My Journey with AMF: Rolling Diary

[l33tbr@t]

Hi Everyone,

After many months of research and discussions, evaluating different modders, reading reviews and consulting with experts; I've finally made a decision to move forward with AMF for a first purchase. Instead of doing watch-by-watch, I opted to order 3 custom-builds all at once. Since this forum has been so helpful in guiding me through the process and provided valuable insights throughout the research phase, I think it's only fair that I document my journey with AMF and provide updates from time-to-time in order for other members to have a first-hand view of the process.

Communications

AMF have been super-kind, helpful and patient throughout the process. Answered messages in a timely manner and provided references and personal thoughts on any topic or question I brought up. When you invest so much money into a custom watch, I believe that besides the quality of the product; communication is a key factor and so-far AMF's customer service has been exceptional. Their English is top-notch and their availability (minding the time-difference) is pretty much around the clock.

Objectives

I've set my expectations very clear and direct from day one. My #1 objective is to make sure the watches I ordered cannot be called out by any individual (including watch experts or sales rep at the genuine stores) both on-hand as well as when holding the watch. This is of course subject to the watch not being opened in a lab or examined with a magnifying class. I've been aware that this is a big ask, however AMF reassured me that there is a very slim chance (if any) that the builds they're working on for me would be spotted by anyone while the watch is worn, but may possibly (slim chance) be called out as reps by watch experts or sales reps if examined carefully in the right lighting and environment. I decided to move forward with the purchase based on these assumptions.

The Watches

1. PP Nautilus. 5711/1A. Stainless Steel. Green Dial.
2. AP Royal Oak. Selfwinding. 15510ST. Stainless Steel. Blue Dial.
3. Rolex Daytona. AET Remould - British Racing. White Ceramic/Rose Gold. Green Dial.

Ongoing Updates

June 26th 2023: Order Made

July 4th 2023: Payment Made

July 4th 2023: Notified of Expected Delivery Dates: Daytona - Aug 4th-20th; AP - Sep 4th-Oct 4th; PP - Nov 4th-Dec 4th.

I will keep this log updated as my journey with AMF continues, and will obviously share pictures and other information as those are received.

Community Feedback

If any of you experts have any thoughts on specific requests or attention-to-detail that I should inform AMF of in order to perfect these watches, I'd be delighted to have such feedback. I know some of you may have seen reps/genuines of the above-mentioned watches and perhaps have vast knowledge of any faults or error-prone elements/parts; therefore any feedback you may have would be highly appreciated. If we do this right, together, we might finally have a valid and consistent options for unspottable reps for some of the most beloved watch models available out there.

I obviously leave this space open for AMF to provide further insights and more in-depth detailed breakdown of the journey if/when they feel comfortable.

Will be back with more in due course.

J

 

[Omagad]

Looking forward to it.

 

[Autobús]

Is AMF offering a CNC 15510 case and bracelet now? I know it wasn't offered a few months ago.

 

[l33tbr@t]

Is AMF offering a CNC 15510 case and bracelet now? I know it wasn't offered a few months ago.

15500! apologies for the confusion.

 

[Tommygunzzzz]

@l33tbr@t - any update on the daytona? Would be keen to see the results

 

[dawrxdude]

@l33tbr@t - did you end up receiving your pieces in relation to the initial timeline you were given?

 

[l33tbr@t]

@dawrxdude , @Tommygunzzzz and the rest of the community. I was very hesitant to write this update, but my commitment to the community stands above all; perhaps even above my own self-interest here - since @AMF has my money and I don't have any of my goods in-hand at this point.

Reminder/Background: My Daytona was due to arrive Aug 4th-20th; AP - Sep 4th-Oct 4th; PP - Nov 4th-Dec 4th.

Aug 2nd: Sent a polite follow-up message to AMF asking for status on Daytona, who then informed me that the timeline was 1-2 months (not true) as it was 1-1.5 months per their commitment to me. I highlighted the agreed-upon timeline and reiterated that the deadline for delivery is August 18th.

Aug 10th: Sent another polite follow up, only to get the following response "we will update you when there is an update".

Aug 14th: Send another polite follow up, to which they responded that they are scheduled to work on my watch tomorrow, and will provide an update. Also indicated that the PP and AP are "in progress".

Aug 16th: Sent another polite follow up only to be informed that "they will update later today, as they are trying to fix some issues on the base watch that was supplied from the factory". Later that day I got a message stating: "Hi bro , so sorry but can not making on the timeline for this Daytona .The other two are unchanged but we have return the Daytona to the factory for replacement .The movement was totally done and there has been a defect and damge on the bracelet which was not going to be ok for us and will not be ok for you .They will replacing this as fast as possible , we have noted the urgency of this and once receive with us we will pushing this ahead of the queue and finishing within a week ."

Note: I was obviously disappointed with the delay, and more importantly the lack of proper and efficient updates - but was very appreciative that AMF wouldn't settle for less than perfect quality.

Aug 24th: Sent another polite follow up, only to receive a message stating that "they did not yet receive the replacement watch from the factory.

Aug 29th: Got a message saying that they still don't have the watch. I asked when I will finally receive it, only to get a reply stating "when the factory delivers the stock to us".

Sep 2nd: Sent another follow-up only to get this message: "Hi bro , we are meeting with our factory contact in the coming week for pushing on this and arranging for this to be ready from them as it has been taking too long. Have a good weekend ahead .We will in touch next week when have met with our contact and have an update on this."

Sep 6th: Followed up again, got this message: "Not met with them yet .Will meeting them in the next few day and updating you on this bro .Sorry for the delay and thank you for the patience on this .We are doing our best .We are meeting with the factory contact mostly to pushing for this Daytona build of yours".

Sep 9th: Got this message: "Hi bro , have push for this to be completed by the factory .He said he will pushing further for this to be delivered in the next few day , so probably will be pushed out by the factory in the next week .Once this is with us we will get it QC'ed and finished up within a week and then ship out after your approval."

Sep 14th: Followed up again, got this message: "Will providing an update when there is an update to be provide bro. It is not efficient to updating no updates. Thank you ."

Sep 14th: On that same day I also inquired about my AP, and politely asked whether the fact that my Daytona is now nearly 1 month delayed (100% extra time to deliver beyond their initial indication) should not expedite my AP build to an earlier date within the timeframe they provided (i.e. delivery in mid-September) only to be told that they are "hoping to finish the AP in the 1st or 2nd week of October".

Bottom Line

AMF has been extremely helpful and diligent before I paid; however the timelines provided cannot be trusted. I got over 12 messages from them over the course of our relationship since I paid telling me that "I am pushing them" and "causing them to rush" instead of hearing them apologize and taking responsibility for the delay. I've invested a significant amount of money with them, bought 3 very expensive watches on my first order and feel like I keep hearing excuses instead of answers. All they keep saying is "our initial timeline was an estimation", they don't seem to realize that minimum delays can be expected and tolerated, but as of now they are a month late with my Daytona delivery and they don't even have the base watch in their hand. They don't seem to make an effort and make me a "happy customer" to deliver my other watches earlier; and I didn't get any QC images for none of the watches, which makes me believe they haven't started working on them although the delivery date for the AP is two weeks away.

I can only hope that once I finally get the watches, the quality is going to be so over-the-top exceptional that I'll be able to forget this horrid experience and focus on the result. If the both my Daytona and AP will be delivered by October 4th in exceptional quality and my PP will be expedited as a gesture and delivered in October instead of beginning of December - they will have certainly gained my respect again. If not, well - I guess I'll just be another RWI member who made a mistake going with the wrong vendor.

The ball is in their court.

Hope this helps for any future buyers.

J

 

[Tommygunzzzz]

@dawrxdude , @Tommygunzzzz and the rest of the community. I was very hesitant to write this update, but my commitment to the community stands above all; perhaps even above my own self-interest here - since @AMF has my money and I don't have any of my goods in-hand at this point.

Reminder/Background: My Daytona was due to arrive Aug 4th-20th; AP - Sep 4th-Oct 4th; PP - Nov 4th-Dec 4th.

Aug 2nd: Sent a polite follow-up message to AMF asking for status on Daytona, who then informed me that the timeline was 1-2 months (not true) as it was 1-1.5 months per their commitment to me. I highlighted the agreed-upon timeline and reiterated that the deadline for delivery is August 18th.

Aug 10th: Sent another polite follow up, only to get the following response "we will update you when there is an update".

Aug 14th: Send another polite follow up, to which they responded that they are scheduled to work on my watch tomorrow, and will provide an update. Also indicated that the PP and AP are "in progress".

Aug 16th: Sent another polite follow up only to be informed that "they will update later today, as they are trying to fix some issues on the base watch that was supplied from the factory". Later that day I got a message stating: "Hi bro , so sorry but can not making on the timeline for this Daytona .The other two are unchanged but we have return the Daytona to the factory for replacement .The movement was totally done and there has been a defect and damge on the bracelet which was not going to be ok for us and will not be ok for you .They will replacing this as fast as possible , we have noted the urgency of this and once receive with us we will pushing this ahead of the queue and finishing within a week ."

Note: I was obviously disappointed with the delay, and more importantly the lack of proper and efficient updates - but was very appreciative that AMF wouldn't settle for less than perfect quality.

Aug 24th: Sent another polite follow up, only to receive a message stating that "they did not yet receive the replacement watch from the factory.

Aug 29th: Got a message saying that they still don't have the watch. I asked when I will finally receive it, only to get a reply stating "when the factory delivers the stock to us".

Sep 2nd: Sent another follow-up only to get this message: "Hi bro , we are meeting with our factory contact in the coming week for pushing on this and arranging for this to be ready from them as it has been taking too long. Have a good weekend ahead .We will in touch next week when have met with our contact and have an update on this."

Sep 6th: Followed up again, got this message: "Not met with them yet .Will meeting them in the next few day and updating you on this bro .Sorry for the delay and thank you for the patience on this .We are doing our best .We are meeting with the factory contact mostly to pushing for this Daytona build of yours".

Sep 9th: Got this message: "Hi bro , have push for this to be completed by the factory .He said he will pushing further for this to be delivered in the next few day , so probably will be pushed out by the factory in the next week .Once this is with us we will get it QC'ed and finished up within a week and then ship out after your approval."

Sep 14th: Followed up again, got this message: "Will providing an update when there is an update to be provide bro. It is not efficient to updating no updates. Thank you ."

Sep 14th: On that same day I also inquired about my AP, and politely asked whether the fact that my Daytona is now nearly 1 month delayed (100% extra time to deliver beyond their initial indication) should not expedite my AP build to an earlier date within the timeframe they provided (i.e. delivery in mid-September) only to be told that they are "hoping to finish the AP in the 1st or 2nd week of October".

Bottom Line

AMF has been extremely helpful and diligent before I paid; however the timelines provided cannot be trusted. I got over 12 messages from them over the course of our relationship since I paid telling me that "I am pushing them" and "causing them to rush" instead of hearing them apologize and taking responsibility for the delay. I've invested a significant amount of money with them, bought 3 very expensive watches on my first order and feel like I keep hearing excuses instead of answers. All they keep saying is "our initial timeline was an estimation", they don't seem to realize that minimum delays can be expected and tolerated, but as of now they are a month late with my Daytona delivery and they don't even have the base watch in their hand. They don't seem to make an effort and make me a "happy customer" to deliver my other watches earlier; and I didn't get any QC images for none of the watches, which makes me believe they haven't started working on them although the delivery date for the AP is two weeks away.

I can only hope that once I finally get the watches, the quality is going to be so over-the-top exceptional that I'll be able to forget this horrid experience and focus on the result. If the both my Daytona and AP will be delivered by October 4th in exceptional quality and my PP will be expedited as a gesture and delivered in October instead of beginning of December - they will have certainly gained my respect again. If not, well - I guess I'll just be another RWI member who made a mistake going with the wrong vendor.

The ball is in their court.

Hope this helps for any future buyers.

J

Appreciate the update, sorry to hear regarding the delay. I have gone through a purchase with AMF as well and patience is definitely key - for my build I paid on April 2022 and received my watch in October 2022!

 

[dawrxdude]

Appreciate the update, sorry to hear regarding the delay. I have gone through a purchase with AMF as well and patience is definitely key - for my build I paid on April 2022 and received my watch in October 2022!

Sorry to hear your experience @l33tbr@t, I have also put in an order around July 2023

@dawrxdude , @Tommygunzzzz and the rest of the community. I was very hesitant to write this update, but my commitment to the community stands above all; perhaps even above my own self-interest here - since @AMF has my money and I don't have any of my goods in-hand at this point.

Reminder/Background: My Daytona was due to arrive Aug 4th-20th; AP - Sep 4th-Oct 4th; PP - Nov 4th-Dec 4th.

Aug 2nd: Sent a polite follow-up message to AMF asking for status on Daytona, who then informed me that the timeline was 1-2 months (not true) as it was 1-1.5 months per their commitment to me. I highlighted the agreed-upon timeline and reiterated that the deadline for delivery is August 18th.

Aug 10th: Sent another polite follow up, only to get the following response "we will update you when there is an update".

Aug 14th: Send another polite follow up, to which they responded that they are scheduled to work on my watch tomorrow, and will provide an update. Also indicated that the PP and AP are "in progress".

Aug 16th: Sent another polite follow up only to be informed that "they will update later today, as they are trying to fix some issues on the base watch that was supplied from the factory". Later that day I got a message stating: "Hi bro , so sorry but can not making on the timeline for this Daytona .The other two are unchanged but we have return the Daytona to the factory for replacement .The movement was totally done and there has been a defect and damge on the bracelet which was not going to be ok for us and will not be ok for you .They will replacing this as fast as possible , we have noted the urgency of this and once receive with us we will pushing this ahead of the queue and finishing within a week ."

Note: I was obviously disappointed with the delay, and more importantly the lack of proper and efficient updates - but was very appreciative that AMF wouldn't settle for less than perfect quality.

Aug 24th: Sent another polite follow up, only to receive a message stating that "they did not yet receive the replacement watch from the factory.

Aug 29th: Got a message saying that they still don't have the watch. I asked when I will finally receive it, only to get a reply stating "when the factory delivers the stock to us".

Sep 2nd: Sent another follow-up only to get this message: "Hi bro , we are meeting with our factory contact in the coming week for pushing on this and arranging for this to be ready from them as it has been taking too long. Have a good weekend ahead .We will in touch next week when have met with our contact and have an update on this."

Sep 6th: Followed up again, got this message: "Not met with them yet .Will meeting them in the next few day and updating you on this bro .Sorry for the delay and thank you for the patience on this .We are doing our best .We are meeting with the factory contact mostly to pushing for this Daytona build of yours".

Sep 9th: Got this message: "Hi bro , have push for this to be completed by the factory .He said he will pushing further for this to be delivered in the next few day , so probably will be pushed out by the factory in the next week .Once this is with us we will get it QC'ed and finished up within a week and then ship out after your approval."

Sep 14th: Followed up again, got this message: "Will providing an update when there is an update to be provide bro. It is not efficient to updating no updates. Thank you ."

Sep 14th: On that same day I also inquired about my AP, and politely asked whether the fact that my Daytona is now nearly 1 month delayed (100% extra time to deliver beyond their initial indication) should not expedite my AP build to an earlier date within the timeframe they provided (i.e. delivery in mid-September) only to be told that they are "hoping to finish the AP in the 1st or 2nd week of October".

Bottom Line

AMF has been extremely helpful and diligent before I paid; however the timelines provided cannot be trusted. I got over 12 messages from them over the course of our relationship since I paid telling me that "I am pushing them" and "causing them to rush" instead of hearing them apologize and taking responsibility for the delay. I've invested a significant amount of money with them, bought 3 very expensive watches on my first order and feel like I keep hearing excuses instead of answers. All they keep saying is "our initial timeline was an estimation", they don't seem to realize that minimum delays can be expected and tolerated, but as of now they are a month late with my Daytona delivery and they don't even have the base watch in their hand. They don't seem to make an effort and make me a "happy customer" to deliver my other watches earlier; and I didn't get any QC images for none of the watches, which makes me believe they haven't started working on them although the delivery date for the AP is two weeks away.

I can only hope that once I finally get the watches, the quality is going to be so over-the-top exceptional that I'll be able to forget this horrid experience and focus on the result. If the both my Daytona and AP will be delivered by October 4th in exceptional quality and my PP will be expedited as a gesture and delivered in October instead of beginning of December - they will have certainly gained my respect again. If not, well - I guess I'll just be another RWI member who made a mistake going with the wrong vendor.

The ball is in their court.

Hope this helps for any future buyers.

J

Sorry to hear your experience, I also put in an order around July 2023 and waiting for updates for them too, initially told it will come between mid Sep-Oct. Trying to stay patient throughout the process as I've read some amazing reviews on their work but hoping it doesn't get too delayed.

Here's hoping you get your order soon my friend and like you said that the end result is beyond expectations!

Appreciate you taking the time to post this status update.

 

[Vineetd23]

I placed an order for an Aquanaut with them on May 15th and received it on September 12th, incredible quality and looks and totally worth the wait.

 

[Vineetd23]

I also placed an order for a green Nautilus with them back on April 15th, and just got the pics today, will be shipped soon and I should have it by the end of the month. Definitely quite the wait, but I’m fairly sure it will be 100% worth it. OP,

 

[Vineetd23]

You will definitely get your watches, and I think it’ll be worth the wait.

 

[Geonor]

In the rep game and especially when you're dealing with custom builds you just gotta have patience. They're not doing it to spite you as they don't want to be in this limbo position more than you do.

They have to juggle multiple factories, their workers and you to make it work. It's done when it's done. They're trusted and you'll get your watches eventually but you gotta keep in mind this is black market stuff.

The fact that you can order something like this and actually get it is crazy in itself, you can't really expect time-frames to be accurate as there are almost infinite snag points along the way when you're dealing illegal stuff like this.

 

[Vineetd23]

Very well said, it really is insane that you can order and get a rep of this quality, hang in there OP, even if you get them in December, you’ll be happy and have some stellar pieces for the long term.

 

[bbqtrini]

Yeah I'm sorry to hear about the delays as well. I bought a solid gold AP 15202.ba from them and it was in hand within 6 weeks. Sounds like they are either getting a lot more clients, have less personnel and/or having difficulty sourcing materials.

 

[l33tbr@t]

Hi!

I owe you an update. AMF shared the QC pics with me on October 23rd. I'm currently having them reviewed by several objective experts, following which I will give the green-light and have them shipped to me. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts, comments, applause or criticism to the QC images. Your valuable insights are highly appreciated!

PP 5711 / Green Dial:

[

J

 

[watchfi]

Hi!

I owe you an update. AMF shared the QC pics with me on October 23rd. I'm currently having them reviewed by several objective experts, following which I will give the green-light and have them shipped to me. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts, comments, applause or criticism to the QC images. Your valuable insights are highly appreciated!

PP 5711 / Green

 

[Stuvetjee]

Hi!

I owe you an update. AMF shared the QC pics with me on October 23rd. I'm currently having them reviewed by several objective experts, following which I will give the green-light and have them shipped to me. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts, comments, applause or criticism to the QC images. Your valuable insights are highly appreciated!

PP 5711 / Green Dial:

[

J

QC removed. It is against the rules. You should qc your own pics. You even have pm’d me to have them checked.

No need to post them again!

 

[flashu]

AMF shared the QC pics with me on October 23rd. I'm currently having them reviewed by several objective experts, following which I will give the green-light

Did you get it? How about other pieces?

BTW thanks for sharing for good or for bad, the community is all about these experiences

 

[Horace_Derwent]

@l33tbr@t : any update on this?