Clasp stuck in brand new Seamaster 300 professional diver

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

Annapolis
But seeing as this issue leads to watches getting stuck on people's wrists, you'd think a courtesy notice or a free replacement (to be handled by the AD/OB) wouldn't be out of line.

The clasp is replaced for free under warranty. If an AD is charging you anything for this, that's the AD playing games.

Annapolis
And if they know there are flawed units still yet-to-be-sold, why wouldn't they at least address those prior to sale?

Those watches are owned by the AD's, not Omega, as Omega has already sold them at this stage. As you have noted, the AD's are aware of this problem, and can easily correct it by exchanging the clasps (again would be covered under warranty). Why they don't I have no idea...

Annapolis · Oct 17, 2022

Archer
The clasp is replaced for free under warranty. If an AD is charging you anything for this, that's the AD playing games.

Right---I mean why not replace them preemptively/proactively instead of waiting for the problem to happen? But yes, both of my replacement clasps were provided free of charge. (I had ask/nag my AD for the compensation, but they did acquiesce to sending me the OEM rubber strap and buckle as well, which provided some satisfaction--I'm not unreasonable.)

Archer
Those watches are owned by the AD's, not Omega, as Omega has already sold them at this stage. As you have noted, the AD's are aware of this problem, and can easily correct it by exchanging the clasps (again would be covered under warranty). Why they don't I have no idea...

And this reminds me of another dynamic here, which is that my AD was very obviously irritated by the entire affair---not at me, but at Omega. The vibe was "I'm so sorry, we've been through this with dozens of watches and Omega still hasn't___."

Evitzee · Oct 17, 2022

Archer
Those watches are owned by the AD's, not Omega, as Omega has already sold them at this stage. As you have noted, the AD's are aware of this problem, and can easily correct it by exchanging the clasps (again would be covered under warranty). Why they don't I have no idea...

It is quite possible that Omega won't reimburse the AD for replacing a clasp that hasn't failed. Omega knows that not all clasps will fail so it doesn't make sense from an economic standpoint to replace all clasps if only X% are expected to fail. It makes for a poor customer experience but too often companies focus on the money side and not the PR side of an issue.

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

Annapolis
Right---I mean why not replace them preemptively/proactively instead of waiting for the problem to happen? But yes, both of my replacement clasps were provided free of charge. (I had ask/nag my AD for the compensation, but they did acquiesce to sending me the OEM rubber strap and buckle as well, which provided some satisfaction--I'm not unreasonable.)

And this reminds me of another dynamic here, which is that my AD was very obviously irritated by the entire affair---not at me, but at Omega. The vibe was "I'm so sorry, we've been through this with dozens of watches and Omega still hasn't___."

Let's recap...

Omega sells the watches to the AD's - at this point they are the AD's property.

Omega identifies that clasps are faulty, and provides watchmakers and AD's with the solution - return the clasp for a replacement, which will be provided free of charge (or you will be credited when you return the defective clasp).

AD's have watches sitting on their shelves, knowing that clasps are defective that they are selling.

Those watches are sold, then come back with defective clasps, and the AD says "That damned Omega!"

Customer says "Omega should recall these!"

Sounds about right...

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

Evitzee
It is quite possible that Omega won't reimburse the AD for replacing a clasp that hasn't failed. Omega knows that not all clasps will fail so it doesn't make sense from an economic standpoint to replace all clasps if only X% are expected to fail. It makes for a poor customer experience but too often companies focus on the money side and not the PR side of an issue.

The clasp doesn't have to fail in order to be identified as defective.

Annapolis · Oct 17, 2022

Archer
Let's recap...

Omega sells the watches to the AD's - at this point they are the AD's property.

Omega identifies that clasps are faulty, and provides watchmakers and AD's with the solution - return the clasp for a replacement, which will be provided free of charge (or you will be credited when you return the defective clasp).

AD's have watches sitting on their shelves, knowing that clasps are defective that they are selling.

Those watches are sold, then come back with defective clasps, and the AD says "That damned Omega!"

Customer says "Omega should recall these!"

Sounds about right...

The way you've laid it out here, the AD is the a_hole, hedging on the clasps. I guess your point is that they'd rather not go through the hassle of replacing all of them (even though Omega would gladly oblige if they did?); easier and potentially more profitable not to do that, and then if a customer gets screwed, the AD can just blame Omega. You may well be right about that. I have no more reason to give my AD the benefit of a doubt than I do Omega.

On the far end of this, as the customer, I suppose it doesn't entirely matter whether it's the factory or the salesroom that's to blame---I see both entities as stewards of the brand, so I blame "Omega," regardless. I'm not going to put my hands on my hips and get all red in the face and shout into the void "I'll never buy another Omega in my life!" (Who cares?) But no question the experience (eventually) sent me to Rolex and other brands, and if I were a muckity-muck at Omega/Swatch or at an AD/OB, I would take that... at least somewhat seriously.

keisuke_z · Oct 17, 2022

Just thought I'd share my amateur findings here in case anyone is in a situation where their clasp jams and it's no longer covered under warranty and wants to give it a go themselves at fixing it. Since I'd purchased my clasp as an individual part from my AD, they fixed it twice before replacing it since it was still covered the 1-year parts warranty. But prior to that, I had disassembled it (this was before I found out that there was a parts warranty) to try fixing it myself. I didn't take any photos at the time (this was about 2 years ago), but here's a photo of the parts from another post:

The crucial components are here (tbh I can't remember what that cylinder is for, but I'm pretty sure the springs don't belong in there:

And basically, how the locking mechanism works is in this crudely drawn diagram below:

The housing where the pin goes into the clasp when it locks holds this entire assembly together, and the springs keep the pushers "pushed" out (and the pin locked in) requires very tight tolerances - enough that the locking sliders can move, but minimizing any vertical play. If the spring diameter isn't quite wide enough or perhaps doesn't have enough tension due to a quality issue, then the spring can "jump" above the contact point on the pusher, causing the pusher to get jammed or become ineffective. This causes the clasp to get stuck in either a locked or unlocked position. In my case, I got both, depending on how I jiggled the pushers.

Looking at my other watches, I imagine any double button clasp probably uses a similar dual spring based locking mechanism (I'm not expert - just basing this off my limited experience), but it's the design of the pusher that causes the problem, since there is enough space to allow the spring to jump and get wedged between the clasp housing and the top surface of the pusher. In Omega's case, maybe there was either a bad batch of springs, a bad batch of pushers with flat parts that aren't thick enough to prevent the springs from jumping, or a combo of both.

Anyway, not sure if that makes sense, but for folks who are stuck in the DIY camp, hopefully this provides some further insight into how the mechanism works. Errrr and hopefully it's accurate, since I'm going off memory from awhile back and I did not disassemble any of my current, working clasps to verify. 😁

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

Annapolis
The way you've laid it out here, the AD is the a_hole, hedging on the clasps. I guess your point is that they'd rather not go through the hassle of replacing all of them (even though Omega would gladly oblige if they did?); easier and potentially more profitable not to do that, and then if a customer gets screwed, the AD can just blame Omega. You may well be right about that. I have no more reason to give my AD the benefit of a doubt than I do Omega.

On the far end of this, as the customer, I suppose it doesn't entirely matter whether it's the factory or the salesroom that's to blame---I see both entities as stewards of the brand, so I blame "Omega," regardless. I'm not going to put my hands on my hips and get all red in the face and shout into the void "I'll never buy another Omega in my life!" (Who cares?) But no question the experience (eventually) sent me to Rolex and other brands, and if I were a muckity-muck at Omega/Swatch or at an AD/OB, I would take that... at least somewhat seriously.

Please understand that I am not defending or condoning any party is this. I'm just telling you what happens. You can do with that information whatever you like, but when that "sent you to Rolex" don't expect them to treat you any differently.

There's a reason in my first reply to you that I said this wasn't how the industry works - it's the entire industry, not just Omega. I suppose one could say "Don't hate the player, hate the game"...

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

keisuke_z
Just thought I'd share my amateur findings here in case anyone is in a situation where their clasp jams and it's no longer covered under warranty

The exchange of the clasp is separate from the warranty on the watch - Omega will replace the clasp if it is defective regardless of the status of the watch's warranty...

keisuke_z · Oct 17, 2022

Archer
The exchange of the clasp is separate from the warranty on the watch - Omega will replace the clasp if it is defective regardless of the status of the watch's warranty...

Thanks for clarifying! Is there a limit on Omega exchanging the clasp - ie., within a certain period of time since the part was purchased? The way the AD communicated to me was that since it was a standalone parts purchase, there was a 1-year warranty, after which I'd have to pay for a replacement if it stopped working... but perhaps that's more the AD's policy rather than Omega's?

Evitzee · Oct 17, 2022

There is something to be said for the old friction style clasps. Once you start introducing small sliding parts and springs that are constantly exposed to dust, dirt and moisture it is not surprising that things can go haywire sometimes. I was just looking at my 20-30 year old AP, Daniel Roth and Roger Dubuis gold watches that have deployant buckles....all friction close and all have worked flawlessly from day one. But I must say I've had no issues so far with any of my OEM or aftermarket buckles that use push buttons, hopefully I won't.

Archer · Oct 17, 2022

keisuke_z
Thanks for clarifying! Is there a limit on Omega exchanging the clasp - ie., within a certain period of time since the part was purchased? The way the AD communicated to me was that since it was a standalone parts purchase, there was a 1-year warranty, after which I'd have to pay for a replacement if it stopped working... but perhaps that's more the AD's policy rather than Omega's?

There's no time limit - if the clasp if the one identified as being defective, they will replace it when it fails with the updated design. That is what Omega policies state. The AD may be trying to tell you something different I suppose.

Annapolis · Oct 17, 2022

Archer
Please understand that I am not defending or condoning any party is this. I'm just telling you what happens. You can do with that information whatever you like, but when that "sent you to Rolex" don't expect them to treat you any differently.

There's a reason in my first reply to you that I said this wasn't how the industry works - it's the entire industry, not just Omega. I suppose one could say "Don't hate the player, hate the game"...

Point well taken. And yes, Rolex (in the present moment) isn’t known for giving its customers warm & fuzzy feelings. It’s one devil for another.

dcleland · Jan 29, 2023

Clasp on my 4 month old Omega jammed last night. Fortunately in the open position as I had taken it off to reset the time.

Just took it back to the Jeweller this morning and they managed to get it jammed in the closed position.

It is now on its way back to Omega for repair, with maybe a 4-6 week wait. 🙁

Annapolis · Jan 29, 2023

Did you purchase new from an AD/OB? And is that how you routed it to Omega/Swatch for service? If so, you might be able to leverage this inconvenience toward a free or heavily discounted OEM rubber strap, which will keep the watch on your wrist while the clasp is being replaced/serviced. (Unless you sent in the whole thing?)

That worked for me: got the strap free of charge from my AD. (Just be sure they also provide the strap hardware: buckle and such, which are packaged separately.)

dcleland · Jan 29, 2023

I bought it new direct from a jeweller. It has gone back through them for repair, but they wanted the whole thing.

Annapolis · Jan 29, 2023

D dcleland
I bought it new direct from a jeweller. It has gone back through them for repair, but they wanted the whole thing.

So if I understand, you bought it new from a jewelry store that’s an authorized dealer (retailer) of Omega watches-? And they are submitting to Omega? (Just want to be sure they don’t have some in-house repairman of their own who’s going to attack this thing with a toothpick and some WD40–you need and deserve a brand new clasp.)

Too bad they took the whole watch when the bracelet (or really just the defective clasp itself) is all they needed. But I suppose it’s too late now.

Definitely don’t be shy about asking for some consideration here, whether it’s a free accessory (like a strap) or at the very least some kind of swag like a watch roll. (Omega has all kinds of branded stuff—leather notepads, pens, pouches, etc.) It’s literally the least they can do. This clasp issue has been around for a long time and it’s ludicrous that they haven’t preemptively addressed it, instead making it the problem of customers who have spent $$$$ on a watch. You’re owed something, for sure.

Mozza · Aug 30, 2023

This is such an easy fix, mine did it today, you just need a toothpick, or small jewel screwdriver ,just put your watch on it's side, and insert it into the hole on the back of the clasp, where the two buttons are you press to release the clasp, the workings have just become stuck, with dirt.

Annapolis · Aug 30, 2023

Mozza
This is such an easy fix, mine did it today, you just need a toothpick, or small jewel screwdriver ,just put your watch on it's side, and insert it into the hole on the back of the clasp, where the two buttons are you press to release the clasp, the workings have just become stuck, with dirt.

Not so easy when it happens while the watch is on your wrist (as happened to me—twice).

Archer · Aug 30, 2023

Mozza
This is such an easy fix, mine did it today, you just need a toothpick, or small jewel screwdriver ,just put your watch on it's side, and insert it into the hole on the back of the clasp, where the two buttons are you press to release the clasp, the workings have just become stuck, with dirt.

Actually, the original clasp design is faulty and Omega has a replacement for it. May not be the case for your specific clasp, but for many this has nothing to do with dirt.

Clasp stuck in brand new Seamaster 300 professional diver

Archer

Annapolis

Evitzee

Archer

Archer

Annapolis

keisuke_z

Archer

Archer

keisuke_z

Evitzee

Archer

Annapolis

dcleland

Annapolis

dcleland

Annapolis

Mozza

Annapolis

Archer

Similar threads

Omega Seamaster 300 Professional 2254.50 "Peter Blake"

Hairline scratch on brand new seamaster

Omega Seamaster 300 professional

Latest Seamaster 300 Professional stopping

Would you wear this? (No bezel 300 professional diver)

Seamaster 300 Professional crown questions