I had the unfortunate luck of having this watch knocked out of my hands a couple of weeks ago. The watch fell and I picked it up and could not see any damage. Little did I realise that it fell on the winding crown. Later in the day, I wanted to adjust and wind the watch and found that it was very difficult to unscrew the crown. I forced the crown and it 'unscrewed'. I had a good look and realised that what unscrewed was the stem tube. The crown was jammed against the stem tube.
I took the watch to my watch guy and he could not do anything. I was pretty sad. I had my fears as this watch was from an independent watch company and it uses standard parts in the manufacturing and assembling of the watch (basically the movement). So I contacted the manufacturer, in this case MKII. I was not sure if they have the parts for the watch, being a small independent manufacturer. I even had problems trying to contact the manufacturer. Finally I posted on a forum where the manufacturer has a sub forum. I have to say from there on, it was great service.
The owner contacted me and I explained what happened. I needed a new crown and stem tube. Parts were quickly sorted out and subsequently shipped out. It is great to see a small independent manufacturer able to support his products. I received the parts but could not send the watch and parts to my watch guy courtesy of a little accident I had between my scooter and a car. So the parts and the watch just lay there on my table.
Once recovered, I sent the watch and parts in. It was a quick and small job and I am happy to have the watch back in working condition.
The watch in question, MKII Stingray 50.
The damage. You can see the threads of the stem tube.
The replacement parts. The new stem tube. You can see the metal washer at the top of the photo.
The new crown.
The watch now.
The damaged parts.
All in all, I have to say I was pretty impressed with the watch and the service rendered.
