Omega 2254.50 power reserve accuracy query

jspeakman · Sun. 8:27am

The power reserve on my 2003 SMP 2254.5 retains accuracy for about 12 to 15 hours after which there is a fairly rapid fall off, and I wondered if that is normal? From fully wound it will run for about 44 to 48 hours which I think is pretty much as spec but it is losing about a minute a day well before then and the amplitude has dropped from around 240 to 175. I acquired it with full set about 3 months ago and was told it had been serviced ‘recently’. It’s in great condition and in every other way it seems to be functioning very well indeed, losing only about 2 seconds per week when worn continuously.

Both my BB58 and my Aqua Terra 8800 run accurately for well over 36 hours on power reserve. I know they are newer watches with more modern movements and longer power reserves but I am quite surprised at the disparity. As the SMP is running generally very well otherwise, I am loathe to get it serviced, not withstanding cost, if not strictly necessary. I can certainly live with the power reserve as it is.

Grateful for advice.

YY77 · Sun. 9:06am

Did they share proof of that service?

hen · Sun. 9:11am

Is it time for a service? "Recently" could mean years ago.

I had my 2254 serviced and after a year it started gaining time. I thought it had been magnetized and took to my watch maker, he regulated it and it started to run slow. Last summer I took it to a different watch maker, he regulated it, confirmed that it was not time to service yet and it has been running fin since.

Visit your lokal watch maker and get the confidence back in your 2254.

jspeakman · Sun. 9:27am

YY77
Did they share proof of that service?

No - I expected that watch would need a service but was pleasantly surprised at how well it was keeping to time. I don’t know if the short effective power reserve is normal for that age and calibre.

Archer · Sun. 10:49am

In the first 24 hours, the watch should only have a very minor (if any) change in timekeeping performance.

If the full wind amplitude is only 240, that means that it is definitely time for servicing, no matter how long it actually runs. If it was really serviced recently, it wasn't done well...

ErichKeane · Sun. 11:09am

Archer
In the first 24 hours, the watch should only have a very minor (if any) change in timekeeping performance.

If the full wind amplitude is only 240, that means that it is definitely time for servicing, no matter how long it actually runs. If it was really serviced recently, it wasn't done well...

I've shared my complaints on what "sold recently serviced" means before, but I actually have additional information that I came up with recently!

I've been in my watch servicing journey ~a year now. I'm still FAR from good, but had enough of a stash of 'working after I messed with them' watches that I decided to sell them on reddit. I only JUST ended up getting my money back on most (I buy them non-running, so at a heck of a discount, then add parts/etc to each of them, so getting back to that is my goal). I was pretty clear (I thought!) in the thread that I made no guarantees, and that no one should treat them as anything but unknown-but-running watches. That said, most sold pretty quickly (as my prices are REALLY fair as a result of no guarantees/implied confidence in my work).

HOWEVER, despite making ALL of the above clear, I had TONS of folks ask me to service their watches. For the most part, I said no (I actually felt bad for 3 of the individuals who bought a cheap watch and received it non functional, so I promised to take a look for basically nothing).

BUT, THREE SEPARATE RESELLERS were among the list of wanting me to repair their watches! One even told me they had a bunch of Omega, Tag, Rolex, etc that they would want me to service for them! Even IF they are honest enough have something they claim was 'recently serviced' they are dredging the BOTTOM of the barrel if they are willing to ask ME to do the servicing for them! HAD I cared about money and been less reputable, I could probably have been the goto-service guy for tons of these places.

SO in conclusion:
"Recently Serviced" often means "We held it up to our ear, and it sounded fine"
SOMETIMES it means "we put it on a timegrapher, and it didn't immediately look horrifying"
RARELY it means "We asked some goofus from reddit who owns some screwdrivers to take it apart for us"
BASICALLY NEVER it means "we actually had a reliable pro service it".

Archer · Sun. 11:41am

ErichKeane
HAD I cared about money and been less reputable, I could probably have been the goto-service guy for tons of these places.

There was a reseller on WUS (not sure if they are still selling there or not) and he sold a lot of the type of watches that the OP bought - the pre-coaxial generation of Seamasters and GMT's, both mechanical and quartz.

They were all sold as being recently serviced, but for about 2 years a steady stream of these end up on my bench. I asked one customer if he asked the seller for proof of the service, and one of them did, and was given a receipt - total cost for a complete service of a watch like the OP's was $150. You can imagine that the work wasn't exactly good.

I would see escapements oiled like this:

Enough oil for a dozen watches applied to one...

Here the watchmaker applied oil to the back side of a pressed in place post - there's no moving part here at all, but it's now protected from wear I guess...

On top of that when I would check the serial numbers to verify what the watch was supposed to be, often they had been modified and were being sold as something they were not. There's a lot of shady stuff out there - why I generally wouldn't buy from dealers.

jspeakman · Sun. 12:21pm

Thanks for the advice - very helpful. Off the wrist face up the amplitude starts fully wound at around 260, + 3 spd. 12 hours later It drops to around to 230 at 0.0 spd and 24 hours later it is at - 6 spd and 197. On the wrist it stays pretty consistently at +/- 3 secs over the course of a week.

Finding someone I trust to service locally is proving difficult here in southern England- recommendations welcome. May have to bite the bullet and send back to Omega.

Thanks

ErichKeane · Sun. 12:23pm

J jspeakman
Thanks for the advice - very helpful. Off the wrist face up the amplitude starts fully wound at around 260, + 3 spd. 12 hours later It drops to around to 230 at 0.0 spd and 24 hours later it is at - 6 spd and 197. On the wrist it stays pretty consistently at +/- 3 secs over the course of a week.

Finding someone I trust to service locally is proving difficult here in southern England- recommendations welcome. May have to bite the bullet and send back to Omega.

Thanks

Ooof, those are rough numbers. Full wind numbers seem fine, but there is good reason they are supposed to be taken 24 hrs after a full wind.

Omega 2254.50 power reserve accuracy query

jspeakman

YY77

hen

jspeakman

Archer

ErichKeane

Archer

jspeakman

ErichKeane

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