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An amazingly happy long term omega owner

  1. Event horizon faux seller of watches and complete knobhead May 10, 2014

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    After reading and contributing to Ladzlos post im compelled to tell people about my experiences of omega ownership, warts and all.
    For a long time i admired the likes of Omega and Rolex but would never spend the money on myself. So much so i bought my wife a constellation but stalled on the reduced speedmaster i originally went in for. A little while later my mother hearing of my tightness bought me the speedmaster i had coveted so much. All was well and i could even put up with the little fish hook shaped mark on the case between the crown and upper pusher. The watch was my pride and joy. I chose this over a speedy moonwatch and a submariner. Any way a few weeks later i noticed the bracelet links were peeling away to reveal some murky black base metal underneath. I decided to pop it into the dealers to be sorted out. Anyway before i could take it back i accidentally rubbed the hesalite crystal against a very soft rotten wooden door and trashed the lens. The brochure said this was saphire crystal and was a deciding factor over the moonwatch. So off to the dealers who agreed that the case had a machine mark on it, the bracelet didnt look like it was stainless steel and it wasnt saphire crystal as advertised. They duly sent it back to omega uk and i had a few weeks wait.
    The dealers phoned me a few weeks later with a repair quote of £320 and gave me the number to phone omega direct. When i phone omega they told me i had trashed it really bad in less than three months and the quote was a goodwill gesture (on a £825 retail watch) they refused any liability and asked me if i wanted it repairing. Any way several calls later i eventually got through to someone who would listen, by this point my plan was simple. Either repair the watch for free pronto or send me the watch back so i can have it independantly inspected and see you in court. Luckily the lady went and inspected the watch and elevated it to their troubleshooter department. The guy phoned me back full of apologies and told me what he was going to send me in return, a triple date speedy with saphire crystal as standard. It landed at the ad the next day and after a month i got a watch back. This watch was fine apart from it keeping lousy time and the screw on the deployment clasp fell out three times under warranty.
    On a side note i replaced the wifes constellation with the newly released aqua terra, no box and papers on collection, two battery swaps in 12 months with issues over it not being under warranty because the dealers hadnt got the box and papers.
    Now you would think that back in 2002 after all this omega related grief that would be last brand name i would be looking at but i had a rethink, the only other omega i loved was the sixties sm300 so i thought why not and plumped for a really, really nice example from a dealer friend of mine. (£480 in 2002) i wore that for a couple of years before i flipped it and cried into my pillow ever since.
    Fast forward 12 years and everything is rosy. My wifes aqua terra has stretched to three years between battery swaps (2 in a year when brand new) it looks like the day i bought it and keeps better than amazing time. From not particulary liking it to really wanting one quartz or auto.
    My speedmaster is finally on a leather strap which suits them better than the bracelet. My local independant watch hobbit took an instant liking to my speedy because it was vaguely familiar with the lemania he was wearing so he serviced and got it keeping the time it never has for £50. (Omega managed to get it to 42 seconds a day)
    I have inherited a gold plated 1960s constellation with a 564 calibre movement that keeps time like a swiss clock! And ive just purchased and waiting to land a pre bond seamaster quartz. I cant wait for the seamaster i havent had a quartz watch for years.
    So in summary even the best brands have glitches and i have owned dozens and dozens of omegas in the intervening years with barely a hint of trouble from watches up to thirty years old.
    Im really glad omega are on the up and even though i had some crap service from them i can realise that a company is only as good as it employees, i do fancy a birth date speedy moonwatch but ive got an unfortunate birth year, vintage sm300 or watchco equivalant is on the cards and maybe another hummer, i didnt give the last one a chance.
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    NT931 and hansmaulwurf like this.
  2. ulackfocus May 10, 2014

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    Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. :thumbsup: