Hi. I've just bought my first Omega so apologies for my naivety. I bought the Speedmaster Date. Does anyone have one? I have a few questions.

The buttons for the chronograph seem quite stiff and it take a real clunk to get going and to stop. Both buttons are the same suggesting this is normal Is that right? I don't plan to use it but just wondered about this. Also, the self winding mechanism seems quite loud. A sudden move of the wrist and I can really feel/hear the movement. Is this normal?

The only other thing is that the watch seemed to lose 10-15 seconds over a 48 hour period. I've set the time again though today so will monitor that.

Cheers all.

 

I don't have one of these, but have serviced many of them. This particular watch you linked to uses the Cal. 3304, which is a modified ETA 7750. Pushers on the 7750 are fairly stiff, but in your case if it's a brand new watch they may loosen up over time.

The noise and feel of the 7750 is pretty common - often called "the wobble" and it's normal.

What is not normal is losing time. Make sure it's fully wound and then do some timing checks on it using time.gov. I service a lot of watches of various brands, types, and movements, and if someone asked me what movement gives me consistently the best timing results, the 7750 would be the one I would pick.

In chronometer guise they are usually VERY accurate.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks. I've just set the time using http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/current-time/. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

How long does it take to fully charge? I let the suppliers know of the potential timing issue. As per the above I reset the time on Sunday evening and it now seems to be gaining! 15 seconds in about 36 hours.

Is there any kind of settling in period or should it keep accurate time from the off?

 

Sounds daft but how do I wind? It feels quite tight from the off and seems to allow me to wind continuously. Is it supposed to stop at any point? Best way to describe it is it feels like winding a dynamo.

 

You wind it by turning the crown clockwise, and it won't ever come to a stop since it's an automatic. If you have not wound it before putting it on and wearing it, then it will show erratic timekeeping.

You mention it feels like winding a dynamo - do you feel a wobble when you wind it using the crown? If so, then there may be a problem with the reversing wheel in the watch not disengaging the oscillating weight from the manual winding function. It will cause the weight to spin as you wind - here is an example on another watch:

The weight should not spin when you wind using the crown - it may move a little, but not spin like you see above. If the weight is spinning, then the winding will feel very heavy (like you are moving a weight, because you are), and it will damage parts if you keep using it like this, so if that the case it really needs to be looked at.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks. I don't feel any movement when winding. It is quite stiff though. Given myself a blister now

 

Took it into an Omega shop and they suggested the fact its now gaining time is normal. There is a tolerance for thes types of watches apparently. It has gained 55 seconds since my last post.

As for the heavy crown, I tried another and did feel a slight difference. Mine is certainly slightly heavier but the guy said again this wouldnt worry him. Still not clear if what's happening is normal.

 

Your last post was a week ago. That's under 8 seconds a day which isn't bad for a mechanical watch. It should be within +6 to -4 seconds a day on average to be within chronometer specs so if it is new you can have it adjusted for free.

Remember, it isn't a battery powered computer chip programmed to tell time. It's a mechanical machine with hundreds of parts that ticks 28,800 times per hour so if it's off by 7.85 seconds a day that's only an error of .000091%

Can't say for sure, but it might even be due to different amounts of grease on the keyless works (winding gears) and inside the barrel / on the spring.

 

Thanks. If it was sent for adjustment, would that be to within the +6 to -4 tolerance or a little closer to spot on if they can calculate, as you have, what it's gaining on average?

 

It should be within the +6 / -4 tolerance.

 

The Omega tolerances for their 7750 based watches are from -1 to +6 seconds per day for average rate (based on timing machine observations, not what it you get when wearing it).

7750's are generally very accurate, in particular when in chronometer guise. Omega can adjust this for you and you can ask them to bring it to their target rate of +3 seconds per day.

Cheers, Al

 

Ooh. Snazzy omega symbol after your name! Is that new?

 

I wasn't sure what that was there for - thanks for letting me know. LOL!