Recently my 2018 Omega Speedmaster Professional stopped all of a sudden. After sending off for a full serviced it revealed the mainspring had snapped. I now have the watch back fully restored however looking for some advise.

What could have caused the mainspring to snap, and what can help prevent it from happening again?
I wound the watch on the morning it broke as normal, and didn’t notice that I had overwound at all. It ran until roughly 11 am before stopping. If I had caused the mainspring to snap I assume it would have stopped there and then when I was winding it. After 5 years surely the mainspring shouldn’t snap. The same thing happened to my father’s seamaster after 30 years without a service - so this could be half expected.

Any comments appreciated
Thanks

 

Don't go blaming yourself.
It happens and this may be the only time it ever happens with one of your watches in your life.
Just don't go forcing anything and stop when you feel the resistance.

Having said that.
If it happens again you probably have to review what you are doing

 

There was most likely a flaw in the material of mainspring that cause it to fail early — it happens and has nothing to do with how you wound the watch. Unless you used vice grips in order to twist the crown beyond the natural stop position, you did nothing wrong.

what sucks is that this didn’t happen earlier, when it was still under warranty. Was it still under warranty? You are right at the 5-year mark, and I forget when Omega switched from 3 to 5 years.

 

November 2nd '18 but retroactively applied from July 1st.

 

If the mainspring broke along the length of the spring, it was a mainspring problem. It the hook at the outer end where it hooks to the inside of the mainspring barrel wall broke off, 80% likelihood of a winding problem. You can wind your watch as aggressively as you wish UNTIL you get close to reaching a fully wound state. Then EASE UP on the aggressive winding. Arriving at a fully wound state aggressively can rip the hook off the mainspring which I suspect is what happened,

 

Not unusual. Manual winding watches tend to have more stress on the mainspring than autos do - the automatic spring will slip in the barrel before getting too stressed. The manual winding spring can be brought to a higher tension when winding.

If the spring breaks right at the barrel arbor, the watch will stop pretty much immediately - this is where most breaks occur:



If it breaks out near the outer end, the watch can run for a long time - sometimes nearly the full power reserve.

 

Going down the warranty route via my jeweller now to see if it’s covered, there was some confusion as the watch is a 2018 model but was sold to me new from Omega dealer in 2019, so as I interpret it would be covered by warranty even though the pictogram card states 2 year warranty.

 

Five year warranty if it was sold after July 1, 2018, it doesn't matter what the Pictogram card says.

 

Mainspring failure can happen due to a variety of reasons, such as wear and tear, lack of regular servicing, or even a manufacturing defect. Overwinding the watch is generally not a common cause of mainspring failure, so it's unlikely that it was the reason in your case.

To help prevent mainspring failure in the future, it's important to have regular servicing and maintenance done on your watch. This includes cleaning, lubrication, and checking the mainspring for any signs of wear. It's recommended to have your watch serviced every 5-7 years, depending on usage and the manufacturer's recommendations.

 

FIFY

 

Ripping the hook off the outer end of the mainspring (if that is what happened) can definitely be caused by overwinding. It is not whether or not a watch should be wound tight, but it is a matter of how the owner goes about winding it tight!