# Fortis repair/service



## Jlark2006 (Aug 7, 2009)

Hi, I’ve got a few questions about getting by Fortis B-42 Cosmonaut (647.10.158) repaired and serviced. I bought the watch used about a year ago and it was in perfect condition. I know there are issues with the crown threads so I have always been very careful about not cross-threading them. However, over time it seems that the threads have worn down to practically nothing. Now the crown only engages the threads for about a 1/8th of turn.

I’ve called both Time-tec and Saltzman's. Neither were aware of the fix that Fortis was offering for these faulty crowns. After consulting with others, Time-tec said they would honor the Fortis fix, and Saltzman's said there was an 80%-90% chance that the fix would be covered by Fortis. I thought these places were replacing the crowns by default. Shouldn’t they at least be aware of fix?

I guess my main question is this… Because I don’t know if the watch has ever been serviced, I would like to get that done while it is already at the shop. Time-tec roughly quoted $170 to get it serviced (+$70 if the main spring has to be replaced!) and Saltzman's refused to give even a ball park figure until I send in the watch. As I have never had an automatic watch serviced, I really don’t know what to expect. Does this price seem right, assuming no parts have to be replaced? I really don’t want to spend $30 shipping the watch back and forth to Saltzman's just to get an estimate. Any recommendations? If the crown has to be replaced for free, would they end up having to take the watch apart anyway, thus servicing it for free?

Thanks,
Justin


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## djy74 (Jun 26, 2008)

Hi Justin, 
I was in the same situation when I purchased my Fortis second hand. I knew right off the bat that servicing was needed. My B-42 Pilot Pro GMT Chrono was around 5 years old (at least by the warranty card), and it had the screw down crown. From what I was told and research done, an automatic movement should be serviced around 5 years or so. Needless to say, I dealt with Time-Tec out in Los Angeles. They did a great job. 

As for the crown, I thought Fortis was going to replace all screw down crowns with the newer push/pull version. Time-Tec told me that since it was out of warranty, I would have to pay for the conversion. 
For the service, I think that price is normal for an authorized Fortis service center. Mine was higher due to the chrono function and replacement parts needed. I would assume they would let you know if service is needed when the crown is replaced. 
Using one of the service centers is going to be your best bet. Replacing the crown is number 1 on the list. The water resistance integrity will be compromised with the threading going bad (I have a post on what happened to my watch).

I hope I answered part of your question. Time-Tec is good in my book. If anything, get the crown replaced. 
-Dan


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2010)

To put this into perspective, Fortis will charge 235 eur just to "service" the watch, with another 67 eur for a new barrel.

I've no idea what a service includes (I did ask), but it seems very little as they have the cheek to charge for seals, which come as part of a kit with tube and crown. AND THEN they to charge 70 EUR rodekaart) to fit the seals & tube, even though the watch is already fully disassembled.

Not impressed, Fortis.


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## Mike 777 (Dec 20, 2008)

I had experience with both Saltzmans and Time-Tec, and I have to say that at least in my case, Time-Tec was superior. I have a Spacematic GMT that originally came with a mineral crystal, and I wanted a sapphire crystal with the antireflective (AR) coating to be installed. (This was shortly after Providence Watch Hospital, the former Fortis US service center, went out of business.) Through this site I read that Saltzmans is the new service center, and I emailed them and asked them about this. They replied that the sapphire crystal did not have the AR coating, but they could install a plain sapphire crystal. Having other Fortis watches with sapphire-AR crystals, I knew they had to be wrong, so I contacted LWR Time when they still distributed Fortis watches, and I indeed was able to get the official Fortis part number for this crystal, which I relayed to Saltzmans.

The fact that _I_ had to provide them with a part no. should have raised red flags with me, but I went ahead and sent them the watch. After a couple of months I got it back, and the crystal may well have been sapphire, but there was no AR coating. Their receipt said "Crystal confirmed w/Switzerland as A/R saphire [sic] before installation." That was wrong; there obviously was no AR coating, and if they in fact are the professionals they claim to be, they should have spotted that before they installed it. It was easy for me to see, especially if I looked at it in a side-by-side comparison to one of my AR-coated Fortis watches.

Later I sent it to Time-Tec; they knew exactly what I wanted and gave me a discount. Now the watch, with its AR crystal, is stunning. I am now a confirmed fan of Time-Tec, and I will not be sending any of my watches to Saltzmans in the foreseeable future.


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## Jlark2006 (Aug 7, 2009)

I appreciate all the information everyone. I guess I know where it's going! I'll post a little something on my experience with Time-Tec when it gets back.

Thanks again,
Justin


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## ebsaltzman (Nov 23, 2010)

Good morning,
My name is Evan Saltzman and I am the owner of Saltzman's Watches. Let me start by saying that we do honor the Fortis screw in crown replacement as we have been instructed by Fortis to do so, but we cannot guaranty that it will be done under warranty until we actually see the watch. We also do not quote prices for repairs over the phone, even ball park estimates, especially on mechanical watches becuase there are just too many variables to account for and we never want to give any incorrect information. Unfortunately we must be overly cautious with this practice and would rather do it this way than give out incorrect information over the phone without and evaluation of the actual watch. In regards to the sapphire crystal that was requested to be anti-reflective, I am just not sure where the breakdown was. We order all parts directly from Fortis in Switzerland using part numbers and/or detailed descriptions of the parts upon ordering. When ordering a saphire crystal from the company if it was requested to have the A/R coating we certainly would have confirmed it with Switzerland before installation, and would never say that we did if we didn't. I encourage anyone with questions to email me directly at [email protected], and I will always strive to make every customer happy. I am sorry if our lack of commitment to a ballpark price or a guaranty of warranty repair over the phone is frustrating, but I hope my explanation makes sense. We have successfully serviced many customers, and I hope that in the future I will be able to do the same for all of you. Thank you for your time and patience with reading my post.

Sincerely,

Evan Saltzman


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## Utlityman (Nov 10, 2009)

Hello gentleman, i myself just got my flieger 24H pvd le back from Saltzmans and i can honestly say that there turn around time was fast(3 weeks).I sent my watch in because the screw in crown would not screw in and when i contacted time tec they told me that being a limited edition watch they would have some trouble getting the crown in right away because it was all black and not stainless, so in turn it would take 10-12 weeks for me to get my watch back which i thought was way too long ,so thats why i sent it to saltzmans.The only draw back about sending the watch was the $60.00 shipping to saltzmans.The only problem i had was when i received my watchback a couple of days ago i noticed a white speck inside the face by the 20 minute mark.Anyone firmiliar with this model watch knows that it all blacked out so that speck stands out like a sore thumb(Real bummer in my eyes) .I wound up getting another screw in crown as a replacement so i hope that this one last longer than a year.A regular pop in crown was what i would've like so i wouldn't have the same problem in the future but i was told whatever came originally with the watch is what was going to be put back on.I hope that Fortis realizes sometime in the future that those screw in crown are pretty sub-standard,i'd hate to have to spend another $60.00 in shipping and no telling how much more to have to get the crown replaced again.These watches are not cheap by no means and as a consumer you hate to feel like your not getting your money's worth especially since some of us have to save money for a while just to get one.Just my 2cents,Ram


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## Mike 777 (Dec 20, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the white speck after you got it back from Saltzman's; that would stick out like a sore thumb on an all-black watch like yours. As you can read in Saltzman's post above, he says "I will always strive to make every customer happy." You should take him up on his word and send it back to him to get that speck removed, and make sure he picks up the round-trip shipping.


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## TBD (Oct 14, 2010)

Can anyone point me to some diagrams comparing the screw-in vs pop-in crown such as that on the B42?

Thanx

TBD


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