Something that I did not expect from my PO 8900

[TheorPhys]

Hello Forum, It seems that need an assistance with figuring out what is wrong, if anything, with my PO, and what should be my next steps. Long story short: Bought a PO 1 year ago. Was impressed with its accuracy during the first 6 months or so, as I have been tracking it regularly. Things though changed recently and during the last 5 months the watch steadily loses time, which, per my reading of all 8900-related conversations, is something unusual. Just for illustration, I am attaching charts from the first batch of data and the current batch of data. I plan to send it to Omega for "tuning", but first I would appreciate your comments and suggestions, and I certainly would be interested to hear an opinion of such an expert as @Archer . Watch is either worn, or in the winder. Sometimes I leave it dial up overnight, and only in this position it gains time. Thank you. Cheers!

 

[Alex_TA]

-0.3 total rate? Are you complaining or boasting? 🙁

 

[TDBK]

Off 4 seconds in 6 months? Clearly unacceptable from a precision wristwatch.

 

[lejaune]

Are you sure this is 8900 and not a quartz?

 

[Ron_W]

That is what keeping it on a winder will do..... better give it a rest once a month or so.

 

[TheorPhys]

TDBK

Off 4 seconds in 6 months? Clearly unacceptable from a precision wristwatch.

More than 50 seconds in 5 months after that. It is not about the absolute number, it is about the tendency, which is losing time and from what I have read, 8900 should not lose time, only gain.

Edited: Jul 21, 2023

 

[TheorPhys]

lejaune

Are you sure this is 8900 and not a quartz?

Does quartz do those wild swings as one may see on the last chart? Previously the diffs were displaying more monotonous behavior.

 

[TheorPhys]

Ron_W

That is what keeping it on a winder will do..... better give it a rest once a month or so.

This is exactly what I have done this morning. Took them out and let rest outside the winder. Will wait till they unwind and will start a new run.

 

[blufinz52]

TheorPhys

More than 50 seconds in 5 months after that. It is not about the absolute number, it is about the tendency, which is losing time and from what I have read, 8900 should not lose time, only gain.

50 seconds in 5 months. 10 seconds a month average. 2.5 seconds a week. Am I missing something?

 

[BLOW UP]

 

[TheorPhys]

blufinz52

50 seconds in 5 months. 10 seconds a month average. 2.5 seconds a week. Am I missing something?

Just a bit.. If you compare the differentials, then you see that during the first run, the changes in the diff were smaller (the amplitudes form + to - and back), while during the last time the differentials between subsequent measurements are larger. These are those swings between "+" and "-" that I do not quite like.

 

[TheorPhys]

BLOW UP

Just woke up after a wild party?

 

[blufinz52]

TheorPhys

Just a bit.. If you compare the differentials, then you see that during the first run, the changes in the diff were smaller (the amplitudes form + to - and back), while during the last time the differentials between subsequent measurements are larger. These are those swings between "+" and "-" that I do not quite like.

I guess I just don't understand why the time and effort you put into checking the accuracy of a watch. I don't get your concern over the differentials you site. Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction.

 

[ErichPryde]

1) Did your day-to-day activities change more during that last run where it was losing time-- did your wrist stay in different positions?

2) take it off the winder and rest it in different positions. I assume you know which positions gain/lose time pretty well if you're tracking with this level of detail?

 

[TheorPhys]

blufinz52

I guess I just don't understand why the time and effort you put into checking the accuracy of a watch. I don't get your concern over the differentials you site. Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction.

I was under impression that METAS watches will not lose time, but I already found what @Archer said about that and it cleared the picture: https://omegaforums.net/threads/who...that-is-losing-time.88292/page-2#post-1142756

 

[TheorPhys]

ErichPryde

1) Did your day-to-day activities change more during that last run where it was losing time-- did your wrist stay in different positions?

2) take it off the winder and rest it in different positions. I assume you know which positions gain/lose time pretty well if you're tracking with this level of detail?

Did that. This is how I found that in "dial up" the watch gains time. I also found a post about a similar situation, where I read this: https://omegaforums.net/threads/who...that-is-losing-time.88292/page-2#post-1142756 Which alleviated my concerns.

 

[ErichPryde]

TheorPhys

Did that. This is how I found that in "dial up" the watch gains time. I also found a post about a similar situation, where I read this: https://omegaforums.net/threads/who...that-is-losing-time.88292/page-2#post-1142756 Which alleviated my concerns.

Glad you discovered that thread. 8400 here, the only position in which my watch loses time is dial up; haven't reset it since mid May and I am currently one second behind time.gov because it spent an unusual amount of time dial-up this last weekend. Knowing how it behaves in the various positions is helpful.

Let us know what happens after you give the watch winder a break.

 

[lejaune]

TheorPhys

Does quartz do those wild swings as one may see on the last chart? Previously the diffs were displaying more monotonous behavior.

No, the comment should have been followed by a 😉. It is almost as accurate as a quartz movement in long term tho.
Anyway, since the watch is well within the spec, I don't think Omega will do anything. Many factors can affect the running of a mechanical watch, such as temperature, wearing pattern, rest position, physical activities of the wearer, and etc.

 

[Donn Chambers]

I also wonder if something changed in your wearing habits over the last 6 months. My Seamaster 300 heritage has the cal. 8912. If I wear it every day and let it rest dial up at night, it gains less than 1 sec/day. But if I store it on a winder and switch out other watches, it gains a lot more time, sometimes 5 sec/day. The watch sits vertically in the winder, so when it rests between winding, I assume it is in a position that causes more time gain.

in your case, have you started using the winder more often in the last 5 months? What kind of winder is it? How many turns per day? If you have been using a winder more frequently, try wearing it for a week or so with no other watches in the rotation and see if the “problem” goes away. If it does, then it’s the winder and the position it is resting in.

 

[TheorPhys]

Donn Chambers

I also wonder if something changed in your wearing habits over the last 6 months. My Seamaster 300 heritage has the cal. 8912. If I wear it every day and let it rest dial up at night, it gains less than 1 sec/day. But if I store it on a winder and switch out other watches, it gains a lot more time, sometimes 5 sec/day. The watch sits vertically in the winder, so when it rests between winding, I assume it is in a position that causes more time gain.

in your case, have you started using the winder more often in the last 5 months? What kind of winder is it? How many turns per day? If you have been using a winder more frequently, try wearing it for a week or so with no other watches in the rotation and see if the “problem” goes away. If it does, then it’s the winder and the position it is resting in.

Thank you, seems like my situation, as I have a bit more watches than I need, so PO does not get worn everyday. I also notices that when I wear it during the day and let it rest overnight dial up, than it gains between 0.4 and 1 sec, but when I keep it in winder (rotating at about 45 degrees angle), it loses time. At the same time, my SpeedMaster Moonphase (cal. 9904) "likes" winder, which it shares with PO. This is why we collect watches, they are so unpredictable.. at least some of them... sometimes 😀 Cheers!