Hi everyone. I have a genuine Omega 3570.40. (MKII grey racing dial in the classic Speedmaster case). The chronograph mechanism kept slipping and stopping, and the chronograph hand kept sliding when I tapped the watch. I took it in to get serviced at a local watch place. The reason I went with a local was not having the watch get shipped out. I noticed that the chronograph hand was changed. The original was a lighter shade of orange and longer than the replacement. First I was told that the chronograph hand had to be replaced as the part was worn. After asking for the original hand, I was told that it was bent from removal (insisted and got the original hand back). Obviously, never taking a watch back to this "highly recommended" shop. Anyone know if these hands are available? The shop tried several different hands and Omega said these were the only ones available. Who knows if this is true or not.
Picture? As for hand being bent I don't really know how except for carelessness as the tool simply pulls directly upwards when removing them.
Looks like a new replacement hand from Omega to me. The replacements are much brighter than the originals typically, as the original hands have faded, and who knows whatever company is making these hands now uses the exact same shade of orange as the originals were made with. As far as hands being damaged, in general chronograph hands are typically seated on their posts very tightly. They need to be on tight because the hands are subjected to large forces when being reset, so being on tight keeps them in place. It's not uncommon for a hand to fail somehow when being removed if they are on very tight. This is why when you take your watch to Omega, they replace all the hands each time they service it. In your case the hand was replaced because it was worn - this is why the hand flopped around when you tapped the watch. It was either loose on the post, or the rivet between the flat portion of the hand and the tube was loose. Unless you specifically asked for the hand to be kept, repaired if possible, and used again, they would have known from the start of the service it would be replaced, so I can see them not taking a lot of care removing the hand. Not that I would condone it, but I can see how it would happen. Cheers, Al
You bring up a great point. I was anticipating having the hand replaced. I think my main issues was not being told or asked. When I took the watch in, I was adamant that they do their best to preserve the dial and hands in particular. I guess I'm also used to getting a call about parts are being replaced before the task progresses. I had to even ask for a summary of the service from this local shop.