# ORIS BC3 - Buyer beware?



## Mikey

Although I love my ORIS BC3 pilot's watch because it's a chunky, substantial piece of precision engineering, I must inform potential buyers that the quality of parts is somewhat lacking. After a little over 2 years of careful use my watch began to lose time badly and stop for no apparent reason (you have to wind these watches manually every day, despite them being classed as "automatic") and several of the steel strap pins worked loose. ORIS quoted a ridiculous price for repair and informed me that the hands and crown required replacing even though there was no visible damage to either, normal wear and tear was the reason for this.
In short, after much dialogue and explaining that a quality watch should not wear out just outside of it's 2 year guarantee, the ORIS head office customer service and after sales attitude is arrogant and un-caring and it would appear that they use foreign contract repair agencies to carry out their repairs.
Think long and hard about parting with hard earned cash for over-priced Swiss watches, especially ORIS.


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## mk70ss

Mikey said:


> Although I love my ORIS BC3 pilot's watch because it's a chunky, substantial piece of precision engineering, I must inform potential buyers that the quality of parts is somewhat lacking. After a little over 2 years of careful use my watch began to lose time badly and stop for no apparent reason (you have to wind these watches manually every day, despite them being classed as "automatic") and several of the steel strap pins worked loose. ORIS quoted a ridiculous price for repair and informed me that the hands and crown required replacing even though there was no visible damage to either, normal wear and tear was the reason for this.
> In short, after much dialogue and explaining that a quality watch should not wear out just outside of it's 2 year guarantee, the ORIS head office customer service and after sales attitude is arrogant and un-caring and it would appear that they use foreign contract repair agencies to carry out their repairs.
> Think long and hard about parting with hard earned cash for over-priced Swiss watches, especially ORIS.


I have two Oris automatics. Both are rugged, accurate, and well made. Neither require further winding once set and worn on a daily basis. Maybe you got one that slipped through proper quality control standards, but mine are superb watches at reasonable prices. Oris watches are great values.


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## Guest

Moved from "Reviews" to the Oris Forum.


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## Andrew Holt

I have a BC3 that I've worn daily for years with no troubles at all.
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with one. Mine is still
a favorite overall watch and running strong. I'm sure a good watchmaker 
could get you on your way again without troubles. The movement is very 
dependable and has been in use for years so parts and service capability 
are readily available. Good luck and let us know how this turns out for you.

Andrew


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## Watchbreath

As to winding everyday, that depends on lifestyle and the nature of your 
job. Many people today sit in front of a monitor and push a mouse or walk
around with their hands in a lab coat. There's just not enough wrist motion and for them, wind about 6 or 7 turns in the mourning to compensate. I've had many people come back who where first time auto
owners, "my watch keeps stoping," do you sit in front of a monitor all day?
"Well, yes."


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## Denizen

why would the hands need to be replaced? that sound ridiculous.

i've seen more than a few complaint threads of poor or arrogant customer service from the US repair center, none from overseas centers however. i own a TT1 (s'been pretty reliable but i don't wear it everyday), had an opportunity to get the discontinued worldtimer (non-BC version) a while back but decided not to because of my concern about their cust. service.

i'm not one who completely accepts hearsay evidence about their customer service but i've heard or read enough to put that little twinge of doubt in my mind about future Oris purchases.

if anyone in Oris management is reading this thread or forum, i wish they'd take note. indifferent or mediocre customer service is not the way to win new customers or keep old ones. :think:



Mikey said:


> Although I love my ORIS BC3 pilot's watch because it's a chunky, substantial piece of precision engineering, I must inform potential buyers that the quality of parts is somewhat lacking. After a little over 2 years of careful use my watch began to lose time badly and stop for no apparent reason (you have to wind these watches manually every day, despite them being classed as "automatic") and several of the steel strap pins worked loose. ORIS quoted a ridiculous price for repair and informed me that the hands and crown required replacing even though there was no visible damage to either, normal wear and tear was the reason for this.
> In short, after much dialogue and explaining that a quality watch should not wear out just outside of it's 2 year guarantee, the ORIS head office customer service and after sales attitude is arrogant and un-caring and it would appear that they use foreign contract repair agencies to carry out their repairs.
> Think long and hard about parting with hard earned cash for over-priced Swiss watches, especially ORIS.


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## Chris Hohne

Sorry to hear of your problems. I have had only good luck with my 24 Oris watches.

I have 3 BC3's and a BC3+. The newest is 3 years old and the oldest is 6 years old. None have been serviced and all keep time within 10 seconds per day.

You may have got a bad one that slipped through.

Chris


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## publandlord

Mikey said:


> Think long and hard about parting with hard earned cash for over-priced Swiss watches


What, all of them? :-d


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## SonnyD

I've had a couple of Oris for the last 6 and 7 years. The only problem I've had is the screw down crown on my BCC. I've never had to deal with their service......but there parts shipment is slow as molases.<|

Regards Sonny


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## nando_ferdz

Sorry to hear that...

Did you buy your BC3 from an authorized dealer or is it a pre-owned piece?

This is the only first time that I've heard such a complaint like this against ORIS. I am a big fan of ORIS especially the BC3 models. I currently own a BC3 day/date, BC3+ and BC3 Chrono. All are running well and keep great time without any issue.


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## leewmeister

Denizen said:


> why would the hands need to be replaced? that sound ridiculous.


When I had my Rolex Date serviced at a Rolex Service Center, they replaced the hands and crystal (acrylic on my watch) as part of the routine service. They didn't explain why the hands were changed, but maybe it's to "refresh" the lume??


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## Mikey

:thanks Thanks to all who have taken the time to post replies....much appreciated.
OK....time to answer some questions.
My watch was working perfectly.....until the guarantee ran out...sod's law I guess. Then it began behaving wierd...stopped during the day for 5 mins, then started going again...really annoying....gently shaking it 100 times to wind it up, only for it to stop 3 minutes later. I managed to get it fixed & serviced for around £75 locally, but had to get a new crown from ORIS in order to do this. (Didn't know you had to wind using the crown....my jeweller told me when it started to mis-behave....lasted 2 years without winding it that way though:-s)
Because it was just outsde of guarantee ORIS woud not even meet me halfway, they said the hands were faulty too...never known that before, (I had a Breitling colt ocean for 6 years without any problems).
I was disappointed that ORIS were willing to lose a customer/fan for the sake of a few quid.....I just wanted to know the reason for the crown wearing out and the hands needing replacing, they were really reluctant to chase it up with the UK agent (my watch is fine now, it hasn't had replacement hands as suggested...just the crown).
Like some people have suggested, I may have bought a "Friday afternoon" watch, but those should not exist at this level when you buy a brand new one like I did.
Anyway...enough of my whingeing...just wanted to be a little thorn in ORIS's side for a while and vent some steam...thanks for listening.
Not impressed at all with the correspondence from ORIS, so I will be looking to the Poljot factory for a Russian Aviator once I have sold/danced on the grave of this BC3 (I just don't trust it anymore, even though it's 100% ok now)......... 

Thanks to all again for your helpful replies
Mikey:-!


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## heb

Hello Mikey,

I know this is no consolation, but as with ANY mechanical watch brand, you really do pay your money and take a chance; the very same problems could have been had (and usually are) with a much "higher level" watch than Oris. But I don't blame you for dumping the brand for another; you don't exactly deprive yourself of high horology if don't do another Oris. I think there are enough private label brands sporting off-the-shelf ETA 2824 movements and over built cases to more than serve as Oris clones--much cheaper too. Seems like a new one comes on-line every week. These companies are typically very customer oriented, for at least the first couple of years or so. Maybe they would have been more ameanable to your problem.

You really never know if the repair facility is on the level either. It seems that "replacement parts" are particularly prevalent when "authorized dealers" do the service.

All that to say I'm sorry about your problem; been there, more than once.

Good luck with your future watch purchases,
heb


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## Mikey

After several emails...the official ORIS bottom line response to my problem remains thus....

"The crown as well as the glass, clasp etc. is an expendable part. This never goes under guarantee. If you buy a mechanical watch, it needs continuous support and service and also the crown is a very important part of a mechanical watch. 

We are very sorry that you are so unsatisfied with your watch and our after sales service. If you need any further information, please feel free to contact me."

Best regards,
ORIS SA

Mike....a waste of time and effort....:rodekaart


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## Young Son Time

My 4 month old BC3 Advanced has just stopped auto winding, for the past few weeks I've had to treat it like a manual and wind it by hand every day. Having read this post I'm not looking forward to asking ORIS to replace or fix the watch, this is my second auto, the first was a Seiko Samurai 200m Ti Diver. The Seiko still goes well even after 4 years.

I love the look and asthetics of the Oris BC3 but as for what's going on under the case I'm not so sure, just a little pissed off as I like the look so much but need reliability, it's really annoying when this watch stops and starts therfore making me late for stuff and defeating the point of wearing a watch.

At this price the case should be hardened, it's not an expensive process. The movement should be long lasting and reliable.

After this auto experience I'm put off and have just ordered a Sinn UX quartz from Chronomaster, not romantic but practical and dependable.


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## D N Ravenna

Hold the watch close to our hear and rock and back and forth. You should be able to hear and perhaps feel the rotor move back and forth. If it does not, then something has it tied up. If it has gotten stuck, you can either send it back to Oris or have someone local look at it. That is the path I took when it happened to one of my watches. For less than 30 USD, it was fixed. Is that satisfactory for a four-month old watch? No. But it happens. Given that Oris uses ETAs for their base movements, a fix can sometimes be had cheaper and faster than sending it back.

God luck!

Dan


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## Young Son Time

Dan,

Thanks for the info, the rotor rotates freely, almost too freely suggesting that as there is no resistance there is no winding going on. When I first got the watch there was a noticable resistance as the rotor wound the spring. Annoying as I like the watch and like the look of many onther Oris watches but am obviously put off buying another. I appreciate that it could happen to any ETA based watch but to apparently have a rep for poor customer service at this price range, that's not on. IMO a no questions replacement policy is the only way. 

RRP approx £850
Less 20% VAT £680
Less ETA movement <£50
Less strap and buckle <£10
Less case and glass <£50
TOTAL £570

Profit for Oris £200-300
Profit for retailer £200-300

Value for customer ???????

I'm not moaning that's just business, however it makes you question how much money is made from a Rolex compared with a G-Shock


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## D N Ravenna

Good luck and keep the forum posted!
Dan


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## Cana

Watchbreath said:


> As to winding everyday, that depends on lifestyle and the nature of your
> job. Many people today sit in front of a monitor and push a mouse or walk
> around with their hands in a lab coat. There's just not enough wrist motion and for them, wind about 6 or 7 turns in the mourning to compensate. I've had many people come back who where first time auto
> owners, "my watch keeps stoping," do you sit in front of a monitor all day?
> "Well, yes."


I work on a computer all day and I have never had an auto watch stop working from lack of movement. Not ever 1 of my 22 autos, some as old as 34 years.. If you don't move enough to keep an auto running you might be dead. Your boss may stop paying you any day now. Get up and get a cofee once in a while, even if it's just to wind your watch, before someone puts you in a pine box..


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## Watchyman

I'd have a localwatch repair guy repair it.
It's just an ETA movement.


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## novedl

not 100% certain that oris uses eta anymore, perhaps it's a sellita that clones the eta? i have an eta powered (red rotor) oris bc3 that has performed flawlessly for a good number of years now. just put it on a new strap ant the combo works very well.....i need to take some photos!


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## novedl

here is the current look of my bc3



















a very versatile watch.


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## EROKS

I just discovered the BC3 advanced at a local AD. Great looking watch I'm was interested in getting. No so sure now...Its a shame to hear about the reliability issues. Is this common on the BC3 Advanced or is this just an example of a few isolated cases?


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## incognito

Ive had a few ORIS BC3's and to this date... never had issues.

sorry for your troubles... can it be an issue with only the new line? Mine's are sub circa 2000


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## Watch_guy

I think it's unfortunate to see that this is happening (winding issue) with several people. I like Oris, and feel they represent a great value in the swiss made mechanical watch arena. I will say, however, that if it isn't covered under warranty, you should have it fixed at a local watchmaker. The Oris watches use rather basic, stock movements, and any competent watchmaker should be able to repair inexpensively. 
Hopefully Oris QC department is taking notice of these complaints.


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## nakedjohnny

I think local watchmaker is the way to go, it's a mechanical watch so anything can go wrong. Kinda like cars, during the warranty period lots of people get their cars serviced by dealer but once the warranty's over we go to neighborhood mechanics


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## scoob

Oris uses the Sellitta 220 base in the BC3 series which is a clone of the ETA 2824-2.


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## sticky

I just love all things Oris and this is the first time I've ever heard a bad word about them. Sorry you have had problems with your BC3 but the attitude of Oris doesn't shock me. I had got an impression from members of other forums who had dealings with the Oris head office - sort of "we did you a favour by selling you a watch" attitude. I certainly wouldn't let the bad experience of one BC3 put me off Oris as a brand


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## PedroD

This is a 6 year old thread?


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## sticky

Oops! Sorry. That's what happens when you don't check the age of a thread before posting a reply to it - DOH!


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## Bedolaga

Hi to all,


Well, old thread and old issue for my new ORIS BC3 Advanced Day Date: automatic winding become faulty after only 2 months of usage exactly after this manner as described in the original post.

It seems to be some genetic defect in this ORIS series.


best,


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## Patu

Just when I was drooling after a used BC3 on another forum, I spotted this thread. Maybe I'll just have to skip this one.


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## cbr2012

Same - very interested in the BC3 Advanced but surprised the movement & quality isnt the same as broader ORIS range


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## TTL

I’ve had zero issues with my BC3 Advanced. It’s one of my very favorite watches!


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## Bedolaga

In addition: Two reversing wheels have been replaced for 100 USD ( parts + service). Automatic winding seems to be OK now.


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## zznalg

I've been lusting after an Oris dive watch. Do any of these quality issues effect their dive series?


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