My dad owns this approx. 40 year-old Omega with an Accutron tuning fork movement. It's about 45 years overdue for a decent service. ;-)

The date mechanism broke about 5-8 years ago. He wears it on and off and I don't think there's any rust inside it, and it's never had a battery leak in it.

A few questions:

1. Any guesstimates as to what Omega USA would charge for a service? (I'm contacting them in parallel)

2. Any other recommendations for service in the U.S.? A place familiar with these watches/movements?

Thanks very much in advance,
Chris

 

Thanks. I have an email message in to Omega. Waiting to hear back.

 

It's a pedestrian crossing.

 

Dennis, I hear the you're the guy for info on these. ;-) Any recommendations for U.S. service? Thanks in advance - Chris

 

I think you're right, they either sold/rented/leased the rights to Omega for a while, or just sold some of the high-end Accutron movements to Omega.

 

Martell Grover in Idaho (Grover Service Center) did a really nice job on mine. The real weak points on these are the plastic date wheels. They are fragile and only sourced from other watches.

 

Hi Chris. I've only owned 1 hummer and never wanted any other. David (Jaquot) seems to have a guy for them in the above post. The plastic idler wheels are a problem with them too, but can easily be handled by a qualified tech.

 

This was the biggest problem with these movements. The date wheels are plastic and trying to change the date at the wrong time could easily break a chip off of one of the teeth. It's the old "don't change the date between 10:00PM and 2:00AM" problem. I haven't looked for one of these wheels for a while, but I understand they are getting hard to source.

Although licensed by Bulova these movements were of Swiss design and not related to any of the Accutron movements. A good Accutron guy should be able to repair them.

Steve

 

I wish someone could make an aluminum replacement! I'm on number 3 in 5 years. I love the watch! Martell works on Accutrons and the Swiss variant, and has kept mine running well. I see the f300s going for more $ now, but I got mine at a very good price, and he brought it up cosmetically and mechanically to a very high level, almost like new, and I wear it--as Dennis knows! I also have a nice Bulova that is in the rotation.

 

Any recent reviews of Grocer Service Center or other recommended watchmakers who service accutrons (specifically 214 astronauts as opposed to the Omega of this thread)?

Several accutron specialists with web pages but reviews are all over the place (great or avoid).

Thanks.

 

I have complied this list of repairers for Accutrons, but never used any of them. @Canuck may also have some thoughts

• Rob Berkavicius, Bangkok, Thailand
• Ernie Goldman and his homepage is: http://www.starfindings.com/ . Ernie's Ebay link which works well(Best & quickest way to send him a watch for repair).https://www.ebay.com/itm/Got-an-ACC...121865?hash=item1a67a69c09:g:6EgAAOSwo4pYelBT
• Old Father Time https://www.oldfathertime.com/spaceview.htm
• AccutronDoctor on Instagram

 

I've sent all of my hummers to Grover Service Center over the years, and I have a several, and with consistent good results. That said, I have not sent anything to Martell for several years now, and I need servicing on some watches, too. He should be fine with 214 movements, but write to him, even call him. Speaking to someone can be really useful. He always had parts on hand.
David

 

mybob.net is the site of a lying liar and you'd do well to stay clear. He even claimed to be recommended by Bulova; I wrote them about it and they said he was a lying liar. I see he removed "by Bulova" from his claim of recommended.

I paid him $200 for a service. He made it run without actually servicing the movement. It was filthy.

 

Thanks.

I read that sending things to Thailand is difficult now due to covid. I prefer someone stateside all things being equal.

Thanks for Ernies contact. He is new to me.

OFT has a rep of high costs and add ons.

Thanks again

 

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds harsh and sorry you had such a bad experience. Bob is an example of people liking him or really not. I have no personal experience with him but would prefer someone with less controversy, which is why I was hopeful about Grover.

Thanks again. Something about these accutrons. I have read more strong feelings about these than any other watch. Hard to cipher through it all.

 

Send to "Budget Accutron Repair Service" www.accutrons.com - located in Waterford, MI
I sent two Omega f300 watches there and both came back running perfectly. You can set up your watch service online, then mail in the watch. Takes about eight weeks depending on how busy he is.

 

I had an excellent experience with Rob. I'm in the USA.

 

Thanks. Their website is probably the best and their pricing is good. Nice to have a recommendation like yours. They are one of my top choices along with Grover and Rob. There's negative reviews for pretty much all of them so hard to wade through.