Problems with a ladies Omega DeVille watch.

[GordonH]

I bought my wife a gold Omega DeVille quartz watch for her 40th birthday 26 years ago. The watch ran without any trouble only needing the occasional battery change until 3 years ago when the hands would no longer move when trying to alter the time.

I took the watch into a well known Omega dealer in Newcastle for repair and was told that a new crown needed to be fitted, probably due to the crown not having been pushed in firmly at some point, allowing water ingress and damaging the watch.

My wife was surprised by this diagnosis, as she was always careful with her watch.
I was charged £370 for this repair.

Since then, the battery has been changed a couple of times, but there have been no other problems.

The watch stopped recently, about a year after having a new battery, so I took it to a local watch retailer for a new battery to be fitted. After fitting the new battery, the retailer told me that the hands no longer could be adjusted as the crown seemed to be detached. I told them that a new crown had been fitted only 3 years ago!

The retailer then offered to send it away to their Omega service technician for assessment, to which I agreed.

I received a call two days ago to inform me that in the opinion of their technician the watch had had the wrong crown fitted and that it also need a new movement, which he suspected had sustained impact damage due to having been dropped on a hard surface! They have quoted £650 for the repair.

There is no way that this damage could have been caused by my wife, who always keeps the watch in a drawer when not wearing it and takes extremely good care of it at all times.

I have asked for the watch to be returned to me in its current state so that I can take it to the dealer in Newcastle who replaced the crown 3 years ago and see what they say regarding the alleged damage to the watch and the fitting of the wrong crown.

Any thoughts??

 

[Canuck]

Your expectations being?

 

[WestCoastTime]

#1 - Nice watch! And your wife's attachment to it is understandable & warranted.

#2 - 20+ years of faithful service, & now it needs some work, also understandable. Can't comment with any kind of certainty without seeing the watch, but replacing the movement as recommended would likely be the quickest & most cost effective means of returning the watch to service. Just comes down to a value judgement for you as to whether or not this outcome is worth the quoted cost (which doesn't sound out of line, given what you have described here).

 

[GordonH]

Canuck

Your expectations being?

I find it odd that the Omega-trained technician who inspected the watch recently has stated that the wrong crown was fitted 3 years ago by an Omega dealer. I would hope to get some clarification on whether his statement is correct, and if it is, how this mistake could have happened.

Regarding

 

[GordonH]

Regarding WestCoastTime's comments above: It is indeed a nice watch and I agree that after 20+ years it is not surprising that a new movement is needed.

 

[Canuck]

It took 29 years before any of the problems started? As I see it, the biggest problems are the rust, and a fall to a hard surface. And the watch is owned by a lady who is extremely careful with it? I am not certain I can see where any blame can be placed on anyone who has worked on it in the past. The warranty on an “incorrect” crown would be about one year, excluding coverage for any accidental damage that may have occurred. The crown appears to have done its job for three years! I think you’re paying to have it brought back to operating condition. To be expected on a watch that is at least 29 years old, and possibly older.

 

[GordonH]

Canuck

It took 29 years before any of the problems started? As I see it, the biggest problems are the rust, and a fall to a hard surface. And the watch is owned by a lady who is extremely careful with it? I am not certain I can see where any blame can be placed on anyone who has worked on it in the past. The warranty on an “incorrect” crown would be about one year, excluding coverage for any accidental damage that may have occurred. The crown appears to have done its job for three years! I think you’re paying to have it brought back to operating condition. To be expected on a watch that is at least 29 years old, and possibly older.

I completely agree that, after 26 years of use I can't complain about the watch needing a new movement, which I'm happy to pay for if the Newcastle dealer agrees with the technician's diagnosis.
I'm at a complete loss to understand how the watch could have sustained damage consistent with a fall to a hard surface! I'm sure that my wife would have owned up, should such an accident have happened. When you look at the watch it is completely unmarked.
I'll be taking the watch to the Newcastle dealer as soon as I get it back from my local watch dealer.
I'll post an update regarding their comments.

 

[DON]

Don't take the watch to any dealer. They'll send it out and double the price. Find a good watchmaker and let them fix it.

Curious as to what the AD did the first time for £370. Please don't say just the crown replacement

Being 29 years old. Movement may be a re-branded ETA or Rhonda movement you can buy if still available and just swap it out for probably under $70.00

Try Joe Horner at Anglesey Watch and Clock He posts in the watch repair forum on another site

North Wales. No clue where you are

 

[GordonH]

The £370 was just for the crown replacement.

I live about 20 miles north of Newcastle.

 

[DON]

GordonH

The £370 was just for the crown replacement.

I live about 20 miles north of Newcastle.

WOW

give Joe a call and see if he’ll look at it. If need be. You can ship the watch to him, but stay away from the Omega dealers. That was just a crook price you paid

no point in replacing the crown. Just see if movement can be replaced

do you know the reference number of the watch?

 

[buddman]

DON

WOW

give Joe a call and see if he’ll look at it. If need be. You can ship the watch to him, but stay away from the Omega dealers. That was just a crook price you paid

no point in replacing the crown. Just see if movement can be replaced

do you know the reference number of the watch?

Wow indeed. I’d think the second Omega technician was probably right about poor workmanship from the first repairer - he’s clearly a crook! You can go complain I guess but don’t give them your watch again, DONs advice is solid. Also don’t worry about sending your watch away in the post. Pack it in a small box with bubble wrap and then in larger one, and use Royal Mail Special Delivery - you can insure up to £2500 and they’ll deliver by 1pm the following day.

 

[GordonH]

DON

WOW

give Joe a call and see if he’ll look at it. If need be. You can ship the watch to him, but stay away from the Omega dealers. That was just a crook price you paid

no point in replacing the crown. Just see if movement can be replaced

do you know the reference number of the watch?

I don't know the reference number, but can look for it when I get the watch back before deciding what to do with it.

 

[GordonH]

Thanks for your advice. I'll give Joe a call and see what he says.

 

[Archer]

GordonH

Thanks for your advice. I'll give Joe a call and see what he says.

Just be aware that Joe is not certified by Omega, and cannot access Omega parts directly. So there's a chance he may not be able to get the parts that are needed for this watch. If you can find an independent watchmaker that is Omega certified, that is likely your best bet.

 

[DON]

Archer

Just be aware that Joe is not certified by Omega, and cannot access Omega parts directly. So there's a chance he may not be able to get the parts that are needed for this watch. If you can find an independent watchmaker that is Omega certified, that is likely your best bet.

wouldn’t a 80s movement just be a rebadged ETA movement? A quick check on another 80s Omega movement on Jules boreal shows 3 parts discontinued (their list is dated so who knows)

no clue on the ladies movement, but guessing also ETA and Cousins could have parts if needed

when you need older parts. Do you buy from Omega or do you call Perrins? New parts. No choice, but Omega

 

[Archer]

DON

wouldn’t a 80s movement just be a rebadged ETA movement? A quick check on another 80s Omega movement on Jules boreal shows 3 parts discontinued (their list is dated so who knows)

no clue on the ladies movement, but guessing also ETA and Cousins could have parts if needed

when you need older parts. Do you buy from Omega or do you call Perrins? New parts. No choice, but Omega

The movement is not the issue here - the case parts are...

I rarely buy parts from Perrin for Omega - I buy 99% of the Omega parts I need from Omega, and I work mostly on vintage.

 

[GordonH]

DON

wouldn’t a 80s movement just be a rebadged ETA movement? A quick check on another 80s Omega movement on Jules boreal shows 3 parts discontinued (their list is dated so who knows)

no clue on the ladies movement, but guessing also ETA and Cousins could have parts if needed

when you need older parts. Do you buy from Omega or do you call Perrins? New parts. No choice, but Omega

Archer

Just be aware that Joe is not certified by Omega, and cannot access Omega parts directly. So there's a chance he may not be able to get the parts that are needed for this watch. If you can find an independent watchmaker that is Omega certified, that is likely your best bet.

I've now got the watch back (see attached photos) and will email Joe and see what he says.

I still have no idea of the reference number.

 

[DON]

GordonH

I've now got the watch back (see attached photos) and will email Joe and see what he says.

I still have no idea of the reference number.

Number is on the inside back

Anything on a invoice detailing what needed to be done? Reference might be listed there

 

[GordonH]

DON

Number is on the inside back

Anything on a invoice detailing what needed to be done? Reference might be listed there

The invoice for £370 for the crown replacement gives a reference number 082060. No idea if that is the watch reference number or a repair number.

 

[GordonH]

I've just tried sending an email to Joe, but the message could not be sent as his mailbox is full. I'll try him again later...