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Getting a cal 2500 coaxial movement serviced

watchlovr
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5F1694BF-799F-45BB-81CC-EB2CF155B7BE.jpeg 053B4CEC-18C4-44A2-9927-AB09B6C165DD.jpeg
Hi gents,
I’m UK based, I’m arranging work on a friend’s cal 2500 Seamaster he’s had since new.
It’s never been serviced, bracelet is shot, usual wear to the case from 10+ years of wear.

My plan is to send the bracelet to Michael Young in HK for a full revamp and retighten.
After discussion, he wants the case polished as well and thinks he may as well get it serviced at the same time, get it back to “good as new”
I’m thinking if getting all the work done in HK at the moment.

So my question us how easy or difficult is the cal 2500 movement to service and does anyone know anything about Michael Young’s movement servicing work?
 
dennisthemenace
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Why on earth send it to Hong Kong when an Omega service centre in the UK will do everything your friend wants for a fixed price?
 
watchlovr
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dennisthemenace dennisthemenace
Why on earth send it to Hong Kong when an Omega service centre in the UK will do everything your friend wants for a fixed price?
Because they won’t repair the bracelet, replacement is £1k+, and will polish the case heavily, MY will laser weld then polish, keeping the profile.
 
Jeeper
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I know Omega service prices are expensive, but surely the risk in sending so far outweighs the additional service cost.
Is there a particular reason, I ask as I have a 09 PO with 2500 which hasalso never been serviced.

Jeeper
 
dennisthemenace
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watchlovr watchlovr
Because they won’t repair the bracelet, replacement is £1k+, and will polish the case heavily
Sorry, but that is nonsense. Bracelet refurbishment is included in Omegas fixed price maintenance. The watch would come back "good as new" as your friend wants.
 
Radiozoop
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dennisthemenace dennisthemenace
Sorry, but that is nonsense. Bracelet refurbishment is included in Omegas fixed price maintenance. The watch would come back "good as new" as your friend wants.

He mentioned that he doesn’t want the watch to be polished. He wants it to be laser welded and then polished so there isn’t case material lost.
 
watchlovr
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dennisthemenace dennisthemenace
Sorry, but that is nonsense. Bracelet refurbishment is included in Omegas fixed price maintenance. The watch would come back "good as new" as your friend wants.
Well you’ll need to take your opinion up with Omega, they are the ones who have told him the bracelet is beyond repair and needs replacing at £1k+
there is a difference between refurbishment and repair
 
dennisthemenace
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watchlovr watchlovr
Well you’ll need to take your opinion up with Omega, they are the ones who have told him the bracelet is beyond repair and needs replacing at £1k+
there is a difference between refurbishment and repair
And who exactly are "they"?
Do you think that Michael Young can do work on an Omega bracelet that Omega themselves can't?
Edited:
 
RARJ
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I just had my 2500 series PO come back from Omega Canada and I couldn't be happier. Not even the slightest indication of over polishing (and I compared it in detail to a buddy's PO that hadn't been serviced yet). All edges, corners, transitions were perfect.

The only significant difference I noticed was the new sapphire crystal and a bright new second hand. Looks fantastic!
 
TropicConnie
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I don't believe a Cal 2500 is too difficult to service - it's just an ETA 2892 with a special escapement. I have a derivative of the 2500 in the watch in my profile photo. Omegas with the Co-Axial are so commonplace now that I bet most watchmakers have worked on them at one point.
 
phcollard
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TropicConnie TropicConnie
I don't believe a Cal 2500 is too difficult to service - it's just an ETA 2892 with a special escapement. I have a derivative of the 2500 in the watch in my profile photo. Omegas with the Co-Axial are so commonplace now that I bet most watchmakers have worked on them at one point.

I believe it's not just like servicing a good old 2824. @Archer explained in the past how delicate it is to apply a microscopic amount of oil on the escapement wheel (correct me if I am wrong Al). The watchmaker needs specific Omega training in co-axial movement.

https://forums.watchuseek.com/f2/ph...xperienced-question-786804-7.html#post5873679
 
tikkathree
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TropicConnie TropicConnie
I don't believe a Cal 2500 is too difficult to service - it's just an ETA 2892 with a special escapement. I have a derivative of the 2500 in the watch in my profile photo. Omegas with the Co-Axial are so commonplace now that I bet most watchmakers have worked on them at one point.

I recently made an enquiry to a well-known watchmaker/servicer/repairer in the UK and was politely referred to Omega for service on the coax movement.

watchlovr watchlovr
Because they won’t repair the bracelet, replacement is £1k+, and will polish the case heavily, MY will laser weld then polish, keeping the profile.

Surely a further option is to not send the bracelet to Omega?
 
watchlovr
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tikkathree tikkathree
I recently made an enquiry to a well-known watchmaker/servicer/repairer in the UK and was politely referred to Omega for service on the coax movement.



Surely a further option is to not send the bracelet to Omega?
All options are being considered, I’m not discounting anything at this point.
 
Archer
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TropicConnie TropicConnie
I don't believe a Cal 2500 is too difficult to service - it's just an ETA 2892 with a special escapement. I have a derivative of the 2500 in the watch in my profile photo. Omegas with the Co-Axial are so commonplace now that I bet most watchmakers have worked on them at one point.

In order to properly service a co-axial escapement requires specialized tooling and a full understanding of the process. I'm quite sure there are many watchmakers who have "worked on" these movements, and some have contacted me in a panic because they don't know what to do once they get to a certain point, or they find worn parts inside that they can't get.

Before I went to Omega for the training, I used to get requests from people to service their co-axial watches, and I turned them all down. It's not ethical for me to "wing it" on something I have no idea how to service properly. I'm very glad I waited, because the tech guides don't tell you everything you need to know, and the issue with servicing a co-axial is that even if you don't do the job right, it will run great on a timing machine. But it will be chewing itself up inside, and down the road will require new escapement parts when damage like this happens - worn teeth on the co-axial wheel:



I personally would not recommend sending a co-axial escapement watch to someone who hasn't had training right from Omega, and doesn't have access to the proper tools and replacement parts - in other words someone with an Omega parts account.

Cheers, Al
 
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