3861 -- Am I Crazy?

Rado63

The 1861 spent 26 years in production. Hmm. My .02 is buy the 1861 and wait a few years.

Doc Olives

So, here’s my tale, and I could definitely use a reality check from the Omega-scenti on here.

I had an automatic Speedy date for around 25 years. 3511.50, reverse panda, Valjoux 7750-based; absolute gorgeous Speedy date. Had it serviced by Omega 4-5 times, kept great time (around +5 day), and importantly to me, the chronograph worked like a champ. I’m a lawyer (sorry…), and since I started long ago, I use the chrono to track my time – so I use the chrono sometimes 20-30 times a day, and sometimes 1-2 times a day tracking something that’s 7-8 hours. Point being, a really good chrono is pretty important in a watch for me (I have another 2 Valjoux 7750-based chronos; not Omegas; they’re both great).

About a month back I decided to trade in the Speedy date and upgrade to a 3861, sapphire sandwich. Have always loved the look, the legibility, and thanks to METAS, I loved the accuracy.

I ordered from a well regarded online AD, watch shows up, I take it to the OB in town to get it sized, start wearing it, and the hour sub-dial is a hot mess from the very first day. It doesn’t reset to zero unless I really jam on the chrono reset button (which is not a definitely not something you want), and then when it does reset, it runs independently of the chronograph being engaged (also not something you want). You can see the issues in these photos.

Thanks to this forum (thank you Archer…), I learn about Speedy hour creep and a certain eccentric screw. I accept that this is a known, solvable issue with a Speedy, but for it to occur on day 1 of ownership wasn’t really acceptable to me. The reputable online AD saw the issues in the photos, agreed, and shipped me out a new, replacement 3861, not questions asked.

Because I’m a bit OCD (not being facetious, I actually have OCD), I notice on the replacement that the hour sub-dial doesn’t reset all the way perfectly to zero. Instead it’s probably 4-5 minutes off. I start looking online, at this forum, and elsewhere, and see this is really common with Speedies, older and brand new. As I ponder this, on day 3 of ownership, I hit the 3861 jackpot, and engaging the chrono – on a full wind or 3-4 hours after a full wind (and, I own several manual wind watches; I know what a full wind is, which for the 3861 was about 50-60 turns for me) causes the movement to seize for about 10-15 seconds. I then realize I have the 3861 “issue,” and at that point the hour sub-dial just starts going crazy. Take a look at these photos, The first one is at 6 minutes, not 36 minutes.

The next one is 9 minutes, not 39 minutes.

The one I after, I will let you guess, is that 3 hours and 47 minutes, or 4 hours and 17 minutes? Not sure I even know.

So, no point in keeping this now 3 day old Speedy. It’s going back as well. And in case you were wondering, it runs 4-5 seconds slow per day….

Should I try for round number 3 and hope this one works? Although, with the frequency I use the chronograph I seem pretty likely to get the 3861 “issue” a lot sooner than most owners.

Should I send the current one off for service for 6-8 weeks? They’ll probably fix the 3861 bushing issue, but who knows what’s up with the hour sub-dial, and I doubt it's perfectly correlated with the 3861 issue…

Should I ask for my money back and just fume?

Or should I regret trading one helluva Speedy date in for, right now, nothing…

Mostly venting (thank you), but will gladly take some advice (or Scotch, I will also take Scotch) from the long term folks on here.

Thanks.

Donn Chambers

This really sucks. While the hour hand creep (or not staying reset) is a problem on all Speedmaster Pros (I myself had this on two even after service and had to send back), it really should not happen on a brand new watch. This is a sign of poor QC at Omega. They will have to get it correct eventually under the warranty, but it shouldn’t take more than 1 service to do it.

dennisthemenace

Assuming the OP has actually got the Omega warranty.

dennisthemenace

I think that you will find that the dealer you purchased from is not an official AD. Do a search on the Omega website and let us know what you find.

dsio

There are actually many online only legitimate ADs now for Omega HODINKEE is one

edit: just saw the post while I was typing yea I thought it might be HODINKEE. They have full AD status and backing from Omega so you should be taken care of by them well.

PandaSPUR

Hodinkee is indeed an AD: https://shop.hodinkee.com/blogs/journal/omega-speedmaster-seamaster-de-ville-constellation

They're pretty well known, and the OB in NYC has given them pre-release pieces for hands on reviews and such.

Scarecrow Boat

Hodinkee is a legitimate and official AD. I recently bought a 1861 from them...

dsio

It’s a fairly recent thing, 2019 or so from memory and their website may be focused more on bricks and mortar jewellers on a map since I think it sorts by geography but HODINKEE have attracted AD status from a large number of brands now and move a lot of stock these days all with factory warranty.

I believe it also means they’re not allowed to discount at all while a bricks and mortar has some latitude however.

Risto

Sad to hear about your problems with the new 3861. I haven't owned any cal 321 Speedmasters, but I currently have 1966 cal 321 Seamaster 145.006. Chronograph sometimes runs for hours, I think I've had it running for 6 hrs straight max. No issues.