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Article on Omega Crystal

  1. voere

    voere pawn brokers are all about $$$ Aug 18, 2016

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  2. Archer Ω 2

    Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Aug 18, 2016

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    This article has been mentioned before. As I said last time, I would take these "problems" with a grain of salt. I install hundreds of Omega acrylic crystals every year, and I can't remember the last time I had any trouble with one. If he is having problems with these it's likely either an equipment or technique issue, not a problem with the crystals.

    The pushers he mentioned (the press fit style) are not meant to be disassembled for installation, as they can be pressed right into the case fully assembled. Omega purposely puts Loctite on the threads of these to prevent scenarios where the pusher caps unscrew and fall off. Only the screw in pushers are meant to be disassembled for installation, and they don't have the Loctite applied to them from the factory, so that's done on installation in the field.

    Fitting new hands is part of watchmaking - I don't know any other watchmaker who complains about this. Very common with chronograph hands as they have to be fitted tightly to the posts so they don't move on you when the chronograph is reset.

    Same with the rotor bushes (proper name is pinion) - they are intentionally left undersized so they can be reamed to fit the axle - Omega offers 2 different diameter reamers for this task.

    Bottom line is that the problem is not with the parts...

    Cheers, Al
     
    marco, voere and vinn2 like this.
  3. voere

    voere pawn brokers are all about $$$ Aug 18, 2016

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    Al
    Thank You for the reply
     
  4. cicindela Ω 2

    cicindela Steve @ ΩF Staff Member Aug 18, 2016

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    Just to mention one other concern ( Al you can please correct me if this is valid or not) . Sometimes old vintage cases have been abused by unknown historical parties. If not handled with due diligence and the proper tools in the past, cases can be distorted out of shape. Not necessarily casually visible, but enough to make a press in crystal difficult to install.
     
  5. Archer Ω 2

    Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Aug 18, 2016

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    Sure they can be - I have had cases that have been dropped, causing dents that created interference with the crystal installation, but clearly that's not the fault of the crystal. If you don't catch this when you (hopefully) inspect the case for damage during the service, and mash a bunch of crystals trying to install them, then installing a generic crystal that may cause other problems is not the proper way forward. If the generic crystal goes in easier, then it's likely undersized, and of course there is that pesky stepped tension ring issue again, so for me personally generic crystals are not an option.

    Omega is not perfect, and I am often critical of them as a company and how they do things, and tolerances on their watches for things like hand alignment, date changes, etc. However this article appears to be more about sour grapes over the restriction of parts to 3rd party resellers than it is a valid criticism of Omega's quality.

    I consider Christian a friend, but IMO on this one he is way off the mark.

    Cheers, Al