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Seamaster Automatic Erratic

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Hi all, im new to the forum but have been reading articles for a while. I have a 2002 Seamaster Auto that hasnt had a service for about a decade. About 2yrs ago it started losing time and there was very little reserve power so I stopped wearing it with a view to getting it serviced but it sat in a drawer. Last weekend i gave it a wind, set time and date and wore it. Winding didnt wake it up but wearing it got it going and its been keeping good time all week. Also the power reserve now seems to be working; i left it unworn for 24hrs and it didnt stop or lose time.

I'd assumed the main spring was broken but I guess not since its now working again.
I know that this question is akin to coughing down the phone to your doctor and asking for a diagnosis, but would anyone be able to give me an idea of what might be going on with the movement?
Im going to have it serviced but would i be doing any damage by wearing it in the meantime?

Thanks in advance for any help.
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Donn Chambers
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You are putting extra wear on places where the oil has likely long dried out, but on a modern watch those parts are all readily available, they are easy to replace during service (and probably are replaced anyway if serviced by Omega). So, if you have the watch properly serviced eventually, no long-term damage.

Personally, I would just send it off now to get serviced if I intend to keep it, (20 years is way past due), but to each their own.
 
dsio
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It just needs a service, the oils are no longer providing enough lubrication so there’s increased friction (and metal on metal wear) going on which requires more torque to overcome. I’m not a watchmaker but if I had to guess your odd difference in power reserve could be similar to Uri Geller’s old trick where he claimed to use the power of his mind to fix a broken pocket watch.

In reality the pocket watch was fully wound but the oils were dried out and the mainspring no longer had the ability to overcome the resistance from that. When he violently struck the pocket watch it would start ticking due to the sudden shock moving internal parts enough to stop them sticking in the sludge left of the lubricants, I’ve done it to junk pocket watches and it works for a little bit but shaking or banging a watch isn’t actually fixing anything, usually the opposite.

It just needs a service, that’s the real fix.
 
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Thanks for your replies. Luxury Watch Repairs give a 3yr warranty but its an 18 week turnaround, Mappin are 8-10 weeks but only a 2yr warranty.
Can anyone suggest an alternative that gives the best of both?
 
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