G GBNovaI have the same problem and just bought mine less than a month ago in 2025 so obviously Omega has not addressed the issue with new watches coming off production. Pretty crazy. I chuckle how eveyone says “Omega knows about the issue and fixed it back in 2022”. I know mine isn’t old stock because Omega sells a LOT of this model.
You are assuming that the reason yours failed is the same reason...there are other reasons why Omegas fail. If you get any parts back with the watch (which doesn't always happen with a warranty repair) post photos so we can see what they replaced.
There are a fair number of newbies who have problems with their manual wound Speedmasters, but the issue is often resolved when they learn they have to fully wind the watch for it to operate to spec. You don't stop winding when you feel the first resistance or when the crown rebounds or after a certain number of turns or some other criteria. Simple question, are you fully winding the watch?
G GBNovaTrue but I haven’t heard of many causes of this particular symptom outside of either the bushing or a friction spring lacking the proper tension. I will report back but I’m not sure when I’ll send the watch in. Since I just got it I’m inclined to wait until the issue becomes more of a problem. I haven’t been able to replicate the chrono hand stopping outside of the first instance. What I do see rather frequently is a stuttering of the hand between the 0-10 second mark after which time it settles down into a steady normal beat.
The stuttering is just an improper adjustment of the friction spring, most likely. That is the same as countless other chronograph and non-chronograph movements out there, so 100% not specific to the 3861.
The single instance of the watch stopping can be for other reasons - debris in the teeth, tooth to tooth contact if it stops immediately, improper depth adjustment, etc. The issue with the bushings presents differently - again I doubt that it has anything to do with that.
G GBNovaWell I’m going today to get it exchanged. I don’t feel as bad about it now as just this morning the chrono hand stopped again at the 1 second mark and it also jammed up the running seconds. (The entire watch). So that confirms this unit has issues. I have to wonder how many of these movements out there are still “faulty” and people don’t realize it because they rarely use the chrono function. Maybe the 3861 is just an unreliable design. I am fully expecting the same issues with the new watch.
G GBNovaWell I’m going today to get it exchanged. I don’t feel as bad about it now as just this morning the chrono hand stopped again at the 1 second mark and it also jammed up the running seconds. (The entire watch). So that confirms this unit has issues. I have to wonder how many of these movements out there are still “faulty” and people don’t realize it because they rarely use the chrono function. Maybe the 3861 is just an unreliable design. I am fully expecting the same issues with the new watch.
G GBNovaWell I got the second watch and it stutters all around the dial, not just from 0-10 seconds. Oh well, at least it hasn’t stopped yet. 😀
What do you mean by "Stutter"? The chronograph hand doesn't sweep smoothly like the small seconds hand, it kind of ticks, but faster than one a second. Totally normal. Look at all of the indices around the dial, the are way closer than one second. 1/5 a second it looks like.
Only the 321 ticks at 1/5 sec intervals. All the 861 decendants are at 1/6 intervals. Other Omega movements do this at 1/7 and 1/8 intervals. There were 4 intermediate marks on most 861 and 1861 Speedy second tracks, but the chrono hand misses all of them. They have remedied this with the 3861 by dropping the intermediates to 2. It hits a mark every other tick now.
G GBNovaWell I can report that the second watch is also locking up entirely every now and then when using the chrono. Usually between 1-10 seconds. Pretty ridiculous I have to say. I may have to move on to something else.
My money is on too little reserve. He probably just isn’t giving it the ~100 winds these need. Or he’s unlucky and got 2 dodgy ones. My 3861 FOIS2 jumps a little when first started when on low reserve but not so much it worries me. I am not likely to need to time a precise 14s re-entry burn any time soon.
ps the small running second hand doesn’t sweep either. It ticks at exactly the same rate as the chrono hand. Take a slo mo video if you don’t believe me. You don’t notice it as much because it is so much shorter.
Send it back to Omega for a warranty repair. I understand the frustration, but at least let Omega fix it.
G GBNovaConsidering I picked up two new watches in the span of less than a month and they both fail I don’t really feel like sending it to Omega and waiting weeks for a watch that they may or may not actually fix. At the very least I would take it to the AD and get another, but I’d rather pick a different watch from a different brand at this point.
