I dropped my 1st generation Aqua Terra off for service at the local Omega Boutique this past weekend for its 2nd service since my wife bought it new in 2003 (1st service was in 2011, so 10 years since the last service) - and after examination they informed me that during service, the movement would be replaced with a 2500d as they are no longer servicing the 2500b. This frankly didn't mean anything to me until I did some research online - and it seems odd to me that they would replace a movement rather than just update the necessary parts. It also seems as though the serial numbers wouldn't necessarily match (not that I really care, as I'm never selling the watch - it was a wedding gift from my wife).

Just curious if anyone here can share their recent experience servicing a 2500b movement and/or shed some light on what Omega are doing here?

Cost was $550 to perform the service assuming no non-standard items require replacement.

cheers!

 

Possibly more cost effective for them to replace the movement then all the parts needed to upgrade it, especially with labour on top? Pretty sure Archer has mentioned a new base plate has to be installed to move from 2500B to 2500D. Warranty wise they would probably be better off as well with the 2500D addressing all the known issues with earlier versions. If it's an Omega Service Centre they should etch a matching serial number on your new movement to match the case.

 

They are doing this because the 2400B has known issues and has been replaced by the 2500D. Why would Omega fix a movement they consider flawed when they can replace with the corrected movement? Basically, the early 2500 movements operated at a higher beat-rate that was found not to be optimal for co-axial escapement, so the new movements operate at a lower beat-rate. There were also some other refinements of the co-axial escapement. You will be getting a better movement with the upgrade, so don’t worry about it.

And Omega will add the correct serial number to the new movement, so don’t worry about that.

 

I've seen zero indication that Omega has stopped servicing the 2500B caliber. All parts are still available for it, and no notice or procedure has been published stating that these would no longer be serviced. Take the things these sales reps tell you with a grain of salt.

The only co-axial movements that were upgraded like this were the 3313 vertical clutch chronograph movements.

You should get a small bag of parts returned with the watch after service - please post a clear photo of them and that may shed some light on what was actually replaced.

Cheers, Al

 

Okay - received my watch back from service yesterday. So far keeping excellent time 0s lost/gained against time.gov in 24hrs. The Omega Boutique claims it was upgraded to 2500D and the beat rate does seem a bit different than before, plus the crown pulls out much farther than before. Here is a picture of the parts returned. What say ye? Is the OB full of it, or did they actually upgrade the movement.

cheers,

sean

 

If the watch was updated from a B to a D, then there would be other parts there. The main plate would have been changed. Very unlikely that this was "upgraded" in my view.

Does your invoice say what parts were replaced, what the movement version is, and what the serial number is?

 

I'll assume. If they completely replaced the mechanism with a new one, then they should return the old one.

 

So, my invoice just says "Complete Maintenance Service...$550". Interestingly, the OB yellow sheet says the same but $417, so looks like the OB margin is $132 on this work.

Could it have been altered to 2500C? Based on my research, it looks like they would have had to replace the main plate, and that it would show 2500D. Mine still says 2500B, as far as I can see (I don't have a good enough magnifying glass).

Here are a few macro shots of the movement after service in case it helps anyone figure out what was done.

 

As I’ve said, the only movements that are upgraded from one version to another, is the 3313. They have simply done a normal service, and the person giving you this information likely has no clue what they are talking about.

 

Thanks Archer. I think that brings this full circle. It didn't make sense to me originally that they would do this...especially when the watch ran 10 years with nearly perfect timekeeping.

 

Some follow up on this --- the watch has been keeping excellent time since I got it back in Dec, but a strange problem has developed the last few weeks. If I put it on my winder overnight, the watch stops. When I go to wind it it seems fully wound (I can hear the "clicking"). However it is very hard to start after it has stopped, I have to do a hard "frisbee" type motion and that only works after several tries. I wound it fully for a few days in a row now, and the power reserve is definitely less than 24 hours. I'm certain it needs to go back for warranty work, I'm just wondering what could be the issue after being serviced just a few months ago.