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Must provide Speedy as hostage to buy Omega spring bars in South Korea

  1. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    Hello everyone,

    I just wanted to know how difficult it may be to purchase Omega OEM spring bars in your respective countries.

    The Omega (Swatch Group)Korea service in South Korea has had a bad reputation in general with multiple complaints from customers in the watch forums here.

    For example, last time the Omega boutique in Seoul tried to make me replace my watch dial on my broad arrow moonphase Speedy when I brought it in due to a broken mainspring. The explanation was that there was some damage on the dial from moisture when inspected by a watchmaker that could be seen only with a microscope. God forbid bringing any tropical dials to Omega boutiques in Korea. The center will probably try to destroy the dial for it being "rusty" and declare it a health hazard. I eventually had to take it to an independent watchmaker who repaired it and told me that the Omega service center makes these claims often. Like shady garages.

    Fast forward to the present, apparently in Korea, in order to purchase OEM spring bars, you have to leave your watch at the store, after which the store will request the spring bars from the service center and notify you after they have arrived. Of course you will be deprived of your watch while the order is being fulfilled. I am told that this is the case when you order an oem strap as well.

    Of course, I asked whether it would be possible to just order the spring bars so that I can put them on myself when they arrive, but the service center insisted that they must take my watch. Hostage situation?

    Is this the case at where you live as well?

    This makes absolutely no sense to me and is a real pain. I suppose I can just get the spring bars from somewhere else, but the Omega service experience in South Korea has left a bad taste in my mouth more than once and I was just curious how it is elsewhere.
     
  2. mr_yossarian Jul 25, 2017

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    Would never happen here, the OB here has springbars at hand, you can simply get them there. Indeed strange behaviours that I'd rather expect in North Korea :)
     
    isaac.owen.nz and gemini4 like this.
  3. Alabama Jul 25, 2017

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    I've not dealt with OBs so far. When I bought a rubber strap and buckle, I found an AD was a better option as they threw in the buckle for free whereas the OB wanted to charge me for it. To be honest, if I had the situation you have, I would buy aftermarket spring bars as it's a minor component you can get elsewhere with no real sacrifice on quality. Like you, I would not want to let my watch out of my sight for no apparent justifiable reason just for OEM spring bars.
     
    fads likes this.
  4. wayneG Jul 25, 2017

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    What a silly scenario OP, I'm on your side. They wouldn't request that here in the UK.
     
  5. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    To be precise, the dial swap situation was at the flagship Omega boutique in Seoul and the spring bar situation was at the AD located inside a major Korean department store called the Hyundai.

    Boutique and AD alike, you can see that we have issues with service here.
     
  6. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Jul 25, 2017

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    Walked into a US OB, asked to buy springbars, walked out with a few sets, and a nice little paper bag without paying anything.
     
    STANDY likes this.
  7. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    And here is my moonphase broad arrow to back up my story. I really could not find any issue with the dial.
    20170620_071812.jpg
     
    wkimmd likes this.
  8. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    The land of the free and the home of the brave. :)
     
    Taddyangle likes this.
  9. Edward53 Jul 25, 2017

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    Are the bureaus in the different countries answerable in any way to Omega SA? Have you tried asking Omega SA whether they consider this acceptable behaviour from one of their ADs?
     
  10. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    I remember sending a complaint to Omega through its website after some incident involving an unsuccessful attempt to get a vintage Speedy bracelet fixed. And one other incident that I cannot remember.

    No response from Omega HQ.
     
  11. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Jul 25, 2017

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    Nothing compared to what you have to do in North Korea ::facepalm2::
     
    wkimmd, Foo2rama and Skyblue44 like this.
  12. base615 Jul 25, 2017

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    Whatever issues you're having are perfectly acceptable to me as punishment for considering buying OEM spring bars. FFS, buy some good quality generic ones at a fraction of the cost.
     
  13. OhMegaMan Jul 25, 2017

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    Wearing Omega in north korea is like buying one way ticket to force labor camp. Only supreme leader himself can wear swiss luxury watch.
     
  14. sjg22 Jul 25, 2017

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    Yes, what's the reasoning behind jumping through those kinds of hoops for OEM spring bars?
     
  15. Skyblue44 Jul 25, 2017

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    Well, I figured that there would not be such hoops for spring bars when I casually strolled into the store oblivious to the pain coming my way since I was there anyway. ;)

    And how much do they cost anyway? I also figured it could not be that much since Omega used to sell its pin buckles for very reasonable prices. I think the price went up a bit but they used to be the equivalent of around 10 USD.
     
  16. base615 Jul 25, 2017

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    Even if they haven't gone up, you can get 50 non-branded spring bars for $10 USD.
     
  17. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jul 25, 2017

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    You can use generic bars if you like, but personally Omega spring bars are far superior in terms of quality to even good Swiss made generic bars:

    [​IMG]

    There's a reason the cheap bars are cheap. BTW Omega bars are $2 each typically...for the relatively small number a single person is going to use, spending a couple of extra bucks is well worth it in my view. I often remove bracelets and see generic bars inside, and sometimes they completely fall apart when removed from the end link - never had that happen with an Omega spring bar...
     
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  18. yinzerniner Jul 25, 2017

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    I totally agree with @Archer in that the Omega springbars are superior to even very high-quality alternative designs. For $2 retail from an AD or OB that's quite the deal, and to be fair every OB in the US I've been to has offered free examples of these or their curved counterparts in multiple sizes if asked nicely.

    Other OB's and AD's in different countries can vary widely with convenience and pricing as evidenced by the OP, so in that case I'd suggest the following from ebay seller twenty(o). I have no affiliation but have purchased multiple items from them and they've been nothing short of exemplary by a quality and pricing standpoint. IMO the springbars listed below are the equal functionally (if not aesthetically) to the OEM Omega ones at a better price, especially when purchased in bulk orders of 50 or more.
    [​IMG]
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-X-20mm-x...074295?hash=item51e481f9b7:g:ErwAAOSw2GlXLHpmPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
     
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  19. w.finkenstaedt Jul 25, 2017

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    My OB just gives me whatever spring bars I ask for, no questions asked.
     
  20. w.finkenstaedt Jul 25, 2017

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    I actually go out of my way to replace spring bars in other branded watches I own with Omega bars because the failure rate is so low with them. Truly the best in the industry, imo.
     
    felsby likes this.