Kobold Phantom Dissapointment

[song31]

eesh that is sad to hear indeed- I had some problems with my watch "designed for top notch military" and I must agree you dont pay for that type of craftsmanship and as much as a forum can celebrate it should also draw attention to problems so a brand can make good- participate and solve issues or at least as seems to be the path- warn others money isnt easy to come by and well this is not ok-send it back and demand a fix

[vicbastige]

I'll try again too.

As suggested, send it back so you can start enjoying your watch. My experience with Kobold also included a bezel that pooped out three times. Three trips back to them to have it repaired and each time shipping and insurance was steep. The last time it came back with the epoxy leeching out from the sides on close inspection...on a $4000 piece. Their watch smith capability left me completely underwhelmed.

May I suggest a potential solution. It seems they now have a solid bezel that they are now using on the BO. Consider it if the looks suit you as it may be more durable. I think it looks really better on the BO than the "regular" bezel with the inset.

[twll]

Pip is still not lining up.
Not sure why screws coming loose is funny, maybe you can explain.

Screws coming out is not funny. That you whine about it on a watch forum is! You solved your problem by screwing in the loose screws.

You wear your watch. Stuff happens. You move your arm. As par for the course, I periodically check lug and bracelet screws like I take in vehicles for oil changes periodically. It's called watch/car ownership.

To complain your bezel pip fell out is valid if you have never worn it! IMO. Things come loose and need maintenance.

You missed the point of my statement. Neither my tag or rolex ever had a single problem. If I buy a watch and in the first 8 months things fall off I expect the manufacturer to take some sort of action to make it up.

They will. You just have to pay for the shipping or take the time to drop it off. Unlike TAG and Rolex, you can't buy a Kobold in most every mall in the USA. I think you knew that when you bought it.

[martin_blank]

If screws need to be monitored while wearing the watch...in what universe is that a better, tactical design than spring bars?

I like a lot of things about the Kobold but pushing the explorer and ruggedness theme as much as they do kind of opens the door for this level of scrutiny..

[blakeharrison]

Screws coming out is not funny. [edited by moderator]
You wear your watch. Stuff happens. You move your arm. As par for the course, I periodically check lug and bracelet screws like I take in vehicles for oil changes periodically. It's called watch/car ownership.

To complain your bezel pip fell out is valid if you have never worn it! IMO. Things come loose and need maintenance.


They will. You just have to pay for the shipping or take the time to drop it off. Unlike TAG and Rolex, you can't buy a Kobold in most every mall in the USA. I think you knew that when you bought it.

Who is whining I am voicing a legitimate complaint, having to check the screws on a 5 month old watch seems excessive. The same with the pip, it didn't fall out after a couple of years it was a couple of months. Kobold's may be unique by they are a far cry from rolex or tag in terms of quality or durability.

And honestly, you may give me a hard time but there you are writing back, if my complaints are so ridiculous why do you take the time to respond? I get it, you really like Kobold and think that having to repair and maintain a watch like a car is acceptable. I do not, and according to Kobold's own site that is not part of owning one of their watches. If you want to tell yourself that so you feel better about having a piece of junk watch that's fine. Keep it to yourself.

[blakeharrison]

I'll try again too.

As suggested, send it back so you can start enjoying your watch. My experience with Kobold also included a bezel that pooped out three times. Three trips back to them to have it repaired and each time shipping and insurance was steep. The last time it came back with the epoxy leeching out from the sides on close inspection...on a $4000 piece. Their watch smith capability left me completely underwhelmed.

May I suggest a potential solution. It seems they now have a solid bezel that they are now using on the BO. Consider it if the looks suit you as it may be more durable. I think it looks really better on the BO than the "regular" bezel with the inset.

The solid metal bezel is $750 and they seemed genuinely confused as to whether or not it could be installed on my watch. I am hesitant to spend anymore money with Kobold especially as it sounds like the lume pip might very well fall right out of that one as well.

[blakeharrison]

Screws coming out is not funny. That you whine about it on a watch forum is! You solved your problem by screwing in the loose screws.

You wear your watch. Stuff happens. You move your arm. As par for the course, I periodically check lug and bracelet screws like I take in vehicles for oil changes periodically. It's called watch/car ownership.

To complain your bezel pip fell out is valid if you have never worn it! IMO. Things come loose and need maintenance.


They will. You just have to pay for the shipping or take the time to drop it off. Unlike TAG and Rolex, you can't buy a Kobold in most every mall in the USA. I think you knew that when you bought it.

Also the screws came loose while I was on vacation so I didn't have the fancy little screwdrivers. Should I carry a small kobold watch repair kit with me everywhere to make sure I can service this hunk of junk?

[bacari]

blakeharrison,

Sorry you are experiencing this. What you describe and looking at the photo of your watch... not good. I would be annoyed if things began falling inexplicably off of my watch... regardless of the pricepoint.

I've had things happen/break on my more affordable watches and I have usually taken them to a local outfit for repair. My Zenith stopped working after just two years of ownership and it cost me $450 to send it back to Zenith for repair. I know it sucks, but I would send it back for repair and have the dialog around how often these types of problems occur with that watch. In my dealings with Kobold, they have always been straight-forward and very, very customer oriented.

Good luck.

[blakeharrison]

Just spoke to Kobold and they admitted that the screws coming loose and triangle coming off are known issues. Supposedly they have a new bezel which eliminates the problem. We will see what happens when they get mine and call me to discuss.
In the meantime I got a Seiko 007 and have to say if Seiko can do it for under $200 how come Kobold can't for $5k?

[marchone]

In the meantime I got a Seiko 007 and have to say if Seiko can do it for under $200 how come Kobold can't for $5k?

Apples and oranges but I feel your pain.