Hi, I'm a new member w a story to share. I live in FL. I took a 22 yr old Omega Constellation quartz to an Omega Botique in FL. The first thing they asked me was when was the last service? I don't remember if it was done, maybe 15yrs ago. Then he was pushing the service. I said no just want the battery replaced. So I left the watch with him since they couldn't do it that day. He said they're going to test it to see if it needs the service and if so they wouldn't do the battery. I asked him about changing just the gasket and he said they only do the battery, the gasket is changed only with the service. I called them a few days later and they said they didn't have the battery in stock and it would take 2 weeks to get it. I then went and picked up the watch and paid $30 plus tax.
2 weeks later the watch stopped working. I called another Omega Botique nearby and they told me if the watch stopped working then it needs servicing at a cost of $550.
I found a local guy who changed the battery for $5 (Energizer brand), and the watch started working again. He saved me the battery that was recently replaced at Omega. It was a Renata 321 battery.
If you google it I found some reviews from others saying it lasted only a few days, etc.
I contacted the Omega shop that did the battery change and I told one of the guys I wanted an refund. He said bring it in, with the watch and the receipt.
I went after a week to the store and that person wasn't working that day. The salesman that initially took the watch and was pushing the service was there and he said there are no refunds, and said the watch needs servicing. I said then how's it working again? We were going to have an argument, then a lady who id herself as the assistant manager interfered and said she can't issue the refund immediately and that she'll have the other person contact me. And that other person contacted me and did the refund over the phone.
Had this not happened I would have had to write a more detailed review on Google.
I took the watch a week later to a local jeweler to see how much it would cost to replace the whole ETA movement. They opened up the watch and said $270.
I asked how much to replace the gasket? $35
I read somewhere that polishing the watch should cost around $40.
The watch is still working with the new Energizer battery so no need to replace the movement.
But I would get a few more quotes to see if I can get a lower price.
If you look online the ETA movements range from $50 tp $100+
So be wary of the Omega Botiques, they seem to want you to do the service. They talk about disassembling the whole watch and oiling the gears, etc. Not sure if a quartz watch has all those parts that need oiling. If there's something wrong with the movement, I would think that they just replace it with another ETA movement and not repair the 20 yr old movement.
