Stowa Watch Problems

[bob digital]

I decided on a Stowa Airman w/o Logo for a Christmas present from my parents this year. I received it in the begining of Decemeber, but promised not to wear it until Christmas. I tried it on when it came and loved it, and it seemed to be working fine. I kept it in the metal box it came in and checked on it every now and then. Last week I was looking at it and it had stopped. I was a little confused, I picked it up and it started working. Put it back and then checked again the next day and the same thing happened. I went away on vacation and got back yesterday and it is now stopped completely.

Obviously I am pretty disappointed. Stowa seemed to have a good reputation here and on the few watch forums I checked out. I emailed the woman I had been dealing with today and I am waiting to hear back.

Am I crazy for still wanting this watch (a new working one of course)? I did a lot of research before deciding on the Stowa and in that price range there was really nothing else I liked even close to as much. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[sartort]

Is it as simple a case of the watch running out of reserves? You mentioned picking it up and it started working? Looking at their website, the Stowa Airman without logo has an automatic movement and your motion started winding the watch again allowing it to run.

 

[denimdestroyedmylife]

 

[scnupe7]

Originally Posted by bob digital

I decided on a Stowa Airman w/o Logo for a Christmas present from my parents this year. I received it in the begining of Decemeber, but promised not to wear it until Christmas. I tried it on when it came and loved it, and it seemed to be working fine. I kept it in the metal box it came in and checked on it every now and then. Last week I was looking at it and it had stopped. I was a little confused, I picked it up and it started working. Put it back and then checked again the next day and the same thing happened. I went away on vacation and got back yesterday and it is now stopped completely.

Obviously I am pretty disappointed. Stowa seemed to have a good reputation here and on the few watch forums I checked out. I emailed the woman I had been dealing with today and I am waiting to hear back.

Am I crazy for still wanting this watch (a new working one of course)? I did a lot of research before deciding on the Stowa and in that price range there was really nothing else I liked even close to as much. Has this happened to anyone else?

Yeah, when I didn't wear or wind my watch for a few days.

 

[gdl203]

Do you wind your watch? Are you aware it does not work on battery?

 

[Crooow]

Originally Posted by bob digital

I emailed the woman I had been dealing with today and I am waiting to hear back.

I may be speaking only for myself here, but I think we would all enjoy it if you could post her e-mail reply to you once you receive it.

 

[pscolari]

This is rich.

 

[scnupe7]

Originally Posted by Crooow

I may be speaking only for myself here, but I think we would all enjoy it if you could post her e-mail reply to you once you receive it.

I would love to see it as well.

 

[robin]

You have to make sure you give it water everyday. Don't be a bad owner!

 

[lawyerdad]

If you haven't picked up on this by now, it's a mechanical watch that, as gdl mentioned, does not operate on a battery. It's either a manual watch that requires that you wind it daily to keep it running, or an "automatic", which means that it is automatically wound by the movement of your arm over the course of a day (unless, of course, you stop wearing it).

 

[philosophe]

As a Stowa owner, I can say that their customer service is excellent. I am sure that the problem will be resolved.

 

[robin]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

If you haven't picked up on this by now, it's a mechanical watch that, as gdl mentioned, does not operate on a battery. It's either a manual watch that requires that you wind it daily to keep it running, or an "automatic", which means that it is automatically wound by the movement of your arm over the course of a day (unless, of course, you stop wearing it).
Or leave it out in the sun so that it can recharge its jewels.

 

[Tarmac]

Please ignore the harsh naysayers trying to feed you static in this thread.

I am a Stowa collector.

You probably have a faulty rhodenium capacitor, a known issue for this particular Stowa model especially after the changeover to brass alloy used in certain screws in the caseback which interferes with the rhodenium battery. They should have never gone away from the stainless alloy pre-1993, alas. But that is a topic for another thread.

In any case, you should still be under warranty, you need to contact Gustav in the rare alloy department at Stowa, he will take care of you. Describe to him your problem and state with 100% certainty that you are certain it is the well-publicized rhodenium capacitor stainless alloy interference issue and he will help you out.

Removing the rhodenium can be a little tricky but you can prepare for the time involved by disassembling your watch prior to calling Stowa. All you need is a screwdriver, at least get the caseback and crown off, you might as well remove the front glass while you are at it.

 

[Royal Berk]

It really is a sign of the times when someone resorts to the internet and emails to work out a watch bought by their parents brand new from a retailer has a mechanical/wind up movement.

 

[grimslade]

Tarmac, I think you're thinking of a different model. The Airman, as its name implies, runs on oxygen. I suspect the OP suffocated it by locking it in the box. It got a last gasp of air when he briefly took it out, but then, cruelly, he shut it back in for the final quietus.

The good news is that it has a secondary power reserve that runs on love.