In the US, there was a long tradition of jewelers selling watches and also having a watchmaker. Some still do. In fact, the local Rolex dealer is a jewelry store, and they have two watchmakers on staff.
I guess that tradition is not universal?
Sending to Omega and then off to Swiss Alps sounds like 4 months.
I would that is consideration possibly.
Tried checking, is the Seamaster movement one destined for the Swiss Alps?
No. Actually the watchmaker I use takes work from jewelers … many send them out. @Roger Loomis … +1 for straight to Omega service with your papers.
My papers?
‘In April 2016 I purchased a brand new watch--the Omega Seamaster 300 Titanium. It's a gorgeous watch--it has the blue face, retro glow-in-the-dark hands, and the transparent back case.’
You kept your paperwork I hope?
A broken main plate? Well, although there's I suppose a theoretical possibility of such a thing happening, I will call BS on this.
Hi Al,
Thank you for the feedback.
It turns out the local jeweler sent the watch to a watchmaker in Plymouth Michigan called "On Time Watch Experts." https://ontimewatchexperts.com/
I just got off the phone with the watchmaker. He says he has 35 years experience and does in fact have a parts account with Omega (as well as Rolex).
He says the actual problem isn't that the mainplate is broken. Rather, he says there is a screw in the mainplate that "holds a bridge" that sheered off, leaving a piece of the broken screw in the mainplate. He said that although it might take him a couple of hours, he could remove the broken screw and replace it with a new one. He says that if we send it to Omega, in all likelihood they will simply replace the mainplate and it will end up costing more than the $1,700 he quoted.
Would an unattached bridge cause the rattling in a watch that otherwise seems to work?
I told him that I want a second opinion from Omega, and he said that was fine.
Assuming this updated description makes sense, what would you do?
It makes more sense than a broken main plate - if it would cause a rattle or not would depend on what bridge it was. The screw can be removed easily - pretty routine stuff.
I doubt that Omega would charge for the main plate.
If it's easy to remove the broken screw, then the whole thing should fit into their $550 maintenance deal, right?
I'll let you know what Omega says.
Any watchmaker working on their own would remove the broken screw. However in service center setting, they won't take an extra minute for anything, so rather than repair things that might take a little more time, they just replace the parts. Their priority is getting the watch serviced as quickly as possible, not saving parts...
Would they surmise the watch was dropped, or would more stuff break before a screw?
Sending to Omega and then off to Swiss Alps sounds like 4 months.
I would that is consideration possibly.
Tried checking, is the Seamaster movement one destined for the Swiss Alps?
