A further update for current and future 321 "Ed White" Special Edition/31130403001001 owners...
called Omega in Switzerland very early this morning. Spoke to an extremely nice woman for about 10 minutes who then connected me with an actual watchmaker.
Loosely quoted as I didn't record him but wrote in shorthand as fast as possible...
"The firmness or stiffness in winding the 321 is very common. It has been reported back to us with curiosity and often concern. There is no need for concerns.
Firstly, due to the hand-assembled nature of the watch each watchmaker in the special area here has their own touch with regard to oiling - while all fall fully into specs and guidelines. The same of course holds true to torque on screws.
Lastly, and most important, gaskets.
While all gaskets for the 321 are to very specific and exact specifications these are always being updated with new batches. Within the batches they are checked but there are always microscopic variations so some windings," his wording not mine, "will be easier while others may or may not ease up with continued daily windings."
I then asked about that final sentence and he said, "My common sense dictates that Use always correlates to Wear... so ease in windings will always appear."
When I asked about comparisons to the 3861 Professional he stated, "The 3861 will always wind with ease. It is designed that way whereas the 321 doesn't mimic but yet is of a handmade, hand assembled, movement of old that reflects modern advancements and current times."
Pretty sure I got all that right as my notes were jotted as quickly as possible.
Anyway, synopsis - easy or firm/stiff winding, it's normal... and only firm/stiff winding, will ease up with time and use.
Thus ends my good samaritan deed for the day.
That is hilarious. It's the crown seal - that's really all he needed to say, and the rest has no basis in watchmaking...but in marketing.
Don't shoot the messenger!
And for the record, I know next to zulch about the innards of watches or watchmaking but I too did smell a healthy percentage of marketing in his reply.
What pricked my ears was the gasket but that already seemed like a reasonable verdict from the jump.
Don't shoot the messenger!
And for the record, I know next to zulch about the innards of watches or watchmaking but I too did smell a healthy percentage of marketing in his reply.
What pricked my ears was the gasket but that already seemed like a reasonable verdict from the jump.
Hey - not referring to you, but the smoke the "watchmaker" was blowing up your butthole.
Based on what they either forced him to say or brainwashed him into believing, I could never work directly for a brand...
The absurdity of saying that how tight screws are tightened affects how hard it is to wind the watch, is just beyond the pale.
I'm amazed that you actually called the factory in Switzerland and actually got to talk to a watchmaker. English would not be his first language so some things were probably lost in translation. But it's all interesting.
When I asked about comparisons to the 3861 Professional he stated, "The 3861 will always wind with ease. It is designed that way whereas the 321 doesn't mimic but yet is of a handmade, hand assembled, movement of old that reflects modern advancements and current times."
I wonder what they would say about my difficult-to-wind 3861 😂
