hey, I got a very nice deal on a 60’s constellation that I love. After service I got that old moisture issue with change of temperature. I don’t even wash my hands with the watch on so I was getting scared about the crown and tube. As you know these things can be found with a lot of hunting or a unoriginal replacement but the originals are big ticket and I would have hate to have done an unoriginal. Fortunately with the 180 dollar service I was still under warranty And it was a simple quick fix. I was so damn happy about this.
This moisture issue has probably been brought up one thousand times I know but is there a realistic test that can be done prior to purchase. My watch maker said it couldn’t have been bad as it would rust a movement quickly. I’ve had moisture issues once before on a quartz movado but again it was a quick fix. I can’t always count on it being being humid if I purchase something and I’m not inquiring about repairing the problem but I’m curios if there is any kind of test that can be done if you are buying something. I won’t be getting anything soon but I’d like to know if there is an answer to this issue. Thank you and if this has been brought up too many times let it sink to oblivion. I did some searches here and the most common response was ice cube testing. Moisture is very scary. I’m in New England and humidity times are coming so I’ve been sticking to my tag diver.

 

I think I saw a good post... not sure who by... possibly @Archer ? About the test that omega uses after a service, something about warming the watch gently and then putting a drop of cold water onto the glass, wiping it off and seeing if anything has condensed on the inside.

I’m sure someone will provide a link shortly!

 

That is excellent but I’m thinking when you are buying vintage from a shop or person. I know sometimes you can get an idea by looking at the hands and dial but mine were perfect when I bought it. I don’t know if it’s possible my watch maker didn’t do something right with right with a gasket but he is usually pretty good although he is taking forever with my dynamic.

 

So not sure if this would be approved or anything, but thinking of a ‘hack’ way of doing things, you can buy cans of something called freeze spray designed to cool something (in my industry, chocolate) down to minus 10-18 (I think) very fast. Obviously the longer you spray it the colder it gets. It has no after effects aside from the item being cold and moisture caused by condensation.
So you could take a can in with you, spray a tiny amount on the crystal (it is dispensed through a straw like WD40) and see if condensation forms.

Maybe!

 

That sounds brilliant seriously but isn’t minus 10 a little intense. Damn if it failed the test and the shop dude took it back too quick he’d be like WTF

 

I’ll spray some on a thermometer today and see if you can control it to less than -10.
Maybe I should bottle this in tiny cans and call it watch tester!

 

So it turns out you can control it quite easily, not accurately, but you can easily decide how cold you want to go.

Just need a moisture affected watch to know if it works! And I’m not sure how a fast chill would effect any scratches or chills in the crystal!

I thought someone else might weigh in by now on what a stupid idea this is and with a more obvious solution!???

Edited to add: the effect literally lasts a few seconds. The -45 spray was back at +5 after 20 seconds. And obviously less time for the warmer temperatures.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

As I understand this, condensation is from water vapour in the air condensing when the air cools. I wonder though: how could this ever be prevented in a watch? Unless it is hermetically sealed before everything is screwed down, there is always going to be some air in there and the potential for moisture. Am I missing something?

 

Here is the DIY method.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/at-screwdown-crown.9669/

 

This was the post I referenced in my first reply @Walrus.

But as Walrus mentioned, @JimInOz, he wanted a portable method that he could quickly test a watch with in a second hand / antique shop.

 

Yes, maybe I’m being unrealistic. My watch guy says he can usually tell by what’s going on with the hands and he can usually catch past “droplets” on the dial. I guess as long as you get a good look at the movement and it’s not rusted that in itself is a good test as he said a major moisture issue will rust things up even shortly after service but yes I’m just wondering if there is any quick test as you are looking at things in a shop and may need to rely on untraditional methods

 

I like you linked this. When I did a google search on the issue when I first noticed the issue in my constellation this thread actually popped up. I think there was a couple more from this forum and another watch forum. I negotiated on my constellation for everything i found wrong with it and the guys were very cool about working with me. If I had been able to find this moisture somehow I could have passed the deal due to fear or used that in my arsenal of negotiating. I consider myself fortunate as when you are getting a fifty year old watch it can be a major problem. A lot of times the issue is the crown and tube like I said and since Omega stopped supplying third parties with parts they are very expensive and sometimes impossible to get and it’s a shame to put a generic crown when you find an all original vintage. Maybe it ends up just being a bit of a risk you need to take buying a 50-60 year old watch.