I'm roughly 3 months in to owning a new sapphire sandwich moonwatch. Recently I noticed a small dust speck inside the case between the front crystal and dial at about the 11 o'clock position. The speck seems to be sticking to the crystal itself and while largely unnoticeable, it's bugging me now that I've seen it.

The case has not been opened since purchasing it new back in July so I'm somewhat perplexed how the piece of dust got in there and through QC at Omega before landing on my wrist.

My question is: is there a way to open the case and remove the spec of dust with air or another method without taking it back to the OB where it was purchased? I would like to avoid any chance of damage or allowing even more dust to enter the case during this process, so maybe I've already answered my own question. I'm not a watchmaker or even someone who would want to pretend to be one so my preference would be to err on the side of absolute caution in this regard.

Have others seen things like this in a brand new watch that hasn't been opened before? Is it something I should just get accustomed to living with or do you feel like I should go back to the OB and have them get the spec out of there for me?

For the life of me, I've been unable to get the speck to appear in photos (which exhibits how small it is), but to add some life to the post, here's a quick shot of the watch.

 

I don't see any speck but I do see a mottled appearance around 11, is that smudges on the outside of the crystal or inside? If it's on the inside something isn't right..

 

That appearance is a reflection of the texture on my drywall in the area where I took the photo. Another image for reference. Again, I’m not able to get the speck to show up in any images unfortunately.

 

The longer you wear it without doing anything about the speck of dust, the higher the probability that (careful as the technician might be), the higher the probability that more dust will get in. It is virtually impossible to rid the watch entirely of accumulated wrist grunge before the back is removed! It obviously bothers you. Let Omega attend to it now, and stop worrying about it. Don’t let anybody else do it for you.

 

The watch would have to be opened and the movement removed to clean it up. This is very easy to do on these Speedmasters. I'd take it to the OB and ask if they could do it. If they say yes, fine. If they want to send it to Omega, that could take weeks. Either way, the chances of additional problems are minimal.

 

I wouldn't worry about it, I can't see it in your photos. Everytime you open a watch you risk some other issue popping up, another piece of dust, a nick, a scratch, poor sealing, etc. The potential downside is not worth it, imo.

 

Should you decide to remove the spec / have it removed, would it void the warranty if Omega wasn't the one to do the work?

This is years ago now, and not dust, but I recall seeing lume drops outside the designated areas on the hour and minute hands of a brand new Aqua Terra, as if it had splashed a little during application.

 

I appreciate the opinions you’ve all shared very much, thank you. While it’s a small thing that only I know is there like a door ding on a new car or something, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble considering it could create other issues.

I plan to call the Omega Boutique here in Houston where I purchased it to see what they think. I know they have a watch maker on staff full time so if it’s something I pursue I could likely feel confident in the work they do. That being said I’ll weigh the risks.

The question this raises for me...based on Canuck’s reply is this...

Does dust accumulate over time in a case like this? The only opportunities I see it happening through are excessive use of the chrono pushers or having the crown out for periods of time. But even in those cases, wouldn’t it be very, very difficult for dust to work its way into the case?

I’m sure water resistance is an equatable comparison in terms of the seal level inside a case...with dive watches being much more sound, but wouldn’t even the 50m of water resistance in the moonwatch be enough to avoid dust?

 

Dust penetrating the case during wear, is not likely. To 100% eliminate all the microscopic dust particles etc. that accumulate around the edge of the case back would be very difficult. The case back should be loosened and removed in stages, brushing the loose stuff away with a fine, soft brush and low pressure puffs of air, then finally removing the case back with the watch face up so any remaining “stuff” falls away. This would pertain to a threaded case back. If the case back is held on with a compression ring type gasket, the same caution would be necessary.

As I said, the sooner you have the dust fleck attended to, the less “stuff” has the chance to accumulate around the case back.

Watch factories pay a lot of attention to air quality in their facilities. Twenty five years ago, I visited the Rolex Canada offices in Toronto. The facility was an existing building that was significantly renovated and equipped with the latest of everything. They told me that the atmosphere in the building was totally exchanged with newly filtered air every 12 minutes. But still, dust happens.

 

I have had bad specks of dust (sometimes moustache hairs) in my vintage pieces and have tried to get my watchmaker to remove them many times, usually resulting in dust ending up elsewhere anyways (I think I drive him crazy sometimes). So I have learned to let it go unless its something major.
I think you will have to send it to Omega to get it done perfectly.
Also, I've had dust specks (that were bothersome) fall to the periphery of the crystal over a few days/weeks of wearing. You might notice this too.

 

Given your Sapphire Sandwich was purchased from the OB, I'd take it to them to evaluate. You'll decide whether it's worth parting with the watch for a few weeks to this corrected.

I experienced something similar with an early production 2016 Globemaster. Supposedly, mine was the very first received & sold by the Beverly Center Omega Boutique. After a few months of wear, I noticed a white speck appear stuck to the under-side of the crystal... but unlike your experience, the speck stuck on the GM crystal was very noticeable, and easy to capture even on iPhone pictures (and this was several iPhone generations ago).

When it returned from the Service Center 3 weeks later... it had an EVEN BIGGER speck stuck onto the under-side of the crystal, in a totally different quadrant of the dial... so immediately back to the Service Center it was went. 2 weeks later, I finally received the watch back. This time with an immaculate dial + crystal, without any specks. On the 2nd go-ahead, the service form mentioned it was an excess of lume that had fallen off either the hands or hour markers.

Given that you can't see it, might I suggest you wear it for another few days at least, to see (a) it either moves, and alternates between being on the dial versus stuck to the crystal? And (b) if other specks also appear, after a couple days of wear.

Lastly, if you decide intervention is required, I recommend taking it to the OB. They'll gladly accept it as warranty work, free of charge, and you're guaranteed the watch's warranty period remain unaffected.

I hear ya about finding blemishes on a brand new car... last year, I drove a new car off the lot and literally the very first stoplight I reached still adjacent to the dealer lot, its large performance brakes began to squeal so loud while coming to a stop, that everyone on the sidewalk turned their heads. Funny how it was utterly, completely silent during the test drive. Anyways, a few thousand miles later, the brakes are fully bedded in, it's no longer such an issue.

Just gotta appreciate all the good things, and not let the bad deter your enjoyment. With that magnificent 1863 on display, I'd probably spend more time admiring the other side of the case than the speck on your front. So much history in this movement, and its Lemania heritage. I ended up getting an after-market display back for my standard hesalite Speedy, and find the movement infinitely more interesting than looking at the dial!

 

It’s just the spec of Moon dust put in every Moonwatch

No need to worry.....

 

I'd recommended waiting as some others have suggested to see if either more specks appear or it moves elsewhere. My Speedmaster BSotM has been a daily since July 2019. Flawless cosmetically until several weeks ago when I noticed a speck near 1 o'clock right on the edge where the crystal curves towards the case. A bit distracting but I left it for a few days and it moved elsewhere. No idea where but I can't see it any more so don't have to worry about it.

 

Just so you know, 5 ACPH (Air Changes Per Hour), which is what an air change every 12 minutes would equate to, is pretty low.

No different (actually on the low side) for what you would see in a typical conference room, retail space, etc.

It sounds impressive if this is not something you are familiar with from a facilities design standpoint...my HRV is set to 20 ACPH for example...the lowest setting.

 

I was hoping to see a response from you in here, thank you!

As an experienced watchmaker, do you have a tried and true method to avoid as much dust inside the case as possible when you seal them back up? Outside of the environment in which you do your work, which is subject to your air changes/hour settings, is there a method you teach or know of that eliminates as many variables as possible?

Do you think taking it to the watchmaker at the Houston OB is a wise move in this regard or is it something I should live with as is?

 

Nothing short of attention to detail, and spending the time that is needed to clean the case thoroughly. As much as this seems like a simple thing (and it is), it can be quite time consuming to thoroughly clean things before final assembly.

I typically will use a vacuum system at the bench to do an initial sweep of the inside of the case, then give the inside a clean with a micro-fiber cloth, then any remaining dust particles are removed individually using Bergeon cleaning sticks. I can often spend 30 minutes or more making sure there's nothing left inside.

It's up to you in the end. Only you know how much this is bothering you, but before you take it in, realize that Omega does have standards for inspection of completed watches. Those are that the watch is visually inspected with the naked eye, from a distance of 30 cm, under a light with a brightness of 2000 to 2500 LUX and a colour temperature of 5500 KELVIN.

If something on the dial like this is not visible under those conditions, hen the watch passes. So if you need magnification to see this defect, then likely it won't be considered a fault to be repaired under warranty.

This is not to say that a boutique may not fix it for you as a courtesy repair...

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Al

 

I'm sure one can get a bit OCD with their prized watches and I have two thoughts re-the OP's watch. Since it's merely a speck and not some sort of nick, scratch or damage then it wouldn't bother me too much knowing that at the next service I can mention it and have it removed. It's far from a permanent flaw. As Al mentioned he can take up to a half hour going over everything before final assembly to make sure all's clean and good.

However, I wouldn't automatically assume whoever you trust to open the watch to remove that tiny speck will be as careful or skilled as Al, and that risk is just too much for me to chance. If I were you I would wait until you have no choice and the watch must be disassembled for it's next service.

 

I think the watch technicians at the boutiques are great for bracelet adjustments or strap changes, but I just don't think it is the place for opening up a watch for an intervention like this. That's just me, though.

 

This is the thinking that I’m going to stick with at this point. I have to get over the idea that the watch is always supposed to be perfect and without even the slightest flaw and accept that it’s a tool to be worn and used with love.

I’ll make note of it and when I take it in for the first full service, I’ll make sure to mention it in the hopes that it’s addressed along the way.

I spoke to the Houston OB and they mentioned that the watch would have to be sent to Omega for something like this so I’d be without it for however long that would take. That combined with the potential for it to come back with a similar piece of dust or even worse gives me pause to pursue it. I am going to go in to have it pressure tested per their recommendation just to make sure it’s not any indication of an issue.

Thank you all for the thoughtful feedback and wisdom!

 

I live in the Houston area and frequent the OB in the Galleria....Well, maybe not frequent, but I do know those guys. The watchmaker that they employed, is currently furloughed (their term). Joseph, the watchmaker once told me that he was not allowed to open watches. Something about not having a dust free workshop, or something to that effect.