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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker
Certainly oils dry out, and that causes parts to wear. That is true no matter the type of escapement. He's also correct that the escape wheel and pallet fork in a lever escapement watch rarely wear out (if there is wear say on the escape wheel, it's usually on the pivots, not the surfaces involved in providing the impulse). The co-axial wheel and pallet fork in co-axial watches are often replaced - just look at any photo that someone posts of the parts that were returned with their watch from Omega, and you will nearly always see the co-axial wheel, and often the pallet fork.
I saw this wear years ago...here's a co-axial wheel with the worn upper teeth:
New and old wheels - you can see some of the lower teeth on the old wheel are shorter:
Different view of the wear on the lower teeth:
The oil that is applied to a co-axial escapement is, according to Omega and the training I received, there to cushion impacts, rather than reduce sliding friction. So if this is not for friction, how can the video claim that this oil drying up causes the wear? The reality is that the design of the co-axial is what causes the wear. This gif is of the interaction between the co-axial wheel teeth and the pallet fork jewel. If you watch the thin tip of the tooth go over the sharp edge of the pallet for jewel, it's not difficult to understand how the wear happens on these teeth:
The reality is, these will chew themselves up over time and they are pretty routinely replaced.
I no longer service these co-axial watches, for a couple of reasons. One is that my business has shifted more towards servicing vintage, and quite honestly I enjoy that kind of work much more. The other one though is just as important - cost of parts. Note that parts just went up again here, so these are current 2026 prices.
In a standard Omega Cal. 1120, the pallet fork and escape wheel are $43 Canadian each, and again these rarely need replacing.
In a Cal. 2500, the co-axial wheel is $240, and the pallet fork is $210.
In an 8900 series, the co-axial wheel is $400, and the pallet fork is $240.
Omega includes these parts in their base price, but I use a flat labour fee and parts are extra. It only takes one co-axial wheel needing replacement to make my prices higher than Omega's, so I just tell people to use Omega.
Typically current parts are cheaper than vintage parts, but even vintage parts are far less money than the current co-axial parts. For example a 550 series escape wheel is $110, and the pallet fork is $130.
Anyway, food for thought...
