Who would you rather perform routine maintenance on your modern Omega assuming the price was the same?

A. Omega Boutique
B. An independent watchmaker who happens to be a true master

I guess the Omega would come with a 2 year warranty as a big bonus. I would lean toward B.

 

If its under warranty you take it to the boutique.

 

Price the same on a modern watch? No question Omega

 

I may be (very) wrong, but for coaxial, I don't think there's many independents authorized to do the service.

 

There's not much difference if the independent is properly accredited.

Who do you want to give your business to?

 

Have a 20 year rule.

First 20 years it goes to the maker, after that it's independent watchmakers.

 

From what I understand, there are not many qualified, but that number is growing. I have heard that Omega offers free training on coaxial movements to watchmakers globally (you just need to fly yourself to Biene for the training).

 

Just to clarify the training questions being raised...

Omega has put thousands of independent watchmakers through co-axial training. In the US you had to attend this training, or you would lose access to all parts but accessories like straps and bracelets. Since I'm in Canada, I wasn't required to attend, but I took advantage of the opportunity and spent a week in lovely Secaucus, NJ (you do not have to travel to Bienne for this training). The training was free so no course fee, and I had to get myself there so a flight was involved. I had to pay for a hotel, but Omega picked us all up every morning, fed us a lunch each day, and dropped us off each night, and at the end gave us all some free tools, so for me this was a no-brainer. There were 5 watchmakers per class and they had run this training pretty much every week for a couple of years, so do the math and a lot of people in the US, and a few from Canada, took the training there.

Now having said that, many people went so they could keep their access, and they admitted that if a co-axial watch came in, they would simply send it in to Omega for service. I was the only one in my class to finish both watches we were assigned in the week, with 1/2 a day left over. I recall one guy spent the entire 5 days trying to successfully oil the escapement on a Cal. 2500...he didn't have time to put the rest of the watch back together, or even start the Cal. 3313 PO we were given to service. So just because someone has had the training doesn't necessarily mean they can do the work well.

But one thing I would be clear on is that I would not recommend sending a co-axial watch to someone who doesn't have access to parts for them (they often have worn parts like co-axial wheels), or who has not had the training directly from Omega. Many people claim to be able to service these, but don't have the right equipment and training to do so - for example there is a specific movement holder used for working on the escapement that you can only get from Omega.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks for that insight!

 

I'd love to spend a day looking over a watchmakers shoulder! It's amazing the skill that they have and the patience. I do delicate work in my line but nothing that small.

Mike

 

Yes, these patients do require patience sometimes...





But I think looking over my shoulder all day would get pretty boring quickly. It's not exactly exciting work most of the time.

Cheers, Al

 

Archer, thanks for the spell check. LMAO. I use that word all the time Type it many times a day when doing charts. I love the internet grammar Nazi's. I'm married to one.

Mike