I'll answer your questions the best I can:
Question 1 -
From the AWCI web site:
What is Certification?
Certification means a watch or clock repair specialist has proven to a board of professionals that he or she has the skills required to perform quality repairs on the materials for which they are certified. The 21st Century certification exam involves a stringent 3-day examination of 4 major areas on the technical aspects of watchmaking.
On What Subjects are Watchmakers Examined?
The 3-day Certification examination includes:
- Taking a written exam covering a variety of theoretical subjects
- Candidates must demonstrate their micromechanical abilities by using a lathe
- Performing complete service on a quartz watch
- Performing a complete service on an automatic chronograph watch
During the course of the examination, the candidate is required to operate a variety of industry-standard equipment to demonstrate the quality of the work they have completed. Candidates are assessed for their quality of work and their meticulous detail.
This is a shortened version of the exam, which used to be 4 days long, so 1/2 day for the written exam, then servicing a modern 3 hand ETA quartz movement, an ETA 2824-2 based automatic watch, and an ETA 7750 based chronograph, and replacing the balance staff on an ETA 6497-1 balance. They eliminated the 2824-2 watch, so now it's just servicing 2 watches, replacing the staff, and then the written exam.
There are no pre-requisites to taking the exam - if you think you can pass it, sign up, pay the money, and go take the exam. No formal training is required, so theoretically you could sign up and do this exam if you wanted. The movements are checked for timing, then disassembled and inspected at a later date, and you are given a pass/fail grade. If you pass, that's it, you are now certified.
This is very basic watchmaking in terms of the skills needed, and you will note that it's all on modern movements, so nothing related to the challenges of vintage work is addressed. As they clearly say above "
has the skills required to perform quality repairs on the materials for which they are certified." They make no claims about the competency of the watchmaker on something other than what the test involves.
2 - As far as I know there is no database of Omega approved watchmakers...you could always ask Omega for that information though.
3 - The examination proves that you are capable of servicing a modern ETA Swiss lever escapement watch, and a modern quartz watch. Anything more specialized than that is not "proven" by such an exam. There is no real repair work here, other than cutting out a balance staff, installing a new one, and poising it, but it never gets timed so it's not a true test for a staff change IMO.
This exam does not cover anything that is brand specific, just generic ETA movements. So for example it does not touch at all on the requirements for servicing a co-axial escapement, so it would very much depend on what Omega you would be asking them to service. If it's an Speedmaster date auto with a 7750 based movement, then sure they should be fine. If it's a Cal. 3313 F. Piguet based movement with a co-axial escapement, then I would ask a lot of questions about their experience and training on that movement before handing one over. Even many people who are certified by Omega won't work on the F. Piguet based movements, at least from what the instructor at Swatch has told me.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Al
