hi all - very close to buying one of these (co axial) but before I do was keen to get a view as to

A) the need to service as per omega guidlines
B) whether independents provide as good a service and
C) how much would it cost roughly via a good independent

Thanks for any help most appreciated

 

Bump!

 

A) As a general guideline, Omega recommends service every 4-5 years. https://www.omegawatches.com/customer-service/faq/

B) A lot of folks here swear by independent watchmakers. The trick is to find one in your area that has recommendations from customers.

C) It sounds like on average you save about 50% with independents as compared to Omega itself.

 

Thank you really appreciate your input

 

Not true, in DC, my watchmaker is $450 for a 2500 movement Omega is $550 and replaces parts.

 

Don't forget that you get a 2 years factory warranty when Omega does the service. So you have that going for you, which is nice.

 

I think that depends on whether the independent is Omega Authorised or not, and certainly in the UK, if they are VAT registered or not.

Anecdotally, it seems that watchmakers who are Omega Authorised, are very similar in price to the Swatch Group.

Very much so, and should you decide to sell the watch on at any point during the warranty, it transfers with the watch to the new owner (and is valid worldwide).

 

To be fair, the key issue here may be that the OP specifically mentioned the co-ax 2500 movement. Many reliable non-authorised independent watchmakers can still do a decent service on the non-coax movement, both ETA or Lemania based and earlier but I am not aware of anyone who will do a cheap service on the co-ax models due to the more stringent lubrication regime required and the unavailability of bespoke parts to non authorised repairers. You will probably save money using an independent (authorised or otherwise) but you won't get it done for peanuts, unlike an ETA based one which can be reliably done cheaply assuming not too many parts are required.

 

Independent watchmakers are....wait for it....independent!

That means we all set our own pricing, so how much you save (or not) is completely up to the watchmaker.

Note that the 2500 is also "ETA based" but simply has more bespoke parts than say the 1120 does. As I've said before, the 1120 is not the same as a 2892, as there are many parts that are specific to the 1120 that you will also need a parts account to obtain (unless you are lucky enough to find some floating around on the open market).

Personally I would strongly suggest that for any co-axial watch, you only take it to someone who has had the training directly from Omega. I know that many watchmakers who have not had this training will wing it and "put it together and hope for the best" (direct quote from a watchmaker who told me he had not had the training and was working on a co-axial, but had no idea how to properly lubricate it) but that is irresponsible on their part IMO. If not properly serviced these will chew themselves up...

Cheers, Al

 

In the UK at least, all the authorised independents I can think of will now charge circa £325-350 to service and refurb a coax 3 hander which is pretty much the same as STS (though some will allow a discount if the refurb is skipped) and after the recent price rise about £40-60 cheaper than Omega direct so I think The Lizard Man's point does have some real evidence to back the fact that there isn't much to be gained by going independent with one of these, round these parts anyway. Similar situation with the authorised Rolex guys in the UK, no real discount vs RSC.

I never said it wasn't but I agree that my last sentence could have been clearer.

 

I wasn't looking to argue the point - just stating that despite the experience in a specific location, by the very nature of what we do, we can set our own pricing. Someone from an unknown location showing up and asking how much a service at an independent will cost is pretty much an unanswerable question, unless the answer is "whatever they want to."

Not that long ago there was a watchmaker I know who who's web site stated that for servicing an automatic watch the price was $45. Not that I would recommend someone who charges so little for a service (you can't possibly be doing a proper service for that kind of money) but just an example that what people charge can really be all over the place.

In the end, price is not necessarily the main factor that people should be looking at when asking about servicing options. And of course I would disagree that there isn't something to be gained by using an independent for one of these - the key is selecting the right independent.

I didn't say you didn't. I was simply adding clarification...again not looking for any sort of argument, just trying to put more knowledge in the hands of people who come here mate.

Cheers, Al

 

Me neither, hence the smiley. I wasn't suggesting for a second that there aren't good reasons to use an authorised independent for a recent Omega, that would be foolish and as I was addressing you just plain rude but just wanted to flag that in the UK, the bare financial benefits of doing so are diminishing towards zero.

Cost considerations aside, there are many, myself included who would rather you were this side of the pond...

 

Care to share your preferred watchmaker? I'm in The DC area too.?My Seamaster was serviced before I recently bought it, but it is running about 9 seconds slow. I may eventually need to get it regulated.