Hi all. I'm hoping someone can help! I have a 1974 Omega Auto Day Date. It has the 1020 movement. I purchased this watch some time back and when it came in, I immediately sent it to a watchmaker to have it cleaned, oiled, and regulated, and to have a new crown installed. Crown looked very worn when I received it. Anyway, I received the watch back and just happened to notice that it doesn't wind..., I mean, I know it's an automatic, and most can be manually wound to get it going, then the rotor does what it does. I honestly don't remember trying to wind it before I sent for service. Anyway, with this virus thing going around, I can't reach anyone at the jewelry store where I had it serviced. When I advance the crown should it wind? ... or is this movement like some of the old Seikos where only the rotor action will wind? Thanks for any help you can provide. Attaching some pics. --Andy

 

Maybe the reversing wheel is worn out and needs to be replaced. Most auto Omega's from this era I have ever handled don't wind manually because of this.

 

That watch can be wound manually. Give the crown 50 turns or so (you cannot overwind it), then wear it at least twelve hours per day, and keep a record of how long it is before it runs down and stops. Get back to us with the result. Perhaps then we may be better able to advise you.

 

I curious how the OP is determining that the movement isn't winding manually. Is it based on the feeling when he turns the crown, or based on the fact that when the mainspring is completely run down, he can't start the watch again by manual winding? Or something else?

 

Yes. You should hear it winding when you turn the crown clockwise in the position closest to the case. If you don't hear it winding, then it's likely that whoever serviced this didn't do the job properly.

If you took this to a jewelry store, did they have a watchmaker on staff? If not, they are likely sending it out to someone and doubling what the watchmaker doing to work is charging them. Always best to find a watchmaker and work with them directly, rather than going through a jewelry store.

Cheers, Al

 

When I wind it manually, there is no resistance and no winding sound. After the watch has been sitting, and the reserve is exhausted, I can pick up the watch and wind it 50 turns, and it doesn't run. Then, I'll give it a shake, and it will start running for a minute or two and stop. When I wear it continuously...it works great. And re: jewelry store, they do not have a watchmaker on staff. They send it out. I had actually approached this watchmaker to see if he could service some watches for me, and he was so busy, he could not take on any new clients. He sent me to the jeweler he works for. Anyway, sounds like this Omega should wind if turned, so maybe I will approach the watchmaker directly to see if he can fix it. Thanks for your help! - Andy

 

The watchmaker through jewelry store is not uncommon- my watchmaker with whom I have been friends for 20 years stopped taking private clients about 10 years ago- he works out of his house and got tired of people ringing his door bell at 7pm to get a battery changed.
He only takes work through the local jewelry stores now.

 

Yes, it is common. There are some potential drawbacks with getting work done through a store like this - trade work as it's called...

Often these stores are looking for the lowest priced watchmaker, so they get a bigger margin on the repairs. The watchmaker is often put under unreasonable time and price pressures, and as a result the work suffers.

One is that you are relying on someone at the store, who may not know anything about watches, relaying information about a potential problem to the watchmaker when the watch is returned. This can lead to multiple trips back and forth to sort out a problem.

Sure it can work, but generally working directly with a watchmaker is the best way, so you have clear communication with the person who is actually doing the work.

 

This is so true. The local Rolex AD often asks my watchmaker to handle repairs on vintage pieces that are brought in, and explicitly asks him to perform half-hearted repairs, quickly and cheaply.

 

Just to clarify- I’m not saying going through a jewelry store is a good way of doing it, but in some places finding a good independent watchmaker is difficult and unless you can get past the jeweler to find who their watchmaker is, you are stuck unless you can ship it to a watchmaker out of town - of which there are many who do business that way including many on this forum).
I was lucky enough to get in with my guy when he was still taking private clients so I’m grandfathered- but when he retires, there will a void in my area as there aren’t any others in the immediate area that I know of.

 

I think that real-world networking and word-of-mouth is the best way to find and vet a local watchmaker. Make some effort to reach out and identify serious watch collectors in your area, it just takes a little more effort than posting to the forum. There are many local watch collector groups, including local chapters of societies (NAWCC in the US). I came to this realization only after being a collector for several years, but when I started to reach out, I was shocked at the depth, variety, and passion of the many collectors I found in my small city of 100,000 people.

 

I think in some (many?) cases, you don't want the guy the store is using. I know your situation is different, but often the guys doing trade work are not doing the work properly, and will not do things differently when they work for someone directly. Bad habits don't tend to suddenly go away just because the person doing the work is dealing with you directly.

In the industry, trade work is considered sort of the lowest form of work in many ways. Many watchmakers simply refuse to do it, as it either requires you to lower your standards, or lose your shirt doing the job properly and not getting paid for it. Not saying all situations are like this, but that's often the reality. As I've said before the watchmaker that was giving me advice when I started out did trade work and hated it, and complained continuously of the crappy things he was forced to do to make a living. But he hated working with "picky collectors" so refused to take on work directly from people.

The availability of watchmakers is only going to get worse over time, as more watchmakers retire or die off then are replacing them. I think finding a "local" watchmaker is going to be a thing of the past, unless you live in an area with quite a large population. Shipping watches for service is really going to be the norm for most, unless you are lucky...

Cheers, Al

 

Dibs on your neighbours' houses when they move

 

All of your comments sound very familiar. Before everything shut down with this covid virus, I reached out to the jewelry store twice. I finally got a return call from someone working the counter telling me that I'm not supposed to wind the watch because it's "self-winding"; completely missing the point and context of my question. Not being able to actually speak to the watchmaker is a huge issue. I called the jeweler back earlier today and left a message. Still closed. I don't know...I don't want to go around the jewelry store...I mean, I want to respect the relationship he has with the store..but at the same time, I'm sitting here with a broke watch that I paid a decent amount of $$ to have serviced.