Omega Seamaster 2598.30 Chronograph Servicing Fiasco

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David S

·Feb 18, 2020

Ok took my watch 2001 Omega Seamaster Chronograph with 7750 eta movement if not mistaken to a repair shop because it was stopping after the power reserve finished. The gentlemen said it needed a new mainspring and the watch had what he said some minor steam or water penetration showing and that he would service it. $550 he quoted me . I know Omega charges $750 for a Chronograph service so I took it plus he had good reviews. He said 2-3 weeks. After 3 weeks I called he told me he had done everything but the Chronograph didn’t work after he had done everything including pressure testing the watch and he had to order more parts and would be another few weeks no extra charge. The Chronograph worked when I gave him the watch so I don’t understand this. Well we’re at 5 weeks now and I’ve still heard nothing back yet. This is the first automatic watch I’ve had to repair and would appreciate any feedback , opinions and stories. Thanks

 

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WYO_Watch

·Feb 18, 2020

David S

Well we’re at 5 weeks now and I’ve still heard nothing back yet.

Perspective is a powerful thing - 5 weeks isn’t all that long in the big scheme. Sounds like he is going to put in some additional parts and get it up and running. You may ask for an update estimated return date.

Here’s my Omega Service Saga:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/i-sent-a-vintage-speedmaster-to-omega-for-a-service.109326/

 

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David S

·Mar 3, 2020

Ok update. After about 7 weeks he says the watch is ready and I go pick it up. Says the watch is running fine and shows me the parts he had to change. The main spring and another little wheels. I get home and start testing the Chronograph and the wheel that counts the minutes stops at 4 but the other wheel that counts the hours seems to be fine. Now I have to bring it back. I’m not so sure this watch repair man has great experience with Chronograph watches.

 

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lindo

·Mar 3, 2020

Cut and run. I would not take it back to him, even with the money you have invested so far.

 

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precisionhrlgy

·Mar 3, 2020

He doesn't know what he is doing and he is stringing you along. I see and hear this from my customers all the time. Demand your money back and go elsewhere.

To give you some perspective, I recently had a customer bring me a Jaeger Le-Coultre Memovox alarm watch. He took it to a local watch repair place and they serviced it, changed a few parts and gave it back to him. They told him that it will only keep time with a 30 minute per day variation. Thankfully, they didn't charge him for the repair. I still don't know why these 'watchmakers' take these jobs on when they clearly have no idea what they are doing.

Ashton

 

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jud

·Mar 3, 2020

lindo

Cut and run. I would not take it back to him, even with the money you have invested so far.

+1

I won't get into my long story but I paid $500 to the first watch maker that was recommended to me, and another $500 to someone who really knew what they were doing to fix it correctly. Not only that but the first "watchmaker" left me some scratches to remember him by.

 

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David S

·Mar 3, 2020

Thanks for your feedback all of you. I really feel like cutting and running but I already paid, the watch keeps time without stopping and he said I have a 1 year warranty on his work. But I dread having to leave it to him again. Arggg I’m so annoyed. I’m going to go back tomorrow to talk to him and see what he says. So far this is how much I’m into the watch. I paid $1400 for the SMP300 Chronograph 2598.20 watch, $50 for an extra link and $550 for the watchmakers work. It’s just a nice clean example of this watch and really like it alot. There no yellowing on the dial like many examples. Thanks

Edited: Mar 3, 2020

 

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ChrisN

·Mar 4, 2020

It doesn't sound like you've had the best experience here but apart from the delays, you've received the watch back and it has an issue with the minute counter as the hour and seconds recorders are working fine as well as the rest of the watch. This issue will be covered by the warranty and there don't seem to have been any other problems?

The hour and minute recorders run off different systems and it's possible that the hour recorder works fine when the minute one doesn't. The issue with the minute recorder may just be a simple adjustment that requires very little disassembly.

It's true that you see all sorts of shocking work and some people take on work that they can't do but, it seems that this watchmaker is being judged pretty quickly. Certainly, it doesn't seem there was sufficient testing made on the bench but, for all we know, everything else may be absolutely fine. Everyone gets returns and you'll be able to judge how serious they are when the watch is with them and how they respond to your concerns.

Best wishes, Chris

 

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David S

·Mar 4, 2020

I woke up this morning the and the Chronograph is now working fine! Very strange. I’ll keep an eye on it but all seems well now . Maybe it was the oils that needed to spread?‍♂️

 

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ChrisN

·Mar 4, 2020

It won't be the lubrication settling and hard to say really but, was it about mid day when the minute counter got stuck?

Cheers, Chris

 

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David S

·Mar 4, 2020

ChrisN

It won't be the lubrication settling and hard to say really but, was it about mid day when the minute counter got stuck?

Cheers, Chris

Yes 12:15 or so.

 

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David S

·Mar 4, 2020

Another great shot of the beauty. I live white dial Seamaster 300 watches.

 

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ChrisN

·Mar 5, 2020

David S

Yes 12:15 or so.

Hi David

This is the only 7750 I have here and the hands are a little different to yours but, the hour hand and minute recorder hand are aligned at this time (the red circle) and I suspect that you have a slight hand interference issue. You can imagine that if the minute recorder hand is a little high, or the main hour hand is a little low, they would contact at this time. In that case, you might never see this combination at any other time and it will not necessarily stop the watch completely. You can try and reproduce the issue if you want.

Definitely take it back and point out the issue to the watchmaker and they should be able to resolve this without major work.

Cheers, Chris