Independents

I had the limited edition LF micro-rotor with an enamel dial. The watch was my prized possession at the time, it's the one that compelled me to sign up to this wonderful forum after years of lurking around. Sadly it didn't survive the next 12 months in my...  

I personally do not give a bit to "exclusivity". It is all a marketing tool and nothing else. In your case I fail to see your disappointment fully: an enamel dial can't stay limited in use. I feel you had too high expectations? Best Moritz

And even if the OP was under the impression that the enamel part of the dial was to remain exclusive to those 18 watches, why isn’t that reasonable? White dials can be achieved without enamel (LF has already done a porcelain LE Gallet Square), so it could... 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Ken

My disapointment was about how similar the 2 dials looked between my LE and the other non-LE. In fact, LF first used enamel dials in its galet classic series (the tourbillon), but I haven't seen any that had the same colour tone. Thanks for your comment, ... 

Your experiences, good and bad. I’m curious...you mentioned accuracy in your comments...was this issue resolved during the service? What was performance like before/after? Best, Brandon

Prior to the first service, the watch was about 10 seconds slow per day. It had about a day and a half power reserve. The specs was 72 hours. The watch was within 2 seconds per day with full power reserve post service. Ken

a wouldn’t be pleased at all. But times are tough for all watch companies including the Independents. I remember the same happened with Voutilainen when he introduced the “bridge” for a he peseux 260. In the end the question is 1. Did you pay a premium fo... 

Thanks, Dirk. 1. Yes. I did pay a premium, regardless of whether it's a 'marketing ploy' that I'd fallen for... never bought the watch for the value retention purpose, but it did hurt. 2. Wouldn't call the LF a grail watch just because there're too many w... 

Neither the service issue (ok, we're all humans), but certainly not the over-proliferation of your limited dial. I could imagine a theoretical answer by the manufacturer stating that technically no regular watch with your specific combination of movement/... 

Thanks for your understanding, Magnus. Credit to to LF, the watch was restored to its full capacity at its second attempt. Ken

...but I can see why you might be a bit put off to the watch. On to something new/different!

Thanks, John.

Thanks for making the observation, Raymond. I'm aware that this makes me sound petty. I only wish the differences would be more noticeable. Ken

But sometimes, the subtle and minor details can bring some surprises and that is nice too. Anyway, you have move on and there will always be special watches available. Rgds Raymond

No message body

but I would not be too disappointed with the LE issue. Yours is still a limited issue as it is in platinum and the dial is not exactly the same as in the others. My main concern would be the damage to the watch after the initial service and the accuracy n... 

Thanks for the comment, Poky. I can understand your argument. My view is that LF being an indepedent with a small production, I expected its LE to count for a liltt more. Let's put it in another context, could we foresee LF reproducing the Hodinkee LE lay... 

a limited edition for a small independent brand should be limited not similar to the others. We are not talking about little money here either.

Regarding you service experience, the main thing for me is that everything ended well. I think we have all suffer bad experiences sometimes with our beloved watches. But, in the end, everything returned to normal and that’s the main thing. Best wishes Alk... 

Thanks for your comment as always, Alkiro. It wasn't my objective to highlight how LF might have done me wrong. I just wanted to document how I fell out of love with a piece that I'd previously adored. I'm sure other collectors must have similar disappoin... 

Best wishes Alkiro

Its all a tool to sell watches , for me its about what feeling a watch gives me , if its good it stay , if not its gone . Ofcourse the service from the brand is also importent . Still the mean part is the watch itself imho .

Thanks for your comment. Another lesson learned about watch marketing... Ken

... the dial is still distinctive due to the Roman numerals. The damage can easily have happened at the AD, whoever has been responsible, it should not have found the way back to you in that condition without being detected. However, besides all factual e... 

Thanks for your comment, Henrik. The LF is a mighty fine watch. Like I said before, I definitely don't regret owning it. Getting to know the watch and to observe it up close was a huge pleasure. But once the passion is gone, it's time to move onto the nex... 

I am not criticizing you in any way. But LF is not, by any means, the only brand to make subtle changes to its LEs to sell more watches. "LE" is marketing only. It means nothing as far as as the amount of watches a brand may manufacture, which are in ever... 

Thanks for the savvy words, Padj. Now I'll be more careful with so called LEs in the future. I guess marketing does work... Ken

NT

It only took about a month each time. Thanks for the comment, Ronald. Ken

NT

you should consider getingt the Credor eichi 2 Super accurate and somewhat similar vibe with your LF.

Thanks for the very nice suggestion, CL. Unfortunately I've yet to see one in metal.

because most of them are willing to customize your watch for you, for a modest fee or if you are lucky, free of charge. most important was the customer service and the watch was fixed and in good condition when you got it back. Glad you have moved on but ... 

Thanks for your comment, Winston. The fundamental argument lies in whether I should've expected the piece to remain 'relatively unique' when I paid a premium for what was sold to me as such. Customization/creating my piece unique would be an option, and i... 

Gronefeld 1941 Remontoire is perfect time only replacement to LF

Thanks for the suggestion! I have a slight preference for the parallax tourbillon over the remontoire in its lineup, too bad it won't fit me as I wear my watch on the right wrist. Ken

They don't charge the prices to make a truly piece unique on a time only enamel dial. We all know the story about Kari too and how the brand grew. It's the difference between getting a one off piece from an artisan (say, for example, customizing a newly c... 

Thanks for your comment. Of course it's a business. In spite of my disappointment, I truly hope that they make a healthy profit from selling their pieces, because it's the only way they'll keep creating new ones. One of the appeals for indies (to me anywa... 

I guess my comments is worthless when I have a WG DayDate with a Platinum dial. LOLOL

I'm sorry about your situation. Thanks for sharing. Lesson learned for me.

Thanks for reading, Jim.

I like the idea of limited pieces and I can see how you feel betrayed but what happened. This said I can tell you from my own experience (from a piece unique) that LE are not that much fun after all. The idea to have something that only a few selected num... 

Thanks for sharing your view, Christian. You're right that the chance of meeting someone with the same LF (platinum or steel) would be slim. It'll most likely lead to a fun conversation even in such case. The key issue for me here is commitment (on both s... 

1. white dial in steel looks an awful lot like white dial in platinum (no longer limited but much cheaper too) 2. service issues twice 3. general sense of disappointment and disillusionment with the brand I've had these feelings several times and in both ... 

Thank you for the great summary, Cazalea. We definitely don't buy watches just to tell time! Ken

I understand how you feel. Once the “magic feeling” goes - the mojo is lost.

Hello, I fully understand your disappointment. Limited editions are limited editions and so they should be. There aren't any longer "limited" if what constitutes their exclusivity is reproduced thereafter. Your sensitivity to this dimension was probably a... 

Thanks Z. As for ADs, there're good ones, and others that frankly add very little value. For example, the dealer who sold me the LF was instrumental in helping me understand independent watchmaking. He showed me pieces that I would only see online, and se... 

with many top brands. Attention to detail is often not there. I gave up on watches in the early 90's too many headaches. Got back in around 2010 and it seems better.

1/ The Fact that LF took care of your watch. Good point. There are too often disappointments on that matter that when a normal treatment happens, it seems extraordinary while it is just normal. 2/ The notion of exclusivity. I do get your point, but I lear...