Hello. This is my first post on the Omega forum. I am a proud owner of a new Seamaster 300M GMT Chronograph. It was a very special gift from my wife.

I have a question. I have read the manual a few times and did some searches. I am perplexed.
I pull the crown to the 1st position.
I use the "quick set" feature to set the correct date (turning the hour hand) making sure the GMT hand is also in the "AM" time. There does appear to be a certain amount of "play" in the hour hand while in the first click. It moves smartly from hour to hour but when stopped it shows the play. I hope I wrote that correctly.
When I go to set the correct time, the hour hand no longer lines up with the markers when it gets to the "full hour". In some cases, it is even half way between adjacent markers when the minute hand gets to 12.
I have been trying to synchronize the two hands by leaving the minute hand run while the crown is pulled to the first click.

What am I doing wrong? Is the timepiece defective?

I do have an old Tag F1 with the same feature and never experienced this problem.

Please advise.

Thanks.

Donald

 

Hi Donald and welcome. First just one small clarification, just to make sure we are all using the same terminology that matches what Omega uses in the manual for clarity. The first position, or position 1, is with the crown unscrewed but not pulled out, so that is the winding position., When you pull the crown out to move the hour hand and quick set the date, that is considered position 2. Pulling out to set the minute hand is position 3.

I understand what you mean by the "play" in the hand when it is in a specific position while setting with the crown in position 2. This is sort of the nature of the design of the hour wheel that is used across the Omega line in watches that have this feature. I can't say if yours has a "normal" amount of play without seeing it, but what I would suggest is that you find the middle of the play when adjusting the hour hand, and make sure it's in the middle position when you push the crown back in.

This is what I do when I have a watch in the shop that uses this sort of hour wheel design, and I've not had issues with it being out of alignment. Now it could be possible that the hour wheel is defective on yours, but I can't say for sure at this point. One way to test to make sure you are centering the hand when you put the crown back in is to pull the crown to position 3, set the hands so that the hour hand is on the nearest hour marker, then push the crown into position 2, set the hour hand or advance the date as you need to, then pull the crown back out to position 3, set the correct time, and then push the crown back in. This way you have a dial marker to know that you have the hand lined up properly when you are done changing the hour hand in position 2. If you do this and it still drifts off alignment, then I would say it needs to go back.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Al

 

Hello Archer. First, thank you very much for your reply, it is very appreciated. Also, thanks for correcting me with the proper terminology as I like to be correct when I discuss timepieces.

This is my second Omega, I have a 600M Planet Ocean 3 hand that I also cherish that is certainly not as complex to operate!

For lack of a better term, I played around with position 2 and 3 and then back and force......bottom line, I have the hour hand in sync with the minute hand such that the hour hand points to the correct marker fully at the minute hand 12 position.

In the future, before adjusting the hour and date in position 2, I will make sure the minute hand is fully positioned at 12. This will ensure they all stay in adjustment.

For now, I will watch the time closely to make sure all is well and follow your recommendations in the future.

Thanks again.

Donald

 

Thank you for the compliment on the timepiece. The Seamaster was purchased just (2) weeks ago while the HP calculator is a little older. I have been using that particualr one since 1983, if memory serves me correct. I love to give it to a fellow colleague to use and then sit back and smile when they look for the "equals" button. After 35 years, still cannot beat that RPN style of computing.