After 17 long weeks...

ninjamattic

Well, after customer service told me a diagnostic would not be required, a diagnostic was required, and the promised faster than light turnaround doesn't appear to be so fast. Everything is finally in the system, and the estimated completion date for service is 3/7. I'm a bit frustrated, as my watch will now be in service the majority of my ownership, nearly seven months out of my possession. It would seem when they looked it over, they determined the case refinish that was done during the previous service was unsatisfactory, so in addition to repairing the damaged movement, and replacing the damaged hands, they are going to do that again as well. I will be a little bit of a squeaky wheel to hopefully move things along, but also work to maintain my understanding and appreciation of the level of craftsmanship required for this sort of thing. I gotta say... next service is 100% getting done by a reputable local.

ninjamattic

An update! I was advised today that during service, additional components were found to need replacement, beyond that which was faulty upon return. An additional two weeks was estimated to be required. Keep in mind, I sent in a fully functional Speedy four months ago, that I simply wanted to get a good service. It was returned with damaged hands, a damaged day window, dust under the crystal, and swirls on the side of one of the lugs where someone got in a hurry during the case refinish. The watchmaker has now found additional damage beyond that? At my shocked silence the customer service rep said, “The good news is, we’re not charging you.” I maintained my composure, but just barely. I guess I have no choice but to continue to wait. Anyone else have a story like this one?

Jantar

I have owned a Speedmaster Mk40 for many years. It was my first Omega. In September 2016 I had my Omega AD service this watch. They sent it off and after about 3 months it came back with a bag of parts (seals, hands, crown, pushers, misc wheels) and a two-year warranty card showing a successful pressure test to 3 BAR.

After a couple months the crown stopped turning and the watch couldn’t be wound manually though it would set fine. My AD confirmed, and the watch went back to Omega. Another couple of months go by and it comes back, but this time Omega said there was nothing wrong, though the crown was working again.

Around this time I got some new additions to the collection and the Mk40 sat in the watch box most of the time, though I did wear it occasionally. On one of those occasions this August I was at a cookout and stuck my hand into a cooler of ice water to grab a drink. Later, I noticed condensation under the crystal. I took the watch back to my AD and explained what happened and they sent it to Omega who said it required a new case and a service for $1200.00. I asked them to explain what was damaged and another month went by when my AD called and said Omega was now going to service the watch and replace the case under warranty. I asked for the old case, but they refused saying the new case would have a new serial number and they were keeping the old case and caseback. I received the watch back in late December 2018 along with another bag of parts (seals, pushers, crown, and crystal) and a new warranty card with a new serial number for my watch. 9 of the past 24 months it was at Omega being serviced for one thing or another but I’m glad to finally have this watch back. It was interesting to me that the serial number changed. I think the only original parts on the watch now are dial, movement, and bracelet.

I thought it was good of Omega to repair this watch under warranty. I’ll likely never know why it leaked but it does illustrate that even a recently serviced watch can develop water resistance issues with no outward signs.

Pic before most recent service.

Pictures after service with new case and serial.

Archer

They do, and if you send the watch in directly (rather than through an AD or OB) you will typically get a number that you can use to get the status of your watch via a service tracking web site Omega has for just that purpose...

Archer

There's nothing in your posts to indicate that this has anything to do with the complexity of the movement. The 3606 is pretty much the same as the 1151, which is pretty much the same as the ETA 7751. There is nothing special about them in terms of challenges for a watchmaker. As I've said many times, the 7750 series is the one movement that if I have it on my bench, I know the chances of it being a trouble free service are very high. Having said that I have a 7753 on my bench right now that is worn out completely, and is being a complete pain in my arse...but that's another story...

So a few things I want to mention, just to give you some perspective/information that Omega isn't giving you:

1 - The fitting of dials, hands, and the final casing of the movement is not typically done by a trained watchmaker at the service centers. This work (as well as the steps in reverse when the watch first comes in) are done by people that Omega have hired off the street, and trained specifically for these tasks. The actual watchmaker would typically only service the actual movement, and others do the rest. This also applies to the refinishing of the case. I've been to the NJ service center for training and the people who refinish cases, that's all they do - they are again not watchmakers but people trained specifically to refinish cases.

2 - Although the dial may have seemed "pristine" to you, note that as part of the job to assess the parts, if even a small amount of finish is able to be flaked off the edge of the dial (where you would not see it) during the assessment the dial would be considered a required replacement. Also since you are unable to see the condition of the dial feet (the posts that are used to attach the dial to the movement) there's a chance that the dial had a post that was either broken off or nearly broken off. So although to someone not familiar with watches and how they are repaired might find it odd that a dial suddenly needs replacing, to me it's not particularly surprising.

3 - When I order parts from Omega, if the parts are in stock at the Canadian headquarters, I can have them in my shop the following day if I order in the morning. However if they are not in stock and have to come from Switzerland, then all bets are off. First I suspect just like the Canadian headquarters does, the NJ service center would order parts once a week from Switzerland, so if your damaged dial was discovered the day after that weekly order gets placed, it waits a week until the next order is placed. Then delivery to headquarters takes 2-3 weeks - it's just the way it is. Note that on occasion (thankfully not very often) I have had items that even the HQ in Switzerland doesn't have on hand, and in that case the delay is even longer, so that is certainly possible with this dial or some other part they require.

4 - When the dial arrives it has to be installed, the hands installed, the movement cased, the watch pressure tested, and then it's run through a series of QC/timing checks, including a power reserve check. So the watch doesn't get shipped back right away when the work is done. My own QC procedure lasts at least 10 days, and although Omega's isn't that long it does take time.

Now just my own thoughts on your situation - I understand this is frustrating, but I think once the watch is back and working properly (fingers crossed!) the delays you have experienced will quickly fade away. It seems like a lot now, but really in the big picture it's not, and honestly I don't think pushing harder on Omega is going to give you a better outcome - the last thing you want is them rushing through this IMO. Maybe once it comes back ask for some type of compensation - some Omega swag or something.

Cheers, Al

STANDY

Usually only happens to a small percentage so I’m glad you are taking a hit for all of us each time, the Forum applauds you

I can sympathise with you as we have all had it with something over the years.

Mine was with a brand new outboard motor that cost me many a $$ and many more hours of fishing and even missed a day of work, getting stuck 20km offshore not once but twice in a remote part of Northern Australia. That was a conversation with a mechanic that was lucky no one under 18 or female was there to hear.

Archer

1 - The fitting of dials, hands, and the final casing of the movement is not typically done by a trained watchmaker at the service centers. This work (as well as the steps in reverse when the watch first comes in) are done by people that Omega have hired off the street, and trained specifically for these tasks. The actual watchmaker would typically only service the actual movement, and others do the rest. This also applies to the refinishing of the case. I've been to the NJ service center for training and the people who refinish cases, that's all they do - they are again not watchmakers but people trained specifically to refinish cases.

Cheers, Al