ZF Black Bay 54 Received Today...

[WPB33405]

A few days ago, I ordered a ZF Black Bay 54 37mm from a reputable private seller via Reddit (literally everyone was like, "Great guy," "Always has good stuff," etc). Anyway, it shows up, and I am disappointed the second I open the box. The bezel is slightly off and impossible to turn, and the dial is canted clockwise a bit. I will share photos, but sadly, it's kind of imperceptible in them compared to seeing it in-person. I asked a couple people who are familiar with watches and their response was, "Good luck. They can possibly adjust it, but not sure they can do anything." I asked the seller if I could send it back, but they will not accept returns. Learned my lesson, and will not be buying without a QC next time. FML

I'm gonna bring it to a watch repair shop and see what they say. If it can not be fixed, I may just sell it at a steep discount. My OCD can'thandle looking at the thing as it is. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[ShiroTenshi]

It can be fixed, many similar tutorial here and online elsewhere.
Baseically:
- With a bezel tool or case back tool, remove the bezel, then clean, adjust or grease the tension mechanism.
- While at it, remove the bezel insert, align and glue/tape it back.
- Install the whole bezel back

 

[ShiroTenshi]

And if you don't mind it not turning (who turn the bezel anyway), an easy fix is to pour some lighter fluid on and around the bezel insert, do it 2-3 times, and you should be able to remove the insert as is. Clean the insert of the old tape, then re-glue with hypo-cement or tape it back.

 

[FeBegirl]

A few days ago, I ordered a ZF Black Bay 54 37mm from a reputable private seller via Reddit (literally everyone was like, "Great guy," "Always has good stuff," etc). Anyway, it shows up, and I am disappointed the second I open the box. The bezel is slightly off and impossible to turn, and the dial is canted clockwise a bit. I will share photos, but sadly, it's kind of imperceptible in them compared to seeing it in-person. I asked a couple people who are familiar with watches and their response was, "Good luck. They can possibly adjust it, but not sure they can do anything." I asked the seller if I could send it back, but they will not accept returns. Learned my lesson, and will not be buying without a QC next time. FML

I'm gonna bring it to a watch repair shop and see what they say. If it can not be fixed, I may just sell it at a steep discount. My OCD can'thandle looking at the thing as it is. Any suggestions would be helpful.

What is your QC process?

Currently I have my shopping list. Spoken to a couple TDs, seem good.

 

[WPB33405]

What is your QC process?

Currently I have my shopping list. Spoken to a couple TDs, seem good.

It was a private seller. QC was minimal, a handful of pictures. If I missed something, that's on me. Again, I'm going to take it to a local watch repairman to look at it. Seller has now offered to pay if anything needs to be done, but we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

 

[Cubatobaco]

It was a private seller. QC was minimal, a handful of pictures. If I missed something, that's on me. Again, I'm going to take it to a local watch repairman to look at it. Seller has now offered to pay if anything needs to be done, but we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

Can be fixed. Don’t lose hope in it. It’s inconvenient and disappointing, I know. People will let you down, but this place is full of great people and tutorials that can walk you through the process. Of course, see what your watch guy says, but you’ll be good.

 

[r6538]

correcting the dial clocking could be a pain. assuming the feet are well secured and not bent, then it means the dial is clocked slightly on the feet. only way to fix it "correctly" is to remove + reattach feet in the right position (this is a pain), or remove the feet from the dial and adhere it on in the correct orientation with some "dial dots."

personally if it were me i would sell at a loss and pick up another, and chalk it up to a good lesson learned to QC

 

[WPB33405]

correcting the dial clocking could be a pain. assuming the feet are well secured and not bent, then it means the dial is clocked slightly on the feet. only way to fix it "correctly" is to remove + reattach feet in the right position (this is a pain), or remove the feet from the dial and adhere it on in the correct orientation with some "dial dots."

personally if it were me i would sell at a loss and pick up another, and chalk it up to a good lesson learned to QC

Turns out that the bezel was slightly misaligned, and the 12 o'clock marker was just slightly rotated clockwise. The combination of the two makes it look worse than it is. The watchsmith said he could barely adjust the bezel, but to really take care of it, he'd have to take it off, and said it wasn't worth it. He said the 12 o'clock marker was set and the whole dial face would need to be replaced, again, not worth it. Sadly, you are correct, my QC could have been better than it was. I wear the watch trying not to pay attention to the issues, but may just give it to my father, who would probably never notice, and then buy myself a new one. Thank you for the input, though.

 

[theguardian]

Hey there! I have a BB58 with the same misaligned bezel. Curious, how much does an alignment like this typically cost?

 

[WPB33405]

Hey there! I have a BB58 with the same misaligned bezel. Curious, how much does an alignment like this typically cost?

I've got no idea. I'm new to all of this, and never had one done. Not the guy to ask, sorry Good luck with the watch, I may buy one myself, along with a 39 Pelagos.

 

[AleosMadPa]

Hey there! I have a BB58 with the same misaligned bezel. Curious, how much does an alignment like this typically cost?

no clue what it would cost to have it done, but really there is no reason not to do it yourself.
You dont align the bezel itself, but the insert. So all you have to do is get the insert off, clean the bezel from glue resedue and glue the insert back in as straight as possible.

You might google how to do it since thats not a problem only reps have. There are ways without removing the bezel assembly (for example glue remover). Get adhesive ring to glue the insert back in and you have a aligned bezel.

/Ive done it with my BB54 too.

 

[mclarendude]

These are both easy fixes.

The dial is not attached to the movement, it is attached to the movement ring. So, the movement ring needs to be unclamped and moved to the spot where it needs to be.

Same process as below:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTime/comments/wtv1eg
The bezel insert is the same as any bezel insert removal process.

I cannot remember where I saw it, but I believe someone fixed their bezel here.