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  1. Got2bm May 14, 2018

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    Hi all!
    So happy to finally receive my first watch, a speedmaster reduced I purchased online. Watch superficially looks to be in great condition. However I noticed that its power reserve is quite poor. According to the manual I received, I should manually wind the crown in a clockwise direction when the crown is pushed in. This I attempted, winding it around 30+ times (according to some articles here, there's a release mechanism to prevent overwinding. Was told to listen out for a 'click' when it is fully wound).
    So far I've never been able to appreciate any 'click' so suggest it is fully wound, and the watch still tends to die overnight. Am I doing something wrong? Speedy reduced owners.. any idea? Much appreciated..!
     
    20180513_130245.jpg
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  2. Canuck May 14, 2018

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    Wind it manually your usual amount. Try running the Omega with the chronograph mechanism idle. Some automatic winders do give a barely audible “click” as the mainspring bridle begins to slip. Not so on your Omega, unless the mainspring is broken. Not likely the problem with yours, since a broken mainspring on occasion can click audibly when wound manually. Please get back to us after you try this.
     
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  3. Got2bm May 15, 2018

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    Hi Canuck, thank you for getting back to me.
    Yes I am running the watch without the chronograph function. When I wind the watch in the clockwise direction, I hear a faint whirring of gears. When I wind in the clockwise direction, it's smooth and quite soundless.
    I was under the impression that I cannot overwind this watch. So when I first started wearing it and it kept dying on me, I gave it a good winding up, and then kept going some more for good measure. However even after all this, it still died on me overnight. Not entirely sure what's going on. Do you think the watch might need to be serviced? The seller is unsure about the servicing history. Thank you once again!
     
  4. Canuck May 15, 2018

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    What you are hearing when you manually wind the watch (the whirring) is normal. As is the absence of sound when you reverse the winding crown. And self winders will not be harmed by excessive winding. I would deduce that, since the seller doesn’t know if it has been serviced, you can assume that it hasn’t been serviced. Many shops won’t work on these reduced movements. They are sort of a “hybrid”. The basic watch movement is a conventional Eta 2892 mounted on a separate chronograph module made by DuBois & DePraz (sp?). If you are unable to find someone in your area that will work on it, you may have to send it somewhere. Or send it to Omega. Anyone on the OB who can advise of someone who services these? Omega doesn’t service them either. They only exchange your faulty movement with a freshly serviced one that was done in Switzerland. Ask me how I know! I have one that went through that drill. I owned one for about 15 years before I tired of not being able to rely on it. I sent it to Omega Canada for a replacement movement, and now it rates as one of my favourites!


    http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&ETA_2892
     
  5. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker May 15, 2018

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    This is an automatic watch, and yes it will click when fully wound just like any other 2892 based watch will - there are notches in the barrel wall that cause the clicking sound:

    [​IMG]

    If you can hear it or not is another thing - some cases are thick enough that you can't easily hear it, and of course your hearing has to be good enough to detect it as well.

    Fully wind the watch by turning the crown clockwise say 100 times to be safe, then lay it dial up with the chronograph off, and see how long it runs. It likely needs a service based on what you have indicated so far. Not going to be cheap to service this one, and often people put them up for sale when service is due rather than paying for it themselves.

    Cheers, Al
     
  6. Canuck May 15, 2018

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    Some have keener hearing than others, I guess. :)
     
  7. Got2bm May 15, 2018

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    Wow guys thank you for the response!

    I have indeed wound it 100+ times at the start of the day, and in fact continue to give it a few extra winds throughout the day for good measure. It keeps decent time in the day.
    Take it off when I go to bed at night, and the next morning when I'm up I notice it'll manage about half an hour of run time before it stops. I might experiment with giving it a full winding and leave it off for the day to see exactly how long it runs just based on that.
    It probably needs servicing, which is a horrible thought seeing as I just purchased this watch. I'd hate to have to spend the money, and also to have the watch off my wrist.. I wear it every waking hour!
    Looks like I'll have to check with the seller if they can do an exchange (Japanese seller, they seem to have plenty of these speedmaster reduced). My fear is that they might all be in need of servicing anyway.. what do you guys think?
     
  8. Canuck May 15, 2018

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    Speaking as someone who has been this route, I didn’t have the option of returning my Speedmaster reduced. So it was “in for a penny, in for a pound”. I had always liked the watch, but had not been able to wear it. I had three options. 1/ Do nothing. 2/ Dump it. 3/ Do what I did. Have Omega replace the movement. In spite of the expense, I have absolutely zero regrets. I love the watch. Picture included. A fairly scarce version. Model 175.0033, 18-karat rose gold bezel, black dial, rose gold sub dials, from 1988. Produced for only a short time, and for Europe only. 43988DED-3123-4C79-857E-E8D4B353A4E8.jpeg
     
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  9. Got2bm May 16, 2018

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    Looks like if I give it a wind before bed, it'll still be running in the morning. As I highly doubt the seller is going to offer an exchange, I might have to live with this as a peculiarity of the piece. Might have to make winding it daily and nightly a habit! Just to be sure, there shouldn't be any harm in this? No need to worry abouy damaging the watch by overwinding, correct?
     
  10. Canuck May 16, 2018

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    Danger? Well, that is hard to say. Obviously, something needs to be attended to. And what might the consequences be of ignoring the fact? Your choice.
     
  11. padders Oooo subtitles! May 17, 2018

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    Where did you buy it? It is clearly not fit for purpose unless it was described as faulty or in need of a service. As noted above, many of these get sold when a service is needed, I wouldn’t touch one without proof or would discount accordingly. If you used eBay you have cast iron grounds for a forced return, if a dealer, kick up a stink or name and shame the dealer. If a private sale, appeal to their honesty, they know it was poorly or at least should have. Many of the large Japanese ebay sellers for instance are reputable businesses and may do the right thing or perhaps make a part refund.

    These are often bought by first timers who think they are getting a cheap Pro lookalike. In fact they are often getting a future bill approaching a large proportion of the purchase cost and a headache.
     
    Edited May 17, 2018
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