Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227R With Custom Camille Fournet Strap

[jm_brc_7057]

damn that looks good, but i think ill save up for a real PP, rolex can go rep, but PP i would go gen

Mate you haven't seen the Calatrava 5296R ZF up close, have you? It's really good. Not a super rep but definitely close to NWBIG.

 

[Karlus]

So in the customizer you choose "Alligator Shiny Square Scaled" and under the colour "Grey". Then 21 / 16 for the width, "Straight fit at the lug", "Round profile", "4.0mm" thickness, "Ecru" colour handstiched, Camille Fournet luca calf leather lining and thats it, yes?

Looks like there is no longer a 21/16 option under made to measure....

 

[jm_brc_7057]

You choose 'Other' and type it in yourself. Also I ended up choosing 3.5 mm flat profile instead of 4.0mm round. Karlus
I didn't use the customizer either. I sent them an email and chose the color from the options they sent me.

 

[Karlus]

You choose 'Other' and type it in yourself. Also I ended up choosing 3.5 mm flat profile instead of 4.0mm round. Karlus
I didn't use the customizer either. I sent them an email and chose the color from the options they sent me.

Yeah, the problem is custom size jacks up the price.

 

[Jaqueslepro]

Can anyone tell me whose butt I have to kiss at camille fournet for them to answer me? I used their contact for twice (from 2 different devices) and nothing comes back. How did you guys contact them for a custom piece?

 

[jm_brc_7057]

Can anyone tell me whose butt I have to kiss at camille fournet for them to answer me? I used their contact for twice (from 2 different devices) and nothing comes back. How did you guys contact them for a custom piece?

I just sent in the contact form. Maybe they are busy because of the vacations. It took them 4-5 days to answer my last mail. The strap i got custom made, the shine is fading off. I've only had it for some weeks.

It looks horrible. It's interesting to see how they handle this.

 

[Jaqueslepro]

Honestly this is your strap after few weeks?! This is a bad joke. How can a quality strap loose it's surface coating as fast as that? (Unless you went swimming with it... In an acid lake under strong radiation)

I was just about to order a grey one from the main selection they have in stock.

Can anyone else chime in for the quality?

 

[Godfathar]

I just sent in the contact form. Maybe they are busy because of the vacations. It took them 4-5 days to answer my last mail. The strap i got custom made, the shine is fading off. I've only had it for some weeks.

It looks horrible. It's interesting to see how they handle this.

sorry to hear that mate.. mine still looks the business, and I have it now for 6 months for my Calatrava 5296R ZF..

 

[m1994]

sorry to hear that mate.. mine still looks the business, and I have it now for 6 months for my Calatrava 5296R ZF..

How often do you use your calatrava boss? I ordered one for myself, but I want it for daily use

 

[jm_brc_7057]

Honestly this is your strap after few weeks?! This is a bad joke. How can a quality strap loose it's surface coating as fast as that? (Unless you went swimming with it... In an acid lake under strong radiation)

I was just about to order a grey one from the main selection they have in stock.

Can anyone else chime in for the quality?

Maybe i was unlucky. I haven't used it very much. Only in a little rain. Nothing else.

Godfathar Looks sharp boss! That's how i expected mine to be and last like that. There must be some production error in the process. Mine is flat, maybe they didn't get the coating right.

What disturbs me isn't the fact that it has faded like that within weeks. Errors can happen for the best companies. What disturbs me is their reaction. I expect them to correct on their error instead of trying to make it look like my fault. I told them i haven't used it a lot and not done anything to it. Only maybe a little bit of rain has come on it once. I also asked if i can polish it with some leather cream or something to get the shine back.
You can be the judge of their initial response:

I was rather disappointed with this response and wrote that maybe they misunderstood my e-mail and i expect the shine to last. If i wanted it to even out and become matte, i would have bought a matte strap.

It's not about a defective product, it's not about all the times they deliver a good product. What defines a company's level of customer service is how they handle the situations when there is some kind of error.

 

[gilrob]

That strap looks really bad as if it was soaked in some dirty liquid, even the stitching has been discolored.

 

[jm_brc_7057]

That strap looks really bad as if it was soaked in some dirty liquid, even the stitching has been discolored.

The stichting hasn't been discolored at all. It has the ecru color i chose. The lighting on the two pictures is also different. You can see that on the clasps and whiteness of the background paper. And the strap color is darker on the strap below, which makes the contrast to the stitching color bigger. Or maybe your computer screen isn't showing the colors right.

 

[Jaqueslepro]

Godfathar Your strap looks lovely. This is what I am looking for. What kind of padding did you choose? Did you ask for a round padding or is that just the standard shape? The basic strap on the site looks a bit flat ...

https://www.camillefournet.com/en/17-01-watch-strap-in-shiny-dark-grey-alligator-square-scales

...and the configurator doesnt allow the 21/16 size for the 5296R. Im confused. Did you contact them via the form on the website or do you have an email address? They dont react to me. At all. :bringiton:

Ps: By the way. The grey and rose gold looks so sharp. Not to hard like black and not too grandpa like brown. Wonderfully chosen boys!

 

[gilrob]

The stichting hasn't been discolored at all. It has the ecru color i chose. The lighting on the two pictures is also different. You can see that on the clasps and whiteness of the background paper. And the strap color is darker on the strap below, which makes the contrast to the stitching color bigger. Or maybe your computer screen isn't showing the colors right.

Is the strap shown on your avatar the same strap with issues? How long have you had the strap before it got rained on?

 

[jm_brc_7057]

Godfathar Your strap looks lovely. This is what I am looking for. What kind of padding did you choose? Did you ask for a round padding or is that just the standard shape? The basic strap on the site looks a bit flat ...

https://www.camillefournet.com/en/17-01-watch-strap-in-shiny-dark-grey-alligator-square-scales

...and the configurator doesnt allow the 21/16 size for the 5296R. Im confused. Did you contact them via the form on the website or do you have an email address? They dont react to me. At all. :bringiton:

Ps: By the way. The grey and rose gold looks so sharp. Not to hard like black and not too grandpa like brown. Wonderfully chosen boys!

Personally i think the rounded profile looks best for the 5227R, because the 5227 is more rounded in its design, while the flat profile looks better on the 5296, as it is more flat and more squared in the design. It gives it a more modern look.

 

[jm_brc_7057]

Is the strap shown on your avatar the same strap with issues? How long have you had the strap before it got rained on?

Yes. It's the same strap as on the avatar. The rain wasn't on the strap. I was just out in the rain, maybe a drop or two fell on it. I'm not even sure. I went from the car maybe 20 meters to the house.
I've had it for 4 weeks. I noticed after a week or so that the shine had started cracking in the area where the pin buckle goes in on the opposite strap. After i've seen Godfathar's strap i'm pretty sure it's a defect in how they applied the shine. It shouldn't be cracking or fading away.

 

[gilrob]

Yes. It's the same strap as on the avatar. The rain wasn't on the strap. I was just out in the rain, maybe a drop or two fell on it. I'm not even sure. I went from the car maybe 20 meters to the house.
I've had it for 4 weeks. I noticed after a week or so that the shine had started cracking in the area where the pin buckle goes in on the opposite strap. After i've seen Godfathar's strap i'm pretty sure it's a defect in how they applied the shine. It shouldn't be cracking or fading away.

I'm thinking that it has to do with manufacturing process given the available information. Perhaps not enough curing time between the coats involved. Hopefully you can work something out with the company, the least they can do is examine your strap to determine the cause of the defects. Best of luck. Keep us posted.

 

[Godfathar]

Maybe i was unlucky. I haven't used it very much. Only in a little rain. Nothing else.

Godfathar Looks sharp boss! That's how i expected mine to be and last like that. There must be some production error in the process. Mine is flat, maybe they didn't get the coating right.

What disturbs me isn't the fact that it has faded like that within weeks. Errors can happen for the best companies. What disturbs me is their reaction. I expect them to correct on their error instead of trying to make it look like my fault. I told them i haven't used it a lot and not done anything to it. Only maybe a little bit of rain has come on it once. I also asked if i can polish it with some leather cream or something to get the shine back.
You can be the judge of their initial response:

I was rather disappointed with this response and wrote that maybe they misunderstood my e-mail and i expect the shine to last. If i wanted it to even out and become matte, i would have bought a matte strap.

It's not about a defective product, it's not about all the times they deliver a good product. What defines a company's level of customer service is how they handle the situations when there is some kind of error.

As much as I am sympathizing with you, and knowing how frustrated you feel, I have to let you know about few points I care for when it comes to leather straps, or tbh, reps in general.. and that's an advice for everyone.. No I do not wear the watches constantly, I have a big collection, and I tend to rotate them often, and that would let one watch sit for months without being worn, however, I still tend to wear one watch longer than the other as it could be just arriving, and wanting to enjoy it, or it is close to my heart..

Having said that, I need to state that I do take extreme care of my reps that have leather straps.. as you may have seen, I only buy CF straps for my PP reps, as they are the official makers of the strap for Patek Philippe, and I have this obsession of wanting my reps closer to gen as much as possible.. so to be fair, I have NEVER EVER had my strap touch water, knowing that the material that they polish the strap would fade away, so I tend to keep them away from water in all costs, even couple of times, I took the watch off and put it in my pocket when it was raining.. to protect the strap,and to protect the RG material not to be oxidized.. From the pictures you have shared, it seems that the water was more than just a drop that you immediately wiped off and put the rep away.. I am not accusing you of negligence, I am just trying to put things together, as someone who knows that CF does quality control on those strap exactly the same way they do for their big clients like Patek or Vacheron Constantin or Breguet as they are official makers for their straps.. I guess it's an expensive lesson that you had to go through.. I still would think that CF should have addressed you better, after all, it is a 300 euro strap, and the customer service should have a better service to be honest. I bought from them more than 6 or 7 straps, never had this issue, however, I have to also state the fact that the shine of my older straps from few years, with usage, they had a slight fade, which is normal.. but what happened to your strap is not the coating is wrong or fading, what happened to you is that the strap is unfortunately ruined from something while used, whether shiny or matt, whether CF or another brand.. the strap will definitely be ruined if it touches water, or oil or cream, or perfume. That's why sports watches go with bracelets as the company figure it will be worn around water and water activities.. I am sooooo sorry that this have happened to you, and I feel your pain and frustration, I would be also upset, but I beg you, never ever ever bring any watch with genuine leather strap close to water, heck, I would suggest you, never even wear the watch with genuine leather strap when the humidity is high in the weather.. I don't know where you live, but this is something that might have never crossed your mind, but if you live in a humid place, or it is the season where humidity is higher than usual, this would be the main reason why this happened. I truly hope that you would get somewhere with CF. honestly, when I bought my last strap, the personal relationship that I had with them is not the same, they didn't even know that I bought all those straps, or they just didn't care.. wasn't as good as it used to be, I heard the same from few members here, but I still like their straps just for the fact that they do the exact same ones for PP.

good luck with your interactions with them, I hope they would consider reputational risk and help you resolve this issue..

I hope you take this message with the friendliest friendship from my side, and wouldn't upset you, cos that is definitely not my intentions

my best regards,

PS, btw, those tips should also go for any RG or YG plated reps not only leather strap reps..

 

[Godfathar]

Godfathar Your strap looks lovely. This is what I am looking for. What kind of padding did you choose? Did you ask for a round padding or is that just the standard shape? The basic strap on the site looks a bit flat ...

https://www.camillefournet.com/en/17-01-watch-strap-in-shiny-dark-grey-alligator-square-scales

...and the configurator doesnt allow the 21/16 size for the 5296R. Im confused. Did you contact them via the form on the website or do you have an email address? They dont react to me. At all. :bringiton:

Ps: By the way. The grey and rose gold looks so sharp. Not to hard like black and not too grandpa like brown. Wonderfully chosen boys!

As I have mentioned earlier, I tend to always seek my reps to look as close to gen as possible.. and for the padding or what they call profile on CF website, I researched what is the profile and thickness of the gen strap on the 5227 and 5296, and profile is Round and thickness of 4.0 mm. that's the official gen strap from PP.. so I did it like that.

as for the configurator for Width, You can choose other and put in the size you want.. more expensive of course, but it is there..

 

[jm_brc_7057]

As much as I am sympathizing with you, and knowing how frustrated you feel, I have to let you know about few points I care for when it comes to leather straps, or tbh, reps in general.. and that's an advice for everyone.. No I do not wear the watches constantly, I have a big collection, and I tend to rotate them often, and that would let one watch sit for months without being worn, however, I still tend to wear one watch longer than the other as it could be just arriving, and wanting to enjoy it, or it is close to my heart..

Having said that, I need to state that I do take extreme care of my reps that have leather straps.. as you may have seen, I only buy CF straps for my PP reps, as they are the official makers of the strap for Patek Philippe, and I have this obsession of wanting my reps closer to gen as much as possible.. so to be fair, I have NEVER EVER had my strap touch water, knowing that the material that they polish the strap would fade away, so I tend to keep them away from water in all costs, even couple of times, I took the watch off and put it in my pocket when it was raining.. to protect the strap,and to protect the RG material not to be oxidized.. From the pictures you have shared, it seems that the water was more than just a drop that you immediately wiped off and put the rep away.. I am not accusing you of negligence, I am just trying to put things together, as someone who knows that CF does quality control on those strap exactly the same way they do for their big clients like Patek or Vacheron Constantin or Breguet as they are official makers for their straps.. I guess it's an expensive lesson that you had to go through.. I still would think that CF should have addressed you better, after all, it is a 300 euro strap, and the customer service should have a better service to be honest. I bought from them more than 6 or 7 straps, never had this issue, however, I have to also state the fact that the shine of my older straps from few years, with usage, they had a slight fade, which is normal.. but what happened to your strap is not the coating is wrong or fading, what happened to you is that the strap is unfortunately ruined from something while used, whether shiny or matt, whether CF or another brand.. the strap will definitely be ruined if it touches water, or oil or cream, or perfume. That's why sports watches go with bracelets as the company figure it will be worn around water and water activities.. I am sooooo sorry that this have happened to you, and I feel your pain and frustration, I would be also upset, but I beg you, never ever ever bring any watch with genuine leather strap close to water, heck, I would suggest you, never even wear the watch with genuine leather strap when the humidity is high in the weather.. I don't know where you live, but this is something that might have never crossed your mind, but if you live in a humid place, or it is the season where humidity is higher than usual, this would be the main reason why this happened. I truly hope that you would get somewhere with CF. honestly, when I bought my last strap, the personal relationship that I had with them is not the same, they didn't even know that I bought all those straps, or they just didn't care.. wasn't as good as it used to be, I heard the same from few members here, but I still like their straps just for the fact that they do the exact same ones for PP.

good luck with your interactions with them, I hope they would consider reputational risk and help you resolve this issue..

I hope you take this message with the friendliest friendship from my side, and wouldn't upset you, cos that is definitely not my intentions

my best regards,

PS, btw, those tips should also go for any RG or YG plated reps not only leather strap reps..

Thanks mate. I agree. You have an impressive collection and combination of straps. I appreciate you took the time to share your knowledge and give valuable advice. Other than protecting my RG watches and straps in the future, it will also help me accept if CF refuses to help.

I live in Scandinavia, here it's not humid, but it rains too often

Although they are by European consumer laws obligated to enclose information on "how to take care of the product". And as they haven't done so, and the defect isn't caused by obvious negligence they can't hold the customer responsible. IMO they should enclose a pamflet with the strap so you know it can't be used in rain. It's not something i knew of. So i will consider bringing it to the local european consumer council if they refuse.

Now i know though, it's a expensive lesson. Although the strap will probably even out and become a matt grey instead and will still be usable. Even though it won't be the same without the shine.