Serviced VS3135 feels terrible when winding and has no power reserve.

[Snil]

Hey guys,

Not looking to point fingers, rather seek advice with this. First a little back story..
I purchased my VSF Sub 116610LN back in November 2020 and it has been used almost daily and never let me down. It's had excellent timekeeping, super smooth winding and quiet rotor.
Back in August I wanted to upgrade it so I purchased a gen crystal and sent it off to one of the recommended watch smiths here, unfortunately he cracked the bezel and then decided he didn't want to work on it anymore so he just pushed the crystal and movement in and taped it together 'for the next watch smith'.

I couldn't wind or set the date/time when I got the watch back but I figured it was just because he didn't assemble it fully.
I couldn't find another VSF or CF bezel either so had to go gen there too.. Anyway, I found another watch smith on here that has gotten a lot of praise and he did help me put the bezel and crystal on without any issues and it looks great but with the movement he was unable to tell me what had happened and just said it needed a service.
I said sure, couldn't hurt to get it serviced regardless.
After the service he still couldn't say what had gone wrong, just that it had been serviced and is now working. When I received it I was surprised by how gritty the winding feel was and after a few days I started noticing how poor the power reserve was. It dies after just 25ish hours, if I wear it throughout the day it doesn't last more than maybe 48 hours and still dies at night despite me wearing it from 6AM to 10PM. This was definitely not the case before.

When I asked about this he just told me it needed gen reversing wheels or main spring, but I don't understand how all of these components can go bad after a service. I'm losing trust at this point but I want to be fair and maybe I'm drawing conclusions too fast, hence why I'm seeking help from you guys.

To add context I'm attaching a video where you can hear the difference in winding sound between my serviced VS3135 and a VR3235 from a CF 126610LV that hasn't been touched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4kq...MMf9qQ&index=1

Thank you for any and all feedback!

 

[Wacht]

Yeah that doesn't sound good at all.
But to be fair, 3135 shouldn't surpass 48h, and if you hit these numbers the pr isn't a problem.

 

[Snil]

Yeah that doesn't sound good at all.
But to be fair, 3135 shouldn't surpass 48h, and if you hit these numbers the pr isn't a problem.

Good to hear that I'm not alone.
It should surpass 48h if I wear it on a daily basis, right? I've been able to do that with all my automatic watches.
Just to be more clear, it doesn't matter how much I wear it, it still dies after maximum of 48 hours.

 

[Nikz19]

Good to hear that I'm not alone.
It should surpass 48h if I wear it on a daily basis, right? I've been able to do that with all my automatic watches.
Just to be more clear, it doesn't matter how much I wear it, it still dies after maximum of 48 hours.

48 hrs is as good as gen. Not sure what could you ask for more.

Unless I got this wrong, and the watch dies after 48hrs even if worn on wrist.
This may indicate a reversing wheels failure, which isn’t uncommon on VS3135 movements.

Not knowing who serviced it, let me just tell you this: regardless how good a service has been performed, no watchmaker can guarantee the parts won’t fail. They’re reps buddy, nowhere close the gen quality when it comes to parts longevity.

 

[Snil]

48 hrs is as good as gen. Not sure what could you ask for more.

Unless I got this wrong, and the watch dies after 48hrs even if worn on wrist.
This may indicate a reversing wheels failure, which isn’t uncommon on VS3135 movements.

Not knowing who serviced it, let me just tell you this: regardless how good a service has been performed, no watchmaker can guarantee the parts won’t fail. They’re reps buddy, nowhere close the gen quality when it comes to parts longevity.

Yes, it's my fault for explaining poorly. Even if I fully wind it and wear the watch on my wrist the entire day, two days straight.. It dies at night. I've tried several times and it's consistent.

I understand that parts can fail, I've had 8 gen Rolex and they haven't all been flawless either. Much less so a replica, I just fail to understand how much worse it feels and performs after a service. It was spot on for almost a year before the service. Did you listen to the winding sound in my video, what are your thoughts on that?
Appreciate the response!

 

[p0pperini]

Yeah, it definitely isn't running as well as it could. And there's obviously something amiss if it was better before the various works were done on it.

Given the relatively low cost of a movement, you might consider just ditching the current movement and replacing it with a new one.

 

[Nikz19]

Yes, it's my fault for explaining poorly. Even if I fully wind it and wear the watch on my wrist the entire day, two days straight.. It dies at night. I've tried several times and it's consistent.

I understand that parts can fail, I've had 8 gen Rolex and they haven't all been flawless either. Much less so a replica, I just fail to understand how much worse it feels and performs after a service. It was spot on for almost a year before the service. Did you listen to the winding sound in my video, what are your thoughts on that?
Appreciate the response!

I did, it’s definitely something wrong with the autowinding module. Either the reversing wheels have failed, they’re dirty, not properly lubricated, they’ve not been treated with ephilame and the lubricants have spread where they shouldn’t.

 

[Snil]

I did, it’s definitely something wrong with the autowinding module. Either the reversing wheels have failed, they’re dirty, not properly lubricated, they’ve not been treated with ephilame and the lubricants have spread where they shouldn’t.

Thanks. It feels like the watch smith has messed up but I'm not sure what kind of course of action I can take right now without having to buy a bunch of gen parts.

 

[Nikz19]

Thanks. It feels like the watch smith has messed up but I'm not sure what kind of course of action I can take right now without having to buy a bunch of gen parts.

Nope, not really. If they failed it’s not the watchmaker’s fault by any means. Anyway, a set of gen reversing wheels runs for about 100-110€ now in 2022. It’s not a overly expensive fix

 

[Snil]

Nope, not really. If they failed it’s not the watchmaker’s fault by any means. Anyway, a set of gen reversing wheels runs for about 100-110€ now in 2022. It’s not a overly expensive fix

Ok, appreciate it.
I just wish he would have said something before sending it back. I would have happily paid that extra.

 

[WatchSmith.US]

let me just tell you this: regardless how good a service has been performed, no watchmaker can guarantee the parts won’t fail. They’re reps buddy, nowhere close the gen quality when it comes to parts longevity.

Wise words spoken.

 

[Wacht]

Contact nikz next time, if he's available. I have a vsf 116610 that he serviced and fixed up after it broke down. It runs so well I didn't need to adjust time in months. It's such a joy to wear since he gave his care.

 

[Klocklind123]

I also had my vsf 116610ln serviced by Nikz19 and he also mounted a genuine mainspring and barrel. And winds up smooth and have long power reserve.

And he also mounted a genuine date wheel on my TC 16610 with genuine eta 2824-2 ( not so easy! ) and it is absolutely perfectly centered and the movement ( serviced by him!) is running + 0.5 seconds/ 24h for three months now.

Highly recomended watch smith

 

[KJ2020]

I would just cut your losses now and install a new VR3135. No need for any gen parts. The whole movement is only around $100 or so. They are solid workhorses, often not even needing a service.

 

[Invetero]

I would just cut your losses now and install a new VR3135. No need for any gen parts. The whole movement is only around $100 or so. They are solid workhorses, often not even needing a service.

absolutely agreeing with KJ
buy a new VR3135 and send it for a service and you should be fine for years, im not even sure the autowind parts are still an issue nowadays so you probably don't even need to replace those with gen parts

 

[Snil]

Thanks for your input but in this case were the movement is serviced and the ‘only’ thing it needs are gen reversing wheels, wouldn’t that be a better option?

 

[mari115]

Thanks for your input but in this case were the movement is serviced and the ‘only’ thing it needs are gen reversing wheels, wouldn’t that be a better option?

Idk bro i'd keep the old movement for spare parts and just go for a new one, I doubt that that service did any good to the movement, and even if it did, I'd do another one just to be sure that everything is in good order after putting in gen reversing wheels, so might as well get a brand new "working" VR movement, keep the old one for spare parts and enjoy

 

[Nikz19]

I also had my vsf 116610ln serviced by Nikz19 and he also mounted a genuine mainspring and barrel. And winds up smooth and have long power reserve.

And he also mounted a genuine date wheel on my TC 16610 with genuine eta 2824-2 ( not so easy! ) and it is absolutely perfectly centered and the movement ( serviced by him!) is running + 0.5 seconds/ 24h for three months now.

Highly recomended watch smith

I appreciate the kind words P and glad you’re satisfied, but this isn’t any sort of advertising thread so let’s keep the discussion on topic shall we

 

[Snil]

Alright, thanks guys!
I might be unlucky but the three times I've sent replicas for service or repairs the watches have come back worse than before. On the other hand I have never received a replica that was performing poorly OOTB. Guess I should just trust the chinese

 

[j21]

Hey guys,

Not looking to point fingers, rather seek advice with this. First a little back story..
I purchased my VSF Sub 116610LN back in November 2020 and it has been used almost daily and never let me down. It's had excellent timekeeping, super smooth winding and quiet rotor.
Back in August I wanted to upgrade it so I purchased a gen crystal and sent it off to one of the recommended watch smiths here, unfortunately he cracked the bezel and then decided he didn't want to work on it anymore so he just pushed the crystal and movement in and taped it together 'for the next watch smith'.

I couldn't wind or set the date/time when I got the watch back but I figured it was just because he didn't assemble it fully.
!

I fully respect your attention to not point fingers. But you want my thoughts? Why buyer reviews exists? To only right oh he is the best oh he is top? Then a new customer read faulsly only good reviews and decide to trust him? I think you must tell wich watchmaker damage your watch and didn't try to find a solution with you. because faults are humanly and total understandable but damage it and leave you like that?