Yacht Master 226627 TW+ Factory

[xLrnzo]

Perfect for 47 PAMs ;-)

Thought I’d chime in here.
Recieved my TW+ factory Yachtmaster titanium about 10 days ago.
(Been wearing the watch for the past week.)
My first impressions were good. Finishing was nice with crisp details and bezel turned with just the right amount of effort needed. Dial and hands looked super nice.
Then the trouble started.
First up was the crown and stem. Very scratchy to unscrew and setting the watch was troublesome as the stem would not spring into place properly. Date set position was difficult to use. After carefully dabbing some oil on the crown threads it seems to be improving. Still not good but improving.
Winding the piece feels a bit scratchy too, but getting better in the past week.
Next problem was the bracelet screws.
Wanted to remove 1 and possibly 2 screws in order to fit the bracelet.
First screw was difficult but did come loose.
Next two screws I tried were absolutely impossible to loosen. Tried the hot water method too. And applied some penetrating oil next. Waited a while and used a high quality Bergeon tool but the screw head wound up badly mashed. Wound up removing one link (which was all I needed) but now have 2 screw heads totally mashed and useless.
On the good side, It keeps accurate time and is super light and comfortable to wear.
Hope these comments are of some use to you all. Thanks!

 

[john442]

i think vsf will come out with a model soon..

Any chance Clean or VSF coming out with this soon?

 

[JayBee0815]

Any chance Clean or VSF coming out with this soon?

Good question. Clean has no previous experience with titanium as a material. VSF has already offered titanium watches in its Panerai range and as XF with the Tudor Pelagos.

 

[kiasunkiasi]

Good question. Clean has no previous experience with titanium as a material. VSF has already offered titanium watches in its Panerai range and as XF with the Tudor Pelagos.

and Omega NTTD

 

[romito_21]

i think it will be a matter of time due to how hot this watch is in genuine

 

[Alabama_Watch_Enthusiast]

The titanium on the original is much darker. Real titanium is supposed to make it darker as it is darker than steel. The bracelet and sides of watch don't appear to be brushed or as dark as real titanium. Can we do a test to see if this is indeed real titanium and not aluminum mixed with another metal? You can try sticking a magnet to it as titanium should not be able to be magnetized.

 

[Alabama_Watch_Enthusiast]

Can we see some shots of just the bracelet.

 

[Kup1712]

The titanium on the original is much darker. Real titanium is supposed to make it darker as it is darker than steel. The bracelet and sides of watch don't appear to be brushed or as dark as real titanium. Can we do a test to see if this is indeed real titanium and not aluminum mixed with another metal? You can try sticking a magnet to it as titanium should not be able to be magnetized.

it's difference between grade 2 and grade 5 titanium

 

[Singapore9]

I'd be shocked if it wasn't real titanium and they went to the effort of making an aluminium alloy case instead - there are enough titanium reps out there already e.g. Tudor Pelagos, Omega SMP NTTD, etc. May not be the same grade as the GEN, of course.

 

[xLrnzo]

It is definitely real (grade 2) titanium.
Gen is grade 5.
Looks to be almost same color as my Pelagos XF rep and my Scurfa diver (super nice microbrand).
It does have quality issues with movement lubrication and screw down crown as I mention in my above post, but nevertheless it’s light and easy to wear, keeps accurate time.
The more I wear it, the more I like it.

 

[JayBee0815]

The titanium on the original is much darker. Real titanium is supposed to make it darker as it is darker than steel. The bracelet and sides of watch don't appear to be brushed or as dark as real titanium. Can we do a test to see if this is indeed real titanium and not aluminum mixed with another metal? You can try sticking a magnet to it as titanium should not be able to be magnetized.

Mine arrived today and I must say, that the bracelet and especially the screws are pure catastrophe. I tried to shorten the bracelet and the first screw came out with light force - i used a T-Blade-Screwdriver. But the second and third screws were extremely tight - I don't know if TW+ used Loctite or if the thread was simply broken - seized? With moderate to high force (T-Blade!) I was able to turn the screws a little, but unfortunately this destroyed the screw heads! My attempt to unscrew the destroyed heads with fine pliers did the rest - now the screws are stuck without heads.


Here are some macros of the first screw - the one that came out without (or with very light) force. Even this screwhead is severely damaged ...


I am not an technician and have not much experience with titanium but this screws are very very soft. In my opinion this is not titanium but an alloy with aluminium or sole aluminium.

p.s.: It´s not magnetic

p.p.s.: The rest of the watch is ok

 

[xLrnzo]

Exactly the same experience for me.
I only needed to remove one link but managed to damage 2 screws at the slotted ends before I was able to remove the one link.

 

[xLrnzo]

Thanks to the OP for the post on this issue. I was thinking I was the only purchaser of this watch to have this problem.
(I posted a comment on the bracelet issue here when I first received the YM).
Fortunately for me, I was able to get the one link off that I needed to in order to make the watch wearable for me.
(6 links + 5 links)
Do any of you guys have any ideas on how to remove (and replace) the stripped and damaged bracelet screws? Without destroying the bracelet of course.

 

[Jossé]

Thanks to the OP for the post on this issue. I was thinking I was the only purchaser of this watch to have this problem.
(I posted a comment on the bracelet issue here when I first received the YM).
Fortunately for me, I was able to get the one link off that I needed to in order to make the watch wearable for me.
(6 links + 5 links)
Do any of you guys have any ideas on how to remove (and replace) the stripped and damaged bracelet screws? Without destroying the bracelet of course.

I think you’ll need to drill out the threaded part of the screw. Or you can try something like this, we call them “grisepikk” in Norway, but I’m not sure what it’s called in English:



It’s designed so that you drill a small hole into the center of the screw with a metal drill bit. Then you screw the “grisepikk” into this hole. It will grip tightly, allowing you to unscrew the screw.

But you’ll need some seriously small drill bits, so this is precision work. There’s probably a better solution out there, but this was the first thing that came to mind.

 

[JayBee0815]

I think you’ll need to drill out the threaded part of the screw. Or you can try something like this, we call them “grisepikk” in Norway, but I’m not sure what it’s called in English:



It’s designed so that you drill a small hole into the center of the screw with a metal drill bit. Then you screw the “grisepikk” into this hole. It will grip tightly, allowing you to unscrew the screw.

But you’ll need some seriously small drill bits, so this is precision work. There’s probably a better solution out there, but this was the first thing that came to mind.

Yes, that´s a possibility. I had the same issue with a Titanium-Pam from TTF - I don´t know why these idiots use this kind of lousy screws. A watchmaker managed to get the screw out and drill a new thread. But the problem is only partially solved with this repair, because you still have a "too soft" thread. With the Pam I used a regular steel screw afterwards and was very carefully while fastening the screw. With the YM, where you probably never will remove this link again, this should not be too problematic. However, you should be aware that this does not solve the problem, but only temporarily alleviates it.

 

[xLrnzo]

I remember reading a long time ago that Titanium screws tend to actually weld themselves into their threads.
This is called “galling”.
I read the screws can be chemically treated or coated to resist this.
When the Rolex YM ti was first previewed I recall it being mentioned that Rolex somehow addressed this issue with a specially manufactured bracelet screw setup. Can’t find now where I read this though.
~~ I do still love my gen Rolexes

 

[JayBee0815]

I read the screws can be chemically treated or coated to resist this.

Something TW+ hasn´t done ;-)

 

[Reaps]

I think the intent was to use softer metal than the Titanium so the screws don't scratch up and/or mangle the threading, although, it seems that they used a metal that is so unbelievably poor in quality lol

For the price it's at (more than a VSF 116x sub) it makes you appreciate why Clean and VS are top tier.

 

[xLrnzo]

Yes, although I must add, the YM ti is very well finished othe than the bracelet screws. Dial and clasp, alignment, hands and date window all excellent. Feels super light (about 100g) and keeps excellent time.
So other than those dang screws I think TW+ did a nice job.

 

[kiasunkiasi]

wow, thanks for the heads up on the screws

pretty scary, and luckily my Christopher Ward Twelve titanium didn't give me headache and heart attack last week when I moved links and tighten up the bracelet screws