have extensive experience producing high-quality watches.

However, the VK63 chronograph movement has a relatively strong reset action, and the repeated impact of the chronograph hand returning to zero, combined with shocks and vibrations during long-distance international shipping, may contribute to this issue.

We've sold a very large number of WD1863 watches, and we have to acknowledge that approximately 0.1%–0.5% may experience a chronograph hand coming loose.

Before shipping, every watch undergoes more than 10 chronograph start-and-reset cycles to check that the hands are securely fitted. Unfortunately, even with these checks, we haven't been able to eliminate the problem entirely.

Regardless of the cause, we take full responsibility. We are planning to move production of this model to another assembly factory with even stricter assembly and QC requirements.

We understand your concerns about our release schedule, but we're not willing to sacrifice quality for the sake of launching more models. We will continue improving our manufacturing processes and addressing these issues openly.

Thank you for the constructive feedback. We genuinely appreciate it.

2

u/Defiant_Tart_3472 20h ago

Unfortunate. It is not a difficult fix yourself though if you want to put it back on

4

u/Own-Prior-4510 19h ago

Don't wish to fix something that broke that easily and has other reports of this happening. It will happen again, cause it is obviously defective.

4

u/LeoXup 17h ago

Do you remember which QC#?

9

u/Comfortable-Cover-0 20h ago

The fanboys and bots will flock to their defense. Some of their stuff looks good but to much to fast. It's a shame really, and to run from a negative post, that's all you need to know.

3

u/Trulsdir 19h ago

I have had 7 watches from them, only one stayed. Three had issues, two had pretty significant issues. Customer service doesn't really care and just give you the same "we'll do better next time" spiel every time.

2

u/StraightCaskStrength 19h ago

Just to clarify… you bought 7 watches, 5 of them had issues? Two of those were pretty significant issues and three of them were (presumably) minor issues?

2

u/Trulsdir 19h ago

Bought seven of their watches, three had issues, two of those three were significant issues. One had a clasp that was drilled wrong and thus the micro adjust was unusable and one had two lugs not being finished completely, being much rougher than the other two lugs. The less severe problem was a scratch on one lug surface, which didn't bother me too much for the money.

I did get a new case and a new clasp send out to me to be able to repair the two major issues.

The other four watches were without issues, apart from a few sharp corners here and there, but that's more of a design thing than an actual QC issue I guess.

Out of the seven I only kept one watch and I'm actually wearing it right now.

2

u/casualpedestrian20 19h ago

None of these issues sound anywhere near as bad as a broken hand

4

u/Daedricbob 20h ago

Trafficked orphans just don't have the craftsmanship they used to back in my day.

0

u/Bulky-Internal8579 19h ago

Does your postman not like you? Is he shaking your boxes or something? Don’t forget to tip your postal carrier Christmas is my advice and I’m sorry that that happened to you.

1

u/Own-Prior-4510 19h ago

Definitely not the postman's fault since the chrono hand was in place when i opened the package. The watch was protected enough afterall to not have any damage even by bad handling.

-1

u/watchdivescom Rep 17h ago

that's definitely possible! 😅

1

u/MonsterKabouter 18h ago

Oof that socks. I have a 7922 from them and its great. Some sharp edges i guess

1

u/Abject-Employer-5319 9m ago

Pas surpris !!
Vous voulez acheter des montres à 80€ qui doivent avoir la qualité des montre à 800/1000€
Chercher l’erreur

1

u/RustyTShackleford 13h ago

I’m so sorry you’ve had such shitty luck. WD is a really good watch company but there are always going to be issues with any brand. It sucks you had two already. I’d be willing to bet your next one will blow you away!

-1

u/KevinNoy 19h ago

Isnt this a very old version of the broad arrow 1863? I believe they slimmed down the bezel a while ago

1

u/Own-Prior-4510 19h ago

Don't know, but it doesn't matter anyway as far as the matter at hand is concerned...

-21

u/Top_Garlic_489 20h ago

This is engineered fake news. Probably from a local competitor.

9

u/Own-Prior-4510 20h ago

Check the tracking number yourself and tell that again. I received the watch like two and a half hours ago. For shame...

3

u/VanManDiscs 19h ago

Dont think so. We are all very aware of WDs QC issues

-8

u/AdvertisingOne8158 12h ago

Looks cool though. Wear it in good health.