my second hand, when the chrono is reset, is 1/8 second left of the 12 o'clock position. a minor detail, but it bugs me. two voices in my head: one says who cares? it matters not at all. the other says that the whole point of a 12k dollar watch, especially an speedmaster of this calibre, is its precision and craftsmanship.

i already took it took it to the boutique to make sure it was just the viewing angle/parallax, etc. but he confirmed that it was in fact 1/8 tick off to the left. said they would have to send it back to seattle and have the movement taken out, etc to fix it.

would you?

why or why not? too much to risk messing with the movement for such a 'silly thing?'

 

Is this your first high end chronograph?

 

if its under warranty I sure would! I expect perfection at that price point

 

Easy call for me - once I noticed it, that would drive me nuts.

Send it back.

 

Well the bulk of that $12k is in the $7k case, not the movement or hands....

But anyway if it bothers you, then send it back, but be aware that there is risk associated with sending it in. Although someone below said they expect perfection, that is not really possible. No watch is perfect or they would all be running at +/- 0 per year, never need service, and be indestructible.

So typical gripes about service center work seem to be centered on case scratches/dents, debris left under the dial, as well as misaligned hands.

So scratches on the case are not an issue here, but would you be okay if the hand was aligned, but there was a speck of dust under the crystal? Or if you got it back with the hand now 1/16th off to the other side of the marker? Not saying this is 100% but it seems to be common.

It's 100% completely up to you, but if it were my watch (and I wasn't a watchmaker who could fix it on my own) then I would leave it until the next service.

Cheers, Al

 

I would venture to say that sales & marketing may be the "bulkiest" individual cost component. The case is high tech and no doubt expensive to manufacture, but if their cost is really $7k, not a recipe for profitability .

 

yes, first high-end chronograph.
yes, it drives me nuts, but a speck of dust would drive me nuts too, and i can understand that it's not a risk-free venture to get in there, disembowel the watch, and get it perfect.
will heed Archer's advice and wait until they have to go in there anyway...

should i somehow document that it's off while still under warranty so that they don't charge me for that at first service?

 

Get it fixed WHILE it is under warranty or it's going to be out of your pocket. If it bothers you then take care of it.

 

If it drives you crazy, I have three solutions:

1) Send it back.

2) Buy more watches. Your first high end chronograph is like your first child - everything worries you. After 2 or 3 more children....... well, the details don't bother you as much.

3) Take the right medication.

Sorry, couldn't resist!

 

Getting the chrono centre hand absolutely right can be a complete pain in the arse. You have to press down on something that is sitting on a pin that is 0.2mm (or less) in diameter, in a completely vertical plane, whilst it moves downwards by anything up to 1mm. The slightest pressure to one side will twist the hand out of alignment. It can take many attempts and I have just ordered my third different tool for setting the hands. It can take many attempts to get it right bearing in mind that 1/5th of a second is less than 1 degree and is noticeable.

Having said all that, I would expect it to be cock-on with a new watch - somebody else's problem.

 

yup. my (first world) problem.

 

Fair enough, but misses the point. It's not really a $12k watch, but a $7K watch (or whatever the steel version costs), with an expensive case. The replacement case costs (using this as a guide only of course, not as real production costs as you seem to be implying) case for the steel version is $3k, and $7k for the dark side - it's the relative costs I'm pointing out here.

Using the price as a determination of how perfect the watch should be can lead to disappointment. When I bought my JLC Master Moon over 10 years ago now, the steel version was $8k and the rose gold version was twice as much at $16k. I didn't have any expectation that the rose gold version would be any more perfect than the steel version was, because the added cost was due to the case material.

Hope that explains my point a bit better.

Cheers, Al

 

Looks like about 1/5th of a second to me. Omega's fault for making the end of the hand so fine.

 

Is it me, or is the minute subdial also off center to the left? For what it's worth, I would send the watch back to have it set right.

 

The date seems to line up nicely though!

 

What bothers me more is the ZrO2 in the dial..it's too low..anyway OP, I have a suggestion that you might have not thought of yet..use the chrono as a second timezone..this way, the second chrono hand is always moving and it's easier to ignore that it's slightly off center..just don't forget to send it in for re-alignment before the warranty expires..

 

for that kind of money, heck yea

 

Worth a read if your that worried

http://www.nickhacko.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/one-small-problem_7.html

 

That's the nicest way I've ever heard anyone say "Get over it or get medicated".

 

could take 3+ weeks to fix given their backlog of work. Up to you.