So this morning my 19 month old somehow opened our bedroom door for the first time, came into our bedroom and knocked my computer and Seamaster diver off my desk onto our tile floor

I wasn't in the room so I didn't see it, but there is a small scuff on the case just south of the helium release valve. I'm not entirely sure he dropped it the full distance from the desktop (about 30 inches), or if he picked it up and then dropped it once it became uninteresting to him.

Other than the scuff - which I'm totally fine with as I expect to add plenty of those - the watch seems fine. The same +4 seconds it has always been. Should I worry about movement damage? Or would it be apparent already? My understanding is these are pretty tough pieces, but now I have the nagging feeling I'll wake up tomorrow to something seriously gone awry! Make me feel better! (Or worse...)

 

Just keep an eye on the accuracy overnight and you will be able to gauge damage to the movement (to some extent)

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It's going to take a LOT of allowance payments if you need to service it!

But seriously, sounds like you might be alright. Good luck!

 

Yea I mean I know these are mechanical movements and not indestructible, but I would be surprised if a fall like that did something. More surprising is how easily the case dents!

 

Steel dents. It's just a thing.

As far as the movement... Omega watches are rated to 5,000G, which is about a 3' drop onto a carpeted floor. As yours was tile it is a bit above and beyond, but I wouldn't worry about it as long as it's keeping time. Coaxial movements have a free sprung balance for things just like this. If it was a cal 1120 (or 321, 861, 1861, etc), we'd likely have a different discussion depending on how it dropped.


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The scuff will some day be called patina and will be worth extra coin so thank your son, but you won't see the value added until your son is ready for retirement in 50 years!

 

What's killing me is I wasn't in the room so I don't know how it fell. It is still keeping great time- +2 seconds since I set it after the drop 12 hours ago.

If I shake it are there any sounds I should or shouldn't hear? I do have insurance (Jewelers Mutual) and they assured me they would pay the repair if necessary as per my policy. I just want to make sure I'm not letting it go if something is wrong (though I realize only way to know is to open it).

When I shake it I hear a spinning sound which is the little auto winder piece, right? Sorry no technical terms do I know...

 

Sounds like it's fine. Yes, the noise you hear is probably just the winding system (rotor, ball bearings, etc).


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Thanks for the input! Alright then- until I see problems keeping time I'm going to assume all is well!

 

Here is the dent for documentation's sake- it's right on the shiny edge below the brushed side of the case.

 

Would anyone bother trying to get something done about that dent? While not deep it does take up a lot of surface and certainly irritates me- at least at the moment since it's the first one!

While I will surely add more scuffs and swirls, hopefully no more nasty dents. Or maybe I should accept this is the reality of wearing a watch like this daily?

 

Don't correct it. That helps mark the watch as yours and yours alone. It's part of the journey it takes with you ... much like the charm of finding a well-read copy of an out-of-print book and reading the annotations left behind by another reader. It's a very personal thing. And it's made a bit extra special since it will be a memory of your son's early explorations as a toddler.

Mine (same watch as yours) has scuffs on the bezel edge from a bit of ill-timed engine work on my car, as well as a ton of scratches on the clasp. I wear them with pride.

 

I do plan on passing this onto my son after high school or college so I tend to agree with your sentiment. I'm definitely a wear-it-hard kind of guy when it comes to daily use possessions. I'm just new to nice watches so I wanted to see what people say. I'll let Omega polish it as usual whenever I send it for its first service. I think I just need a second nick to make me forget about it!

 

I remember the first dent I got on my first brand new "proper" watch. Irritated me for days! Though trust me you'll soon forget about it. They become like battle scars, wear them with pride, you (or in this case your toddler) made that dent.

I personally wouldn't get it polished out at service either. I specifically requested no polishing whatsoever when I just dropped off my dented watch for service recently. The dents grow on you!

 

My son dropped my 3573 about three feet onto a tile floor. The watch only had a small mark on the bezel, but the hour and minute hands spun around loosely. Thankfully my watchmaker didn't find anything wrong with the watch and reinstalled the hands and I've been good to go. .

I'd leave the case mark alone. I know the community is really divided on perfection and signs of wear but I see the marks as character especially if you intend to hand the watch down to children. On a side note, the dropped Speedy is from the year my son was born.

 

I just want to follow up and report that my Seamaster is still keeping nice time at +3 seconds a day. Is it safe to assume nothing could have gone wrong in the drop? My assumption is that if it has kept time well the past 3 days then nothing is wrong with the movement and that I won't randomly wake up in a few weeks to a stopped watch or something?

 

You guys are a bunch of weirdos.

See how much a case replacement costs and let them try to fix it. Life is too short to wear crappy-looking watches.

Tom

 

Well that sounds like a silly sentiment. Replace the entire case because of one small mark on the bottom edge? Maybe that's a collector's viewpoint but I actually wear the watch. I'm careful with nice things but I recognize that wearing a steel watch will lead to the case getting nicked and scratched.

 

Ah, sorry, my complete thought got lost on the way to the keyboard.

See how much a case replacement costs, and in the meantime let them try to fix it.

Tom

 

Gotcha. I'm happy to let them polish it whenever it gets serviced.

Regarding the movement: if it's keeping good time 3 days since the drop does this mean I don't need to worry about the movement?