Watch strap has made my existing watch unusable - can I claim for a new watch?

timmy963

Snap them off and buy a few sets of watch strap pins on eBay. You can get a set for like £2 or multiple sets for a little bit more.

TELLIT01

The OP has absolutely nothing to lose by removing the strap and then cutting the bar.  I suspect it will come free with a bit of persuasion.  Even if it doesn't a local jeweller who does their own manufacturing will almost certainly be able to drill the pins out.

theoretica

Possibly the watch should be used only with stainless strap pins?  I agree with others that those pins simply need cutting and replacing - slightly fiddly, but not the end of the watch.

Muskey

The strap advert is misleading in that they are called Waterproof Leather Watch Straps, but are described as being water resistant…..2 different things I believe wherein waterproof can be submerged in water for some length of time, but water resistant can only be splashed and dried without full submersion.

Ectophile

Get the wire cutters out.  Snip the old bars off.  Then buy some new ones off ebay.  Job done.  No new watch needed.

andy230uk

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It seems pretty clear that the pins have corroded and fused into the watch body.  Without knowing the composition of the two materials, there is a phenomenon called bimetallic corrosion, which may account for the pins being stuck in place.

I'm not convinced the strap retailer has a liability here, unless the strap was described as being compatible with your particular watch.  Clearly, a strap sold as being waterproof should come with waterproof bars and bins, but if the corrosion was caused by a reaction between the metal of your watch and the metal of the pin, assisted by water as an electrolyte, then the strap retailer is possibly off the hook.  They're not to know the composition of your watch body.

If the bar or pins corrode anyway, in isolation, then they're clearly not fit for the purpose for which they're being sold.

As for the solution, I think the best bet is to get the repairer to do as they suggest.  Break the bars and try to remove the corroded pins.  A decent repairer should be able to drill them out if necessary and fit new, oversized bars, or install some axle-holders for a regular pin to sit in.

Fantastic reply, thank you. Bimetallic corrosion (although I'd never heard of it before) is the most likely cause of this issue. Thanks for the advice

andy230uk

PHK said:

The watch isn't waterproof its water resistant. So cam be used for showering, in the rain or a brief swim but not for actual swimming. 

No, it's waterproof which is why I bought it. I've been using it this way for 5 years, the issue has only arisen with the new strap and spring bars.

DullGreyGuy

Muskey said:

The strap advert is misleading in that they are called Waterproof Leather Watch Straps, but are described as being water resistant…..2 different things I believe wherein waterproof can be submerged in water for some length of time, but water resistant can only be splashed and dried without full submersion.

Would appear the watch itself is also only water resistant too given its 5 bar pressure limit its not rated as suitable for swimming. Of cause these things are sold saying they are good for 50m depth but that is when water and watch are static, add the extra pressure of movement and you really need a 10 bar pressure limit for shallow water swimming or 20 bar for free diving etc. 


As to the OP's comment that they are owed a new watch, even if the pins couldn't be removed the OP wouldn't be entitled to a new watch but a replacement 5 year old watch given that is what they had beforehand... civil law requires indemnification (ie put back in the same position as you were before) not betterment (replacing a 5 year old watch with a brand new one would put the OP in a better position than they were before)

andy230uk

Muskey said:

The strap advert is misleading in that they are called Waterproof Leather Watch Straps, but are described as being water resistant…..2 different things I believe wherein waterproof can be submerged in water for some length of time, but water resistant can only be splashed and dried without full submersion.

someone else posted that link to prove there was such a thing as a waterproof leather strap. This is the actual one I bought.
https://ukwatchstrap.co.uk/DiModell-Sport-Waterproof-Blue-AD2.html

andy230uk

Thanks for the advice all.

To clarify a few points, the strap was sold as waterproof. And came with the spring bar, which I used. Which is why I suspect the bar rather than the strap of course.

The watch is obviously waterproof too and I've been using it that way for 5 years.

I have an increased knowledge of chemistry and an idea of what to do next from people who know more about watched than me