Dear fellow Omega Forums members,

How are you?
I just registered myself for the Omega Forums as I am finally on the eve of buying myself my first Omega watch. It concerns an occasion Omega De Ville Chronoscope Co-Axial Rattrapante most probably from 2012. I already learned a lot thanks to this forum about watches, movements and technical specification which helped me a lot narrowing down my preferences towards which Omega to buy first.

As mentioned before, it concerns an Omega De Ville Chronoscope Co-Axial Rattrapante with the 3612 caliber (based on a Frederic Piguet 1286). Although I'm aware of this caliber being a much discussed caliber due to its technical issues and relative fragility, I see and experience this as the soul and character of the watch along with its technical advancements. Where I am interested in, is whether this watch has undergone the updates in its movement. In other threads I have seen discussions about these types of watches in which fellow forum members (such as Archer) were able to tell whether the watches received the caliber updates 3313A (original), 3313B and 3313C (and maybe even an 3313D?) respectively. The only thing is, the number inside the watch is very unclear and even looks something like '??12A'.

So, as I am on the eve of buying my first second-hand Omega watch, which by the way is via an official Omega dealer, I have the following questions:
1. is it possible that the Omega De Ville Chronoscope Co-Axial Rattrapante comes with an 3312 caliber, instead of a 3313 caliber?
2. the picture seems to show '??12A', which could mean that this watch didn't have the upgrades yet to 3313C?
3. the dealer did show a plastic bag that some components were changed (by Omega during a regular service), could that be the case despite the main base plat still shows ??12A?

Any experience or assistance would help me a lot and will definitely make a difference in my experience buying my first Omega watch.

Thank you very much in advance.

Kind regards,

Robin

 

This is a ref. 48473031 from what I see, and it comes with the Cal. 3612. The 3612A has not had the escapement upgrades that were done to the 3313 to make it a 3 level co-axial escapement.

 

Thanks a a lot for your swift response Archer and indeed it is a 4847.30.31. Your answer does leave me with a few questions as, if I understand you correctly, Cal. 3612A in general didn't get the upgrades the 3313 did have.

Does this mean the watch and/or Cal. 3612A is a 3 level co-axial escapement already and didn't have the issues like the 3313? If not, is there anyhting in particular I need to address/research to know whether this Cal. 3312A based watch is technically up to date / reliable?

Kind regards,

Robin

 

This is a 2 level escapement, not 3.

Since this movement is generally a "Bienne only" for service, they don't provide a lot of detail on upgrades. But looking at the various versions of the 3612 movement, there doesn't appear to be any "B" version, so they all appear to be 2 level escapements. I suspect because the number of these is smaller than other movements, they just didn't bother, and will carry on repairing them as needed.

 

If you like we can recommend a nice backup for when this one does go for service. Quite honestly, can't have just one!

 

Haha SkunkPrince, I can see where thats coming from. Although I generally don't like 'perfect' things as they often lack character and soul as I mentioned in the OP, buying something this expensive while knowing it could come with a lot of hassle, is something I need to consider.

For any "Gone in 60 seconds" viewers out there: this watch seems to be my 'Eleanor'. Always bad luck, but I do respect the watch and there is 'something' about that design and aesthetics.

Thanks again Archer. Slowly the whole history behind and context of this watch becomes much clearer to me. As Cal. 3612 was based on Cal. 3313 (with the addition of the Rattrapante) I always thought they would have a similar upgrade path. Now I know this is not the case. The watch dealer did showcase me some spare parts of the watch as proof that it did got some kind of an upgrade. But its not clear what upgrade this specifically is.

@Archer: would you compare the 3612A to a 3313A or a 3313B, given the 3612(A) came forth from the earlier 3313?

Then it all comes down to whether this Omega De Ville Co-Axial Rattrapante is worth approximately $ 6.300 and whether I will like the experience while wearing(, tearing and servicing) this watch?

@all,
- Are there any other 3312A Omega users out there and how are your experiences so far?
- Is this watch worth spending $ 6.300 on?

 

I wouldn't, and I was serious about the backup.

If you want a super-special Omega, look at the Museum Collection?

 

Not sure what this comparison gets you...the key point is that it doesn't have the 3 level escapement (which would be the 3313C). That is the only upgrade that matters in terms of the co-axial escapement.

For the other updates related to chronograph functions, of all the 3301, 3303, and 3313's I've service (and upgraded) only one of them actually had a fault. If you have a photo of the parts replaced, I may be able to tell you if any are from such upgrades. Omega automatically replaces these when the watch is serviced, so if it has been serviced recently by Omega, it's likely as up to date as it will ever be.