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Old Omega Seamaster losing 30 secs a day

A
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I had my seamaster serviced by my usual jeweller last year but it’s losing time again. I’m guessing it’s losing about 30 seconds a day. Additionally I’ve noticed that if I’m inactive for a day or two it stops. I’ve taken to manually winding it daily and resetting the time every day. Does it need to go back to Omega or should I try my usual jeweller?
 
noelekal
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Give your regular man an opportunity to attentively regulate it first.

If he won't have another go, I'd find another watchmaker to evaluate the Seamaster before I'd send it back to Omega.

You might provide more information on which Seamaster model you have and photos are always appreciated.
 
Bruce235
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Please define " old". Most pre 1970s omegas have a power reserve less than 35hrs, so 2 days of inactivity will stop them.
 
Vinz Clortho
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Yes, most times if you don't wear a watch in a couple days, it will stop running as the power has fully been let out of the main spring. Also, even wearing a watch the whole day, depending on how active you are, might not wind it fully. Hand winding it every morning will fully power the watch.

As for losing the 30 seconds a day, definitely take it back to your jeweller. If it's only been a year since he serviced it, then probably needs to be regulated again. Did your jeweler give you any type of warranty on service? Depending on how old the watch is and if anything was replaced during the service, could have an impact on gaining or losing time.

Really depends on what positions your watch loses or gains time. If you have a couple of positions where it loses time and it rests on one of those at night, this could be part of making the issue more noticeable. Might ask for the print out for the different positions.

Best of luck getting it resolved.
 
D
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Yes return to your watchmaker to fix. Always make sure you fully wind before wearing the watch. Most watches run sloe or fast when they are almost out of power.
 
Dan S
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Bruce235 Bruce235
Please define " old". Most pre 1970s omegas have a power reserve less than 35hrs, so 2 days of inactivity will stop them.
Since this is in the "modern" forum, I'm guessing this is not a vintage watch. Maybe it's just a pre-owned SMP 300?

OP, in general, it's good practice to show photos or at least be specific about the model of the watch, it's hard to help you without information. @noelekal asked for photos and details a couple of days ago, but no response yet.
 
gbesq
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Was the mainspring replaced when the watch was serviced? If not, that could be the problem.
 
Crunchie
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A andyhounsome
I had my seamaster serviced by my usual jeweller last year but it’s losing time again. I’m guessing it’s losing about 30 seconds a day. Additionally I’ve noticed that if I’m inactive for a day or two it stops. I’ve taken to manually winding it daily and resetting the time every day. Does it need to go back to Omega or should I try my usual jeweller?



I’d speak to the jeweller who serviced it and sound them out. After at least five months, they’ll probably (and rightly) want to charge you to service it again.
If that’s the case, I’d just send it to Omega and take the financial hit. It’ll come back mechanically and aesthetically perfect and with a warranty.

Have you tried checking it against your phone or a quartz watch to get a more accurate idea of how much it’s actually losing?
 
Dan S
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Crunchie Crunchie
I’d speak to the jeweller who serviced it and sound them out. After at least five months, they’ll probably (and rightly) want to charge you to service it again.
I'm not sure about this. Retail watch repair shops generally have a 6 month or 1 year warranty on a full service.
 
watchyouwant
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So, what are your expectations for a 22 year old mechanical watch ? Close to Quartz performance?
 
Crunchie
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Dan S Dan S
I'm not sure about this. Retail watch repair shops generally have a 6 month or 1 year warranty on a full service.

Agreed. The original post only said that the service was “last year”, which makes it at least five months ago, but potentially quite a bit more.

There’s also the possibility that they didn’t service it right the first time…
 
padders
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
So, what are your expectations for a 22 year old mechanical watch ? Close to Quartz performance?
To be fair, losing 30s per day and stopping after 2 days on the wrist is not normal acceptable operation for a mechanical watch. It suggests to me it wasn’t properly serviced last time. Not changing the main spring is not a good idea, they only cost like £10, and this suggests sloppy work also.
 
gbesq
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^^Agreed. And there’s nothing unrealistic about having higher expectations for accuracy. I have several 60-70 year old Omegas that are accurate to within 5 SPD. The caliber 55x and 56x movements in particular can be incredibly accurate if properly regulated, but many other vintage Omega calibers can be very accurate as well.
 
A
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Crunchie Crunchie
I’d speak to the jeweller who serviced it and sound them out. After at least five months, they’ll probably (and rightly) want to charge you to service it again.
If that’s the case, I’d just send it to Omega and take the financial hit. It’ll come back mechanically and aesthetically perfect and with a warranty.

Have you tried checking it against your phone or a quartz watch to get a more accurate idea of how much it’s actually losing?
Yes I use my
Crunchie Crunchie
Agreed. The original post only said that the service was “last year”, which makes it at least five months ago, but potentially quite a bit more.

There’s also the possibility that they didn’t service it right the first time…
 
A
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Thanks for all your input guys. I should add that my jeweller has retired and only does work for loyal past customers like me. He works cash in hand with no guarantee or warranty. I can’t afford to send it to Omega/Swatch and I don’t trust my jeweller guy any more. He should have changed the mainspring.
 
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