Hi, This is my first post on this forum. I've been searching for hours, on this forum and others, trying to find out what's wrong with my watch and although I've found people with a similar problem I am yet to find a reason. I've had my Omega Speedmaster for over 12 years and it worked great until a few years ago when it started losing significant time, to the point that unless I vigorously shook my wrist every few minutes it would eventually stop. I presumed that it was 'broken' somehow, but not sure how since it's never been subjected to any abuse. Now, I've read dozens of pages about winding Omega watches. Most seem to suggest that it should take about 30 to 40 turns. I've done at least this amount and the problem continues. I was thinking that maybe I've overwound it to the point where I might have damaged something inside, but again many pages seem to suggest that this is almost impossible on a modern Speedmaster. When I do turn the crown it seems to turn relatively easily there is some resistance there, but nothing like the 'resistance' I've read about that indicates your watch is fully wound. In case anyone asks, yes it is original, I have all the proper documentation and warranty. I guess I could take it a licensed repair center, but I get a feeling the cost would be way higher than I could afford. Any ideas, suggestions or advice would be greatly welcome. Thank you in advance.
Have you ever taken the watch to have it serviced? The internals of a mechanical watch need to be cleaned and oiled. If you haven't done that in the 12 years you've owned it (and I see no mention of that in your post) then you need to. The answer to your question..... .... is 'neglect'.
If you want to know the cost for Omega to carry out the service starts at about U$400, this includes replacement of some parts, pushers, crown, crystal etc. but unlikely to include internal parts if they are broken. You may be able to find an independant watchmaker to do it for less, but I would guess not that much less
Thanks for all the advice people. Highly appreciated. I currently live in South Korea (but not Korean). I was speaking to a friend who has a Rolex and he said he paid the equivalent of $200 for a full service from a local watchmaker, which is more than affordable. The guy is the real deal as well apparently if you were thinking that price is too low. Stuff is just cheaper here that's all. In hindsight I always wonder if getting this watch was worth it. I was orginally given a $500 Tag Heur as my 18th Birthday present from my parents back in 1988. I loved it, but I stupidly left the crown open while swimming and flooded it. So, I took it to the local jeweler it was bought from to get it reparied, but they lost it! He tried to give me a Tag of equivalent value, but I argued that I deserved compensation. He said how much? I pointed to the Speedmaster and said that one! After much argument he finally relented, I couldn't believe my luck! I had no idea about stuff like keeping it serviced, and feel a bit stupid for not having figured that out. Having to fork out $200, or maybe more if there is a serious problem, will hit the bank balance hard, but then again it's an Omega.
Cool, good luck with the service and if the watchmaker wants to charge you more than your friend paid for the service on the rolex it is because yours is a chronograph which is more complex than a rolex (unless it is a daytona or has other complications in the movement)
12 years and now a service is more than a well lived watch. Glad you got so many years of use before it gave in to the lack of oil and maintenance. Get it taken care of and be ready to enjoy many more years of joy.
$200 for a chronograph is actually pretty cheap. No way I would service any chronograph for that amount, but markets are different from place to place, and I like to eat and pay my bills... The OP should ask if whoever is doing the service has access to parts for the chronograph module and experience servicing them. A module exchange or movement exchange is going to cost way more than $200 just for the exchange itself, so I would assume he's pulling the module apart and actually servicing it. Cheers, Al
Mmm..Buying a new watch? Buy 6, hermetically freeze them, then throw away/replace as needed. Cheaper then future service.
Actually it was supposed to say, "Then throw the old and dirty malfunctioning watches at ulackfocus/Dennis until bored. "