Edinburgh Custom Watchmaking Experience and Whisky

I enjoyed meeting Jordan at Kartel. He patiently helped me select components for two separate watches and worked to make sure I was satisfied. One item needed to be mailed to me after I left, but they gladly did so. I would recommend this unique experience to anyone visiting the area.

I had been bought a watch building experience by my wife, and I am afraid to admit it, it took me ages to get round to utilising it. My tardiness aside, my visit to the Kartel Showroom in The St James Quarter, Edinburgh, was absolutely spot on! My experience was faultless, from the initial warm welcome given to me by Dale, all the way through to leaving with my new timepiece. I was made to feel part of the Kartel concept, through being introduced to all the options that were available to produce my own bespoke watch. The watch building experience is ‘hands on’ but through being given expert guidance and information, very relaxed, so I felt comfortable in the showroom environment. Needless to say, I am incredibly happy with my new watch and will certainly be back to invest in another at some point in the future. Thank you, and all success Kartel!

I purchased a watch here in March 2023. The process in store actually went find, although the watchmaking experience essentially involves picking a case, picking a strap then getting the back engraved if you want it. When finalising the sale I was told the strap wasn't in stock, and would take a few weeks to arrive. Fine I thought, no problem. However, from this point onwards it took a long time to sort everything out, and the customer service on the Kartel side wasn't great, in fact it was practically non-existent. I was initially told it would take a 2 or 3 weeks to come back in stock. After hearing nothing after 3 weeks I called, to be told the same thing again ("a few more weeks"). After a month a manager intervened and told the shop to give me a different strap so I could at least wear the watch I had paid for. Over the next four months numerous deadlines passed, with no updates from Kartel; I was never contacted on their initiative, and every time I had to call them for an update. Each time I was told "a few more weeks". I was eventually guaranteed delivery by a certain date, otherwise I would be provided with a refund. That deadline came and went, and when I called for news (again, they didn't call me, I called them), the manager I had previously spoken to was on holiday and hadn't left any instructions. So nobody had a clue what I was talking about. Eventually in mid-July, four months after the purchase, I received a call from a manager (after prevouisly phoning the shop that day and asking to be contacted) to tell me the strap would arrive imminently - and it finally did a few days later. On that call, I was promised a refund as a gesture of goodwill, but that hasn't materialised, which I suppose reflects the rather loose management they seem to have of customer service as they have no doubt forgotten about that promise. The watch itself is nice. I'm not sure if it's worth the £215 I paid for it, but it has the novelty value of being a Scottish watch. Less than six months later, the same watch costs £265, a price hike of more than 20%. However, it would have cost £175 had I bought it in the autumn of 2021, and even today it is being sold online in the USA (by aristorwatches) for $130! I'd give an extra star to reflect the enthusiasm and friendliness of the staff, but in general the customer service doesn't seem to have developed in line with the company's growth, and what should have been a fun experience has only been a source of hassle.