Like an idiot, I sent my 145.006 Seamaster to Omega for service. It has a 321 and I was nervous about having it serviced. Anyway, here's what I sent.

Here's what I got back


Can you spot the difference? Fortunately, I have the original hands and will replace them but damn, if Omega is going to "restore" a watch, how about trying to replace the hands with something close? I'm glad I told them not to touch the friggin' dial.

 

Wouldn't be happy with that either. Hands on the subdials are just too long and off.

 

Isn't it comforting to know that as of the end of this month the SWATCH group will completely close off the supply of parts to independent watchmakers like me so - that they can excercise their version of "Quality Control"...

Of course there are still independents with Swatch parts accounts, but according to a friend who is one of these individuals, it's only a matter of time before that door is also shut. The writing is clearly on the wall.

What an embarassement, if an independent watchmaker did this to a customer's watch, they would soon have no customers left.

www.roberthoran.eu

 

Omega applied the wrong color shade on the minute hand....

 

Guess the spare parts are going to sell for Rolex prices anytime soon.

 

Why would they replace the subdial hands in the first place (other than for making $ reasons)?

 

Oh I feel for you, I'd be sooooooo pissed off if it was mine. The hands and pushers are bad, it's the so called re-finishing of the case that appals me the most.

 

I feel your pain! Do you also have the original pushers still? Also, why would they even change the hands as they look really nice to me in the first place?

 

This is a shame. Still a beautiful watch but what a bummer. They should refund you and help you restore it or find another.

 

How about already...

I recently overhauled a Speedy with extensive water damage, the bottom balance staff pivot was rusted away and I needed a new balance staff.

The new staff cost 56 Pounds or about $100, highway robbery, not so long ago a staff was a few dollars, they can make staff's on today's machines by the thousands per hour...talk about a mark up...

The cost of the balance complete is $1000!

Some replacement screws are $50 - EACH.

 

Who serviced it exactly ? Not Bienne or STS it seems as a service over there would include a case lapping not a quicky circular brushing (instead of radial)...

 

I posted a thread a year or two ago regarding return of parts from Omega. Inherited my first vintage watch about 4 years ago. Sent to Omega for service and said yes to changing dial and hands....before I knew better. Realised my mistake 18 months later. Contacted Omega and got my original dial and hands back 2 years later! I would love to know what's in Omegas draws!!!

 

I was told it went to Bienne.

 

Hi

Sorry , I just cannot believe that....query it again !

Best - Neil

 

I was going to take my SM300 to Omega - they told me that replacing the hands is automatic and obligatory with a service - they did not have a good answer as to why, and they have zero flexibility on that .... I told them to Foxtrot Oscar....

 

Thanks for the information. It's going back to my local Omega Boutique, today, with before photos to show how badly they mucked it up. If it didn't go to Bienne, I'd sure as hell like to know where it went. If it did, be warned that the quality of their work has, apparently, dropped tremendously.

 

The hands aren't that big a deal, as long as I have the original, because I can replace them. Same with the pushers. The case is really the problem, the more I look at it.

 

That's a shame! I heard one of the reasons they change the Hands is that if they Service the movement they remove the hands with quite some force applied and the tube wich connect the hands to the movement can bend or break and therefore the original hands can only be reapplied one or maybe two times before These tubes become too worn out. I can't realy confirm this. Anyone know if this explenation makes any sense?

 

In my experience hand pipes do not wear out, they may stretch slightly over many years, but that is not very common. I work on watches 100 and sometimes 200 years old, these watches have been serviced many times and the hands are just fine.

Once in a while you will get a slightly loose hand, and it's a simple job to tighten the hand pipe and restore the friction fit.

On a chrono for example, the centre seconds hand pipe can become loose and allow the hand to slip during flyback, again, a simple job to tighten the pipe.

And in the worse case where the center seconds pipe fails and cracks, it's a simple job to make a new pipe, remove the old one, and re-rivet a new one in it's place, keeping the watch as original as possible.

www.roberthoran.eu