One week old watch being denied replacement for bracelet tarnishing

Rust is typically specifically the "brown" oxidation of Iron (Fe). Although some cheap stainless Steels can absolutely show rust specifically, I would be more inclined to stick to the word tarnish in this case, even if the distinction seems moot. Rust is tarnish, but tarnish isn't always rust.


You're correct of course, however it's worth adding that Omega uses 316L stainless steel that is often used in Marine and food applications and is pretty corrosion resistant, and this is something that Omega definitely advertises. It's good quality steel but commonly used and one that they are pricing as if it is an incredibly premium product. The quality standards should match the price, and high expectations aren't necessarily unreasonable.


I'm also curious how often we see things like this on new bracelets, or even old ones? to your statement, just how often does this come up as a topic?

Not sure what could cause this kind of tarnish, although the marks here look more like a surface has been lightly abraded to me at a glance ( they don’t all look the same to me as the images the other poster who had this problem shared, and I would need to see more images to make a judgment). I'm not saying that's the case.

The other major thing here is that if Omega is denying the service, why in the world do they still have this watch? It's october, and for me that would be the point I'd be pressing on. Also, if Omega has replaced the bracelet in cases with identical tarnish, that's definitely setting a precedent. Ultimately need to know exactly why Omega denied this.

I agree, it's difficult to see much of anything in these photos. I believe this is what the OP is referring to:






VS what we see on Lug's bracelet:

very different look.

But in the case of Lug's bracelet, it's fairly uniform in terms of location, and occurred on both the inside and outside of the links. In your case, it appears as if this is relatively isolated to a specific region of links 3 and 4, and if you wear your watch on your left wrist, this would put those links on the outside and most forward part of the watch- an area I would most expect to have a chance of some sort of contact with something.

To be clear I'm not saying that's what happened. I don't know what happened. but if that's the extent of the discoloration it definitely looks nothing like Lug's watch and, that may be why Omega is denying replacement.

Be interesting to hear what they say.

What about a simple test wiping with some alcohol on a clean white cloth? Wipe and see what sort of residue appears on the cloth.

A light wiping of Mother's Mag Polish, not a hard rubbing, also might quickly rectify matters. Wipe off the Mother's then do a final clean with a soft brush and the alcohol.

No matter how much you trust your dealer's polishing ability I would not go down this route. Get the watch back and see if some very mild cleaning with some of the products mentioned previously clears it up. If it deteriorates further have it addressed when it becomes much more apparent. But it makes no sense to have the AD keep it while you try to get Omega to move on it, they have said it's not an issue.