• Apprentice
    9 Dec 2011, 1:53 a.m.

    I have a 2005 Mark XV Spitfire.
    The most unfortunate thing happened yesterday when I was taking off my coat. I must have clipped the watch somehow and it flew off my wrist and onto the concrete!
    Thankfully, and miraculously, the glass and bezel seem untouched. The case however, does have a small nick now on the lower right side. It is more than a scratch, I would call it a slight indention, and it is about 1mm long.
    The watch continues to run without problems, so far.
    However, just now when I shake my wrist I hear whirling/rattling sounds on the inside. I've never paid attention to this before so not sure if it is a normal function of the watch?

    What should my path forward be? I am fairly confident that the nick on the case cannot just be polished away. And given that it is relatively small, I think I can live with it. The potential damage to the movement however is a different story. Is a bit of whirring sound normal with automatic watches?
    What would it cost to inspect it and where? I am in Sydney, Australia.

    Any help is much appreciated!

    Regards,
    G

  • Master
    9 Dec 2011, 3:28 a.m.

    Hi G,

    As your watch is a 2005 model and if it has not been back for a service yet, now is probably a good time to drop it back in for its 5 yearly service. As part of the service, IWC will do a full check of the movement (pull it apart check everything and put it back together replacing any parts as needed), replace the crystal and also repair the case - they will "add" some extra metal back to the case via a laser treatment (I have also seen images of the soldering, brazing etc) before re-finishing the case - at the end of the service you will get back what resembles a brand new watch and have the peace of mind of knowing it will run for another 5 years without an issue.

    If it has been recently serviced (in the last 2 years) then you probably dont want to go the full service route and just have the movement checked out - there are a number of competent watchmakers in Sydney however I dont think spare parts are available any more so you are best off dropping the watch back to IWC for a check up.

    Either way, I would recommend dropping the watch back to Richemont who are now located at Level 9, 420 George St Sydney - they will be able to provide a full quote for what you want done.

    Cheers,

    Ben

  • Connoisseur
    9 Dec 2011, 7:09 p.m.

    Dear G:

    I wouldn't worry too much about the "whirring/rattling" sounds coming from the movement of your Mark XV. I believe these are normal sounds made by the movement of the Mark XV as well as XVI when the watches are shaken fairly vigorously.

    Hating to give false assurances, I do hope Michael F. or another Forum member more knowledgable than I (which means just about everybody) will write to chime in with the above.

    Sorry about the damage to the case.

    Cheers!

    Donald

  • 9 Dec 2011, 9:24 p.m.

    Have it surviced bu an autenthic dealer!
    I do it all the time and get the watch back as new.
    Cheers (and don't worry, they will fix it)
    Bas Dekkers