8 - 12
months for servicing a 321, would turn away many prospective customers from buying the watch. Myself included. Assuming that is not in the corporate sales training on benefits & features of the 321 Speedmaster, it's a daft sales tactic by that OB rep to go off-script and fabricate that long service wait time in a perverse attempt at making the watch more desirable in the eye of a prospective customer.
ALS with its few hundred staff, includes the option of l
aser-welding precious metal back into the case when clients opt for case refurbishment as part of the service. And still return the watch in a few weeks or a couple months.
I would also like to start a youtube channel. I recently bought a loaf of bread at the bakery and it didn't live up to expectations either. Now I want to publicly destroy that baker.
If in France, it's more effective to just email both the Ministère de l'agriculture, de l'agroalimentaire et de la forêt, and Dominique Anract's administration at Confédération Nationale de la Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Française. They'll send out inspectors.
Life is way too short for bad bread, or 8-12 month service times on one's watch.
To the OP - I hope your local OB, or regional Omega or Swatch after-sales customer service department has been in contact. As many of our fellow forum members have suggested, do make contact if you haven't already, and inquire on goodies or experiences
(like invites to exhibitions, new product launches, or evening hors d'oeuvres & cocktail celebrations, etc) which can help compensate for the time you've lost with your brand new watch.
Having had a handful of Omegas since first purchasing a 2254 back in 2006 (
back when all Omegas were commonly discounted 30% for steel and 40% for gold at neighborhood ADs across the US) - I can add a testimonial that the 3861 Speedmaster is a joy to wear. Its thinness, comfortable caseback (no more sharp and protruding hippocampus ring), svelt bracelet, and movement are all worthwhile upgrades over the 1861's that you find more commonly available pre-owned.
I've had some issues with my own 3861 since purchasing it back in 2021, like the clasp buttons seizing up during a transatlantic flight and me not being able to take the watch off until I returned home from the trip. That clasp failure had never happened to me on any of a dozen watches I've owned. But since we're the early adopters to the 3861, like purchasers of 1st model-year cars, we do have to accept the trade off of being the field-testers. I wish the OP many years, maybe decades, of enjoyment with his Speedmaster once it has returned from service. Years from now, if you still own it, you can take pride in the fact that you helped Omega watchmakers with their continuous product improvement cycles through having sent in your model for them to examine and learn from, as they continue to hammer out manufacturing faults year over year.
