Ingenieur Crown Slipped Off

I suggest you try the HK service center first for this repair, simply because it is a very easy repair. There are times when you need to call out the artillery for a repair, but honestly --and I'm not minimizing your concern-- a crown that comes off is not one of them.

So here's an update: HK flagship store was true to their word and got back to me within 10 days (8 to be exact) and the servicing will be covered under the warranty and will include a basic(?) maintenance service:

Case disassembly
Gasket replacement
Check to see if movement is magnetized
Check movement rate
Check movement functioning
Ultrasonic cleaning of case
Case Reassemble and water resistance check

The crown has been determined to be damaged and will be replaced as well.

Again, service in HK will take about 40 days and if sent to Schaffhausen it will take at least 9-11 weeks.

My question is since it's more than just fixing the crown, is it worth it to send to Schaffhausen? If replacing the crown were the only thing done then I would just get it serviced in HK, as Michael said in this case there really is no need to call in the army.

But due to some of the recent reviews of the HK service center, added in that this is a limited edition and carbon fiber for a case (which will be disassembled) and probably the biggest factor (that maybe should have less influence than it should) is that I'm probably just treating it like a baby by sending it to Schaffhausen - am I overthinking this?

Basically I'm asking for something as common as a routine maintenance service is it better to send to HK or back to Switzerland? If sending it to Switzerland was also a 40 day turnaround I would send it there for sure. Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks!

I'd never attempt a repair myself inside or outside warranty just in case. Ad all the way and I would prob let the Swiss do the fix. If they are suggesting options that makes me a touch nervous about using the local centre.

Send it to Schaffhausen. Carbon case is nothing to joke with, once it has a scratch, it can't be removed. So let the specialists do the work.

I picked up my Schaffhausen-serviced Ingenieur and the folks there did immaculate work.

The crown before servicing (and before slipping off) would unscrew itself every now and then and after servicing it feels tighter when I screw the crown in. I get the feeling it won't unscrew itself again.

Now for the carbon fiber case - WOW is all I have to say. Before serving there were very fine micro scratches here and there. On the lug at 5 o'clock a small chunk of resin had chipped off, exposing the carbon fiber underneath. Even though exposed carbon fiber is ok and tough enough for every day use, it's just not nice to know the resin chipped off.

After servicing, Team Schaffhausen basically filled in the exposed area with resin, buffed and did whatever magic they did and you cannot tell a piece was ever missing - the new resin perfectly blends in with the old resin and there are no lines or uneven marks to tell that resin was added to that area. In addition, the micro scratches from before have also been buffed out/erased away.

After receiving my watch and sitting at the boutique with the lights overhead, I thought it looked a little different - a little "smoother" than before and so I was really surprised when I realized it was because all the micro scratches had been smoothed out, so there weren't awry reflections coming from the case.

Team Schaffhausen really surprised me with how much maintenance work and effort they used, especially since I was not charged for the servicing. The issue was only a crown that slipped off and they could have just fixed that - but they didn't - they also cleaned up the case and the work on the carbon fiber case they did really makes me as the owner of this watch appreciate and like IWC even MORE than I did before. The three months that me and my Ingenieur were parted was worth it. Thanks a lot IWC!

Also I'd like to thank Gloria at the 1881 flagship boutique in Hong Kong for the help in getting my Ingenieur back to racing status again!

Nice to hear you got your watch back all sorted and better than new. Nice.

good to hear, it's a fantastic watch!

B.

Happy to hear IWC went above and beyond .... Stories like this help retain brand loyal customers for life. It's a small thing that goes a long way in building a loyal relationship with customers.

Beautiful watch BTW..