Hi guys, need some technical advice here. I activated the chrono on my speedy mk2 (the new release) last night, and after a couple of minutes, noticed tiny droplets of condensation appearing under the glass!

The watch was purchased in January and I have only worn it a couple of times since (in rotation with my other watches). The watch has never been used for swimming, only rinsing under the tap for cleaning, and always with the crown fully pressed in.

As you can imagine, I am horrified I used the chrono a few times in the 1st week of purchase, and everything was fine. It was only last night when i first noticed the issue. The chrono was not used the last few weeks. I placed the watch with the crown pulled out in a bag of rice overnight and the issue cleared up overnight. I then activated the chrono again this morning and lo and behold, the condensation appears again! It is so strange that the issue is repeated by chrono-activation.

Please see the photos. I am making the 1,5hr trip to the Omega boutique tomorrow evening to send the watch in. I am already so worried that the condensation has damaged the movement, the lume, etc. Any of you guys have a similar experience? Should I be worried? It is such a new watch and I'm so disappointed as I really like this watch alot

 

By the way, the swirly marks are all under the glass. They appear when the condensation appears.

The glass is perfectly clear after the night in the bag of rice.

 

You didn't press either pusher when the watch was in water, did you? If so, that might be the problem. Or perhaps when you washed the watch, possibly you didn't dry it off enough around the pushers.

Or it could be just a faulty watch that is not sealing somewhere - I would ask them to pressure test it before they do anything at all to the watch - if it fails the pressure test, it's a fault with the watch. It's important to determine if it's sealed before they crack open the case...

Don't be surprised if they tell you it's something you did...I think this is SOP with any water issue for most brands.

Cheers, Al

 

Hi Al, nope i did not press any of the pushers under water. Is an Omega boutique able to do the pressure test or must they send it in to a service centre?

Will Omega refuse to resolve this under warranty? In the end it's almost my word against theirs? I am 100% sure I did not do anything that should cause water ingress...

 

I have no idea where you are located, but in the US I know some boutiques have watchmakers on staff, and others have technicians (not watchmakers, but sales staff that have been trained to do simple jobs). If the boutique you are heading to has either of these, they should have a pressure tester.

I can't predict what Omega will do, and boutiques may give more leeway than an AD would, but again it's important to know if the watch passes a pressure test before it is opened. If it does, my guess is that they will say it's something you did. If it doesn't then they should cover it with no problems in my view.

Let us know how you make out.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks Al, appreciate your feedback. I'm located in Germany so I am heading to the boutique in Munich tomorrow evening. It is a 1,5hr train ride away and I have to rush there right after work just to get there before they close at 7pm.

Based on your experience, do you think the moisture has caused damage to the movement or lume? Is this repairable?

I'll let you guys know about the outcome.

 

Hard to tell without seeing the watch in person. The condensation does not looking terribly heavy, so you might be okay. Did you see any condensation on the dial or hands? If any water gets on those, then the chances of damage goes up. Common practice would be to service the watch when something like this happens.

Cheers, Al

 

Hi Al, I did not notice condensation on the dial or hands, so fingers crossed it's gonna be fine. Do you know why the condensation only appears when the chrono is activated? This seems terribly strange to me as the watch was not put through any sudden changes of temperature.

 

A pressure drop at a constant temperature, with a given amount of humidity in the air, will sometimes cause condensation to appear. Essentially there is less room in lower pressure air to hold the amount of moisture in that air, so it condenses on the coolest surface - the crystal. So if the watch is under a slight internal pressure, and pressing the chrono pusher drops the pressure, this causes the condensation to appear...

Just my guess based on the physics of what happens when there is a pressure drop...but my college physics days were a long time ago too...

Cheers, Al

 

You know, I would be very surprised if Omega doesn't just fix it under warranty... They have a pretty decent customer service, so they'll know what a difference it means to you (making you a repeat customer) and how little it'll cost them. My Speedmaster started gaining 30 seconds a day some months ago and it got fixed, no questions asked. It's a premium product which usually means decent service level. Just relax.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate the collective wisdom! I'll report back when i get back from the trip down to the Omega Boutique...

 

Alright guys, just came back from the Omega boutique. They did the pressure test twice and the watch tested ok both times. The watchmaker had no idea either why the problem only surfaces when the chrono is activated.

He is sending the watch in to their service centre in Germany together with my photos of the problem. Hopefully the service center is able to diagnose the issue and resolve it properly.

There goes the longgggg wait!

 

It would be nice if they clean the underside of the crystal while they're at it. Something I don't understand...If the watch is properly sealed as the watchmaker said, how could uncooked rice or any other dessicant draw moisture from inside the case? And if it somehow did, how would it get back in? Just guessing of course, but my hunch is that either the watch actually isn't sealed, or maybe what you're seeing isn't condensed water vapor.

 

Bummer.

But it needed to get opened up and looked at anyway. Now you know no matter what the problem when you get it back it will be good to go.

And I never rinse my chronos. I do quite a bit of wiping an dusting - but never rinse.

 

At this point I am guessing the rice treatment probably didn't have any effect on it. I activated the chrono at the boutique for about 5min but I think we didn't run it long enough to see any effect. If I remember right the condensation appeared after about 20min of running the chrono.

And yeah they better clean that underside of the glass! I was horrified to see those strange swirly marks. Really hope it comes back all ok after servicing. (With no freebies such as dust under the glass, etc) they project it to take 6 weeks though. Arghhhhhh.

 

I had the same issue with PO and it was fixed under warranty. Not for a long time though.

 

Hi Alex, what do you mean by not for a long time? You mean the issue came back again?

 

Yes, after several months. In the end I returned this watch back to AD where it was bought and replaced with AT.

 

I feel your pain. Stuff like this can really sour the buying experience. Mine had to go in for regulation under warranty. It came back a month later with a free scratch on the bezel, so I sent it back. I may not see it again for another month or more.