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Speedmaster 3861 Subdial Misprinted/Misaligned? Covered Under Warranty?

L
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Just recently picked up a 3861 sapphire sandwich and enjoy it immensely. However, when I was using the chrono, I noticed something weird. When the chrono hand is resting at zero, it's lined up with the marker:
IMG_4194.jpeg


When the chrono is running, the minute hand hits the first 10 markers bang on. After 10 minutes, it begins to become misaligned:
IMG_4192.jpeg


It's magnified in this photo, but the alignment is significant enough for me to notice it when I was checking the watch like normal. After about 20 minutes, the alignment is still present but less drastic:
IMG_4193.jpeg


The fact that the hand is aligned at zero makes me believe that the subdial is misprinted rather than the hand being misaligned. My question is, would this be something that Omega would fix under warrant? i.e offer a dial replacement. Would they perform warranty work without a full service? The timekeeping on this watch has been amazing, and I would rather they not crack the movement open.
 
Pun
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It looks as it's within their tolerance deviation limits. And in that case it's not covered under warranty.
 
BlackTalon
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Been running the timer on my Tintin before posting a response. It does the same thing. The hand is still partly over the hash mark, put the point is offset slightly. Looking at it with the naked eye I do not think it could remotely lead to misreading the elapsed minutes (which is the whole point of that subdial).
 
L
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Pun Pun
It looks as it's within their tolerance deviation limits. And in that case it's not covered under warranty.
Thanks, just wanted to know if this is something worth having them take a look at

Dan S Dan S
I think I see a piece of dust on the dial.
I'm pretty sure all the dust is actually on the sapphire, I cleaned it off and it looks spotless.

BlackTalon BlackTalon
Been running the timer on my Tintin before posting a response. It does the same thing. The hand is still partly over the hash mark, put the point is offset slightly. Looking at it with the naked eye I do not think it could remotely lead to misreading the elapsed minutes (which is the whole point of that subdial).
Good to know, I agree that I would never misread the minutes from this, but as this is my first chronograph I wasn't sure if it was common. At least when the chrono is reset it lines up properly, which I prefer as I don't use the chrono all the time.
 
O
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Even if they will fix it under warranty, not worth getting a new watch opened for this.
 
Dan S
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L Lunaen
I'm pretty sure all the dust is actually on the sapphire, I cleaned it off and it looks spotless.

In that case, I think the bezel is slightly misaligned. 😁
 
M
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This would bug me, unsure if the annoyance would be enough for me to pursue a warranty repair, but it would be close. My 3570 centers on every line. Yours is nearly to the point that it doesn’t even touch. While meaningless, it would probably wear on me to the point I’d eventually ask if they can fix it.
I also agree this has to be a misprinted dial. If it were misaligned, you’d see misalignment of hands far more often
 
Archer
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L Lunaen
The fact that the hand is aligned at zero makes me believe that the subdial is misprinted rather than the hand being misaligned. My question is, would this be something that Omega would fix under warrant? i.e offer a dial replacement. Would they perform warranty work without a full service? The timekeeping on this watch has been amazing, and I would rather they not crack the movement open.

It’s most likely a dial that isn’t centred properly. The reason the hand is aligned at the zero point is because that’s where the hand is installed, so of course they line it up there. As the hand moves, it follows a different circle than the dial markings do.

The key to good hand alignment is starting with good dial centering.

Cheers, Al
 
Archer
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M matlt
Are the subdials actually separate pieces?

No. It's all one dial.
 
L
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Archer Archer
It’s most likely a dial that isn’t centred properly. The reason the hand is aligned at the zero point is because that’s where the hand is installed, so of course they line it up there. As the hand moves, it follows a different circle than the dial markings do.

The key to good hand alignment is starting with good dial centering.

Cheers, Al

If it's not centered, wouldn't that mean that the hand would be misaligned in every tick except for the zero point? The hand on my watch remains centered on the minute ticks from 0-10, then it begins to become misaligned.
 
Archer
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L Lunaen
If it's not centered, wouldn't that mean that the hand would be misaligned in every tick except for the zero point? The hand on my watch remains centered on the minute ticks from 0-10, then it begins to become misaligned.

It depends on exactly how the dial is off centre...if the dial is shifted up and to the right, you won’t see it in the first 10 minutes for example...
 
ahsposo
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How does one center a dial? I thought the dial feet took care of that.
 
Archer
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ahsposo ahsposo
How does one center a dial? I thought the dial feet took care of that.

Dial feet can easily be bent. I see many dials on watches that come to me for service that are not centred.

I actually have one of my technical posts prepared on this subject, but I’ve been waiting for a dedicated technical section of the forum to be created that was discussed some time ago...
 
justacpa
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Dan S Dan S
In that case, I think the bezel is slightly misaligned. 😁
This is an Omega, not a Seiko 😁
 
BAJJ
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Jeez, I thought I was OCD, I have checked and sure enough mine is the same but it’s so small I had to stare really hard and eventually use my camera zoom to see it, it’s not visible with the naked eye, it’s not going to bother me.
 
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