Rubbing under the rotor on an Omega Seamaster Cal 552?

Hi all,

I few weeks ago I had been wearing my Omega Seamaster Cal 552 all day, and when I arrived home from work my watch suddenly started to make rotor-rubbing sounds that were audible from arms-length. It is under warranty so I took it back to my watchmaker for a look. He opened it up and says there is nothing wrong with it, just that (and paraphrasing here..) the crown must have been partially pulled out, causing the flat end of the winding stem (where the winding stem meets the crown stem) to rub the bottom of the rotor. All is good and the problem shouldn't happen again. He has it for a few more days to check on the timing etc.

I snapped the poor quality photo in the terrible light that haunts most retail spaces - it actually looks stunning in real life. The photos don’t help with the question at hand I imagine. I believe there was some rotor rub in a previous life, but on top of the rotor as we usually hear about. Since I don't have much of an understanding of how such things work, I wanted to check in to see if anyone has experienced this before, or any other thoughts on it.



Thank you in advance for sharing your hard-earned knowledge.

I think you've misunderstood the comments as it should not matter where the crown is. The rotors rub on the top (hitting the case back) and the lower (hitting the bridges) when the rotor bush is worn. I think I see some rubbing on the bridges in your watch but that may have been solved. Might be best to check again with the watchmaker and see what he says.

Good luck, Chris

I had same problem with my 552 after service!
The rotor was rubbing from under to the bridge surface, you can see it in the pic.

The plates beneath the outer edge of the rotor show distinct wear marks. I think you said the stem must have been “partly pulled out”, and the rotor was rubbing on the stem. The rotor would rub on the plates, but definitely not on the stem! A worn rotor bearing gear or a loose (or broken) rotor post is the usual cause for this rubbing, both on the plates beneath the rotor, but also inside the back of the case. Had the rotor bearing gear exhibited wear, the sound you heard is to be expected. But had a worn rotor bearing gear been replaced and properly fitted, you should not hear any rubbing sounds. Just sayin’.