C'mon..I´d go to the AD and ask for a replacement at their costs to be
honest....I didn´t read in the instructions manual that this particular
panerai model can´t be considered a tool watch...If you promote a watch
material being 5 times stronger then steel it better not break after a
small fall...I´ll never buy a ceramic watch for sure.........DLC all the
way for me.....This is giving me nightmares.
Meh! The instruction manual also doesn't state that the watch specifically is a tool watch. So which instruction manuals for which watches from any manufacturer state such a thing? That sort of designation is conferred by users, ADs, marketers and merchandisers. Still, even if some makers do specifically give some of their models official "Tool Watch" status, where is it in the as-yet-unwritten tool watch qualification standard that a drop onto a hard floor from 3' is part of the deal?
I tell you what then, let's line up a whole bunch of so-called tool watches from Panerai, Rolex, Omega, Breguet, Kobold, GP, Oris, etc., etc., and drop 'em all from 3' onto a ceramic tile floor. First of all, it'll never happen because nobody in his right mind is going to deliberately drop a timepiece from 3' onto a hard ceramic tile floor. Everybody knows that it's just not a sensible thing to do, and also that the only time it happens is when someone does something inadvertent or careless.
Second, wristwatch movements, cases, crowns, lugs, guards, pushers and other external features have evolved in design to take advantage of the cushioning effect of muscle and other tissue while a watch is being worn. One of the reasons that movements don't go haywire and that parts aren't snapped off every time someones bangs their wrist on a door frame or table top is that the velocity of the impact is partially absorbed by the wrist. As usual then, it's not the fall or drop that kills, but rather the sudden stop at the end. If a sudden stop is unrelieved by some cushioning by a wrist, bad things happen to either crowns, guards, bezels, cases, pushers, crystals or several of those things at once.
I love the new materials being used to build fine business and dressier timepieces, tool watches and some of the more exotic/art/designer watches. I'd hate to see manufacturers pull back from various ceramic, silicon and unique alloy materials just because we're all clumsy from time to time.
A few Rolex owners are complaining roundly about another couple of dropped new Subs and GMT IIs, both new models with ceramic bezels. The response in those forums is just as sympathic to the unfortunate owners, but the conclusion is the same - these mechanical wrist marvels were never meant to be dropped. I own both Rolex models and continue to bang my watch wrist into all manner of different things during investigative research work, alternately plunging my watch wrist into freezing cold and warm water, climbing, photography in some rather tense situations and you name. I as active as a lot of other enthusiasts on PuristSPro. The ceramic is holding up perfectly - not a scratch or abrasion anywhere, unlike my older Sea Dweller and 44mm Panerai Submersible (steel/aluminum and steel bezels resepectively. My 40mm Marina chronometer is a slightly more accurate timekeeper than either of the Rolexes. I dropped my old Rolex Sub years ago onto a broken piece of concrete, and the resulting damage popped off the bezel and dented the insert. Once again, I blamed myself, not the watch. It was (and still is) meant to be worn and banged around, not dropped.
I have noticed too, that when any watch has been dropped it is then usually too far away to tell the time. Useless! Keep it on your wrist and then bang it around to your heart's content.
Last but not least, why should any AD have to be burdened by my clumsiness? Frankly, if I managed to drop and damage a watch of my own I'd be visiting my AD for sure, but only to beg him to go easy on the repair bill. Current warranties for our fine timepieces cover a lot of ground, but coverage against my clumsiness is just not reasonable. What if the OP's Pam had been a steel version with the crown lock-lever open and the fall had dented or snapped the lever? Should that be covered? I say no because, if the watch is not on the wrist then all bets are off. There are a million variations and scenarios, obviously, but few wristwatch warranties actually cover impact damage of any kind - that's what private insurance coverage is for in almost all cases.