Originally Posted by Technophobe

The 4 years is fair for a battery - Cartier state 2-3 years.

I bought a Tank Francaise a couple of months ago and it stopped working after 3 weeks. After getting little help from a local approved dealer, I contacted Cartier directly and they were excellent. I feared the worst - that I had bought a dud (or worse still, a fake) but they paid the postage, confirmed the authenticity of the watch (or Timepiece as they prefer to call it) and gave it a battery replacement and full overhaul under warranty. The suspicion is that the Boutique where i purchased it had it in their stock for a long time so, although new, it was due for a battery replacement and service.

As for your "atmospheric moisture" problem, this implies that the seal has gone - which it surely shouldn't have within the normal period between purchase and its first service (due after 3 - 4 years). If it has truly never been wet (and it should tolerate that anyway unless the seal is faulty), then even though it is out of warranty (Cartier give 2 years), I would contact one of their Advisors (http://www.cartier.co.uk/#/contact-...call-an-advisor) and explain what has happened. Although their technicians (who have looked at the watch) are top class, they probably don't make customer service decisions about who should carry the burden of the cost of repair!

They will charge for the battery replacement (yes £80 is about right - it's the resealing of the watch that ratchets up the cost) and probably a service (that won't come cheap either ) - as it will be due for one after 4 years but may well be able to come to some sort of arrangement about the damage because it seems to be a fault. This could reduce the cost to you by quite a bit.

I found approved dealers to be polite but unhelpful. Cartier's own advisors are much more willing to take an interest in your concerns - they do customer service rather well.