Before I go into more details of everything that went wrong with my wife’s Constellation being serviced at Omega in the US via Tourneau is like to ask for help with some questions. Please note: this was the second service after the watch stopped working a few months after the first service. Second service done under warranty.

1. For a full service through Omega what is the warranty on the repair/service?
2. Should there be a warranty card of sort? Again, not a new watch (it’s from 2001) but a full service.
3. Is there a reasonable expectation that fine scratches on the bracelet would be polished and that a clasp would come back from a full service clean and not dirty?
4. Would there be a reasonable expectation to get paperwork that specifies what was actually done (each time)?

Even though or family has been Omega people for a long time, I’m comparing some of those questions to Rolex experiences.
I just bought by second Speedy and there are still one or two Omegas on my wishlist. The experience with Tourneau and Omega (first time Florida, second time NJ) still leave a bitter taste and I would like to find the right channels with the right people.

When the watch first failed we happened to be in Switzerland and I walked into a Omega Boutique and they were polite but seemed to be pretty appalled by what was happening with their products stateside.

Unfortunately, given that live near Boston there is no Omega Boutique anywhere near I could just walk into. And my trust into “authorized dealers” and jewelers pushers around here falls a bit short these days to say the least.

 

2 years.

This varies by market from what I've seen, so some come back with a card stating the date of service and the timing results.

Yes, it would have been cleaned and refinished, unless there was an express request not to do so. Bracelet pins etc would have been checked and replaced as necessary.

On the paid service, yes there should be an invoice from Omega that shows the scope of work done, and what parts were replaced. The old parts would have been returned to you.

My guess based on the questions you are asking, is that your watch didn't go to Omega,. but Tourneau either sent it to someone local, or to their own repair facility (which based on some comments of a watchmaker who used to work there, is not that good).

You should call Omega with the serial number of your watch, and ask them to look up the service history, and this will tell you right away if Tourneau are playing games. There was a dealer here in Canada caught doing the same thing - claiming it was sent to Omega but they had someone else do the work.

Cheers, Al

 

Wow, sneaky. But that would definitely explain the OP's observations. What would Tourneau's motivation be, to pocket a small kickback or difference in cost?

 

They already get a discount on Omega servicing, but they can likely make more doing it through their own service center, while charging Omega pricing. Not saying that this is what has actually happened here, only that this kind of thing has been seen before. Here is the thrad on the incident that happened previously - 10+ years ago now...

European Jewellers Fraud | WatchUSeek Watch Forums

 

Not just for this one post. But thank you @Archer for the time you take on this forum to educate us all. Happy New year to you and thanks for your posts.

 

Thanks for confirming this. As to
#4 it took a while to confirm but both times the watch was indeed sent to Omega. First time to Florida, second to to New Jersey. I had that same suspicion that some hack from Tourneau had worked on this but I eventually received the internal numbers and was on the phone with Omega who said they would “escalate” to a more senior repair person the second time around.
Less than impressed. Let’s hope this time it’ll at least keep running.

Little side show: when I asked the Tourneau person what was done and what the warranty was guy number one said: new crystal (yeah, I know I had requested and paid for a new one) and battery , one year warranty.

oh well. And no, it’s not a quarz model, forget which caliber exactly.

 

Fine scratches should be polished out and the bracelet should be sparkly clean (no dirt or old wrist cheese present). My wife's well used 14 year old Rolex Datejust just came back from its first service and its bracelet and clasp looked brand new except for a few spots where previous 'dents' were still lightly visible, but Rolex states in their terms that refinishing may not eliminate deep scratches and dents. Fair enough. I would think Omega's standards would be similar.

 

Adding to @Evitzee 's Rolex experience I wanted to share a pic of work done by TH on my 20 year old Kirium: