X-33 Battery change

larryganz · Aug 1, 2018

Archer
Looks like you are doing the work well - I'm pleased to see that there is no debris surrounding the case opening - this is something the DIY and mall kiosk kids often forget, leading to debris entering the case and eventually the movement.

Because people often don't understand what goes on during a service, it's a black box to them. They don't know what's involved in doing a proper job, so the pricing they get doesn't seem to reflect the work being done. The posts made in this thread by some are evidence of that.

Trust me I know this feeling well - before I became a watchmaker I sent my Rolex in to have it serviced via a local AD. As an engineer I was hoping to get back some sort of report with what they found, what parts were replaced, and how the watch was performing after the service. Instead what I got was an invoice that said "service Rolex model so and so" and a one line price. It was a complete disappointment, and when I decided to become a full time watchmaker, I didn't want my customers to have the same experience I had, which is why I document the service with photos and descriptions - these documents can run to 100 pages long in some cases (depending on the complexity of the watch and the repairs) with most pages having 2 photos one each page, so there's a lot to see.

This is all done to educate people on what really happens during a service, and I try to do the same here so people can understand what is being done right, and where shortcuts are happening.

If you want to comparison shop for apples, don't go looking at the watermelons for pricing...

Cheers, Al

I can understand your approach completely. I went through a similar process. When I was younger and worked in a hospital laboratory, I'd often go to draw blood on patients who didn't know why we wanted their blood, and who were being taken care of doctors who didn't explain anything about their illness or differential diagnosis.

When i went to medical school, I was determined to open up the lines of communication with my patients, and educate them about the diagnostic process and why were were doing certain tests or treatments for them. My patients always told me they really appreciated that.

Co-axial · Aug 3, 2018

I wish more watchmakers did this.

sevykor · Aug 4, 2018

Kudos for using the correct tools. So many bugger-up the case backs with incorrect tools and poor skill.

Shrike · Aug 8, 2018

My X-33 just turned the LED displays off, not yet at the 5 second intervals but I assume it will need a battery replacement fairly soon. Went to an authorized store and they quoted 285€ for the change and said they will ship the watch back to Omega. Estimated wait time 8 weeks...

I am not quite brave enough to do the switch myself, have to see if another store would do it themselves or if I could ship it directly to Omega myself. I definitely did not expect it to be this expensive.

JacksonStone · Sep 6, 2018

I'm glad I found this thread. I was considering getting an X-33, but now I'm thinking better of it. Like Larryganz's son, I thought going with a quartz watch would make for lower service costs - an appealing idea when the looming cost of service for my mechanicals finally comes due. The downside is more frequent battery changes, but a "simple" change is no big deal: when my Breitling Aerospace would need a battery change, I could drop by my AD with a watchmaker on premises and they could take care of it while I waited, to the tune of $50 or so. I understand Al's point that the Omega change service is quite involved and professional, but the bottom line is I find it undesirable to have to send the watch away for several weeks every two years and be charged multiple three figures in the process.

What a shame, as this does look like a very cool watch.

DocG4 · Nov 4, 2018

I have similar bad experience with my X33, the battery run out after 2 years and the Omega shop in The Hague (Netherlands) stated they did not even know how much a battery change would be because they would have to send it back to the factory....and probably in the order of hundreds euro. I find this attitude preposterous as it assumes that since I have an expensive watch it's fine to exploit me. As an engineer experience in precision work I decided to do it myself and it took 30 min in total with 5 Eur battery expense.

The main problem is that the screws are soft metal (Ti) and are easily damaged/scratched unless you have proper size screwdriver and experience. If you break them then it is going to cost a lot to fix it...
I took the occasion to also clean the o-ring and rubbing it with silicone. Easy after all.

S Shrike
My X-33 just turned the LED displays off, not yet at the 5 second intervals but I assume it will need a battery replacement fairly soon. Went to an authorized store and they quoted 285€ for the change and said they will ship the watch back to Omega. Estimated wait time 8 weeks...

I am not quite brave enough to do the switch myself, have to see if another store would do it themselves or if I could ship it directly to Omega myself. I definitely did not expect it to be this expensive.

Archer · Nov 4, 2018

D DocG4
I have similar bad experience with my X33, the battery run out after 2 years and the Omega shop in The Hague (Netherlands) stated they did not even know how much a battery change would be because they would have to send it back to the factory....and probably in the order of hundreds euro. I find this attitude preposterous as it assumes that since I have an expensive watch it's fine to exploit me. As an engineer experience in precision work I decided to do it myself and it took 30 min in total with 5 Eur battery expense.

The main problem is that the screws are soft metal (Ti) and are easily damaged/scratched unless you have proper size screwdriver and experience. If you break them then it is going to cost a lot to fix it...
I took the occasion to also clean the o-ring and rubbing it with silicone. Easy after all.

Great - just realize that what you have done is not even approaching the same scope as what Omega would have done.

Cheers, Al

DocG4 · Nov 4, 2018

Archer
Great - just realize that what you have done is not even approaching the same scope as what Omega would have done.

Cheers, Al

Thanks Al, I appreciate it.

I have read the previous post and understand that there is a lot of preventive maintenance Omega can do. My question would then be how often I need to do it, at every battery change ? Every year ? I could accept this type of expense every 5 years. I did not feel right that a basically new watch (2 years) would require a maintenance check costing 5% if the watch price without any indication of Malfunction.

Archer · Nov 4, 2018

D DocG4
I could accept this type of expense every 5 years. I did not feel right that a basically new watch (2 years) would require a maintenance check costing 5% if the watch price without any indication of Malfunction.

Based on what you have said you didn't actually get any formal quote, and the place you took the watch to said they had no idea what the battery service would cost. Saying it would be a huge expense every 2 years and unreasonable is just speculation really.

JacksonStone · Nov 4, 2018

Archer
Great - just realize that what you have done is not even approaching the same scope as what Omega would have done.

No doubt the checks done at time of battery replacement exceed what an untrained person could do at home. For me, the issue isn't whether or not Omega technicians are doing good work that warrants the money spent; it's the need to have such work done so often. The X-33 seems like an exceedingly high-maintenance watch.

Archer
Based on what you have said you didn't actually get any formal quote, and the place you took the watch to said they had no idea what the battery service would cost. Saying it would be a huge expense every 2 years and unreasonable is just speculation really.

I don't know about the Netherlands, but we did have a U.S. member post he was quoted $165 from the Denver OB for battery replacement and associated service. That's approaching 3% of MSRP, not factoring in the hassle and expense of shipping, or time spent without the watch. To have to do this every two years or so would certainly give some people pause.

Archer · Nov 4, 2018

JacksonStone
The X-33 seems like an exceedingly high-maintenance watch..

Battery consumption is definitely higher than on a traditional analogue Quartz watch.

JacksonStone
I don't know about the Netherlands, but we did have a U.S. member post he was quoted $165 from the Denver OB for battery replacement and associated service. That's approaching 3% of MSRP, not factoring in the hassle and expense of shipping, or time spent without the watch. To have to do this every two years or so would certainly give some people pause.

If there's one thing I've tried multiple times to get across, seemingly with not great success, is to have people not jump to conclusions without being sure of the scope of work that goes with a price someone provides. We have had people say the price for this is anywhere from $60 to pretty much $400, and my feeling is that there's not much chance those prices are all for the same work.

Again take it Omega or not...personally I don't really care. I'm just saying that people are often getting upset about a very expensive battery change without really knowing what's being quoted.

Cheers, Al

larryganz · Nov 4, 2018

The $165 the Omega Boutique in Denver quoted was for a partial service that only included testing the movement, replacing the battery, replacing the case-back gasket, and testing for WR. This was to do the work in house at the OB, and this same type of service on my wife's TAG Aquaracer this past January was $65 at a Denver TAG dealer and service center (Right Time Watches).

Technically, Omega could charge up to the full quartz chronograph service price or $500. The full service would include a full polish, and replacing any parts needed - including new pushers and crown for proper sealing.

Since the X-33 battery died 3 weeks after the warranty ended, the OB still sent the watch to Omega to see if they'd make an exception. Omega did indeed do a full service with new battery, gaskets, pushers, crown, and WR test, PLUS a full polish (my son had beat the watch up in it's 2 years of life as an every day wear) at no charge.

Archer · Nov 5, 2018

larryganz
The $165 the Omega Boutique in Denver quoted was for a partial service that only included testing the movement, replacing the battery, replacing the case-back gasket, and testing for WR. This was to do the work in house at the OB, and this same type of service on my wife's TAG Aquaracer this past January was $65 at a Denver TAG dealer and service center (Right Time Watches).

Well, $165 is certainly more than I would charge for this, but I wouldn't charge as little as $60 either, in particular for a watch where the testing is an extensive as it is on an X-33 type movement. No idea what kind of movement is in the Tag you refer to, but keep in mind that the X-33's movement is far more complex than a simple 3 hand analogue quartz. This isn't a 5 minute job to perform all the tests...the testing procedures and parameters are 5 pages long in the tech guide for the movement. For a 3 hand analogue movement it's 1 page.

larryganz
Technically, Omega could charge up to the full quartz chronograph service price or $500. The full service would include a full polish, and replacing any parts needed - including new pushers and crown for proper sealing.

And that would be a bargain considering the work involved and the price of the parts. The service kit is over $300 and that leaves a little for the labour to remove the movement, completely disassemble the case, refinish, clean, and assemble with new parts, then final assembly and pressure testing, plus all the movement tests. Trust me it's time consuming to do all that.

larryganz
Since the X-33 battery died 3 weeks after the warranty ended, the OB still sent the watch to Omega to see if they'd make an exception. Omega did indeed do a full service with new battery, gaskets, pushers, crown, and WR test, PLUS a full polish (my son had beat the watch up in it's 2 years of life as an every day wear) at no charge.

Keep in mind that for anyone purchasing a new watch after July of this year the warranty is now 5 years. I think that would help take the sting out owning a watch like this.

Cheers, Al

stockae92 · Nov 5, 2018

All those service cost, and who, and where aside, this is a special watch. I took mine to the Observatory yesterday, which seems to be fitting with space, stars, and astronomy. 😀

Tons of people, noise, having to keep an eye on family and 2 overly-active kids ... and I need my alarm / CDT to WORK because of the parking situation. Guess what, I didn't trust my phone's alarm / timer. I set those on my X-33, and that's when you appreciate the LOUD alarm. I did not miss any of the alarm / alert, doesn't matter if its inside, outside, tons of people talking ... 😀

time flies · Nov 5, 2018

stockae92
All those service cost, and who, and where aside, this is a special watch. I took mine to the Observatory yesterday, which seems to be fitting with space, stars, and astronomy. 😀

Tons of people, noise, having to keep an eye on family and 2 overly-active kids ... and I need my alarm / CDT to WORK because of the parking situation. Guess what, I didn't trust my phone's alarm / timer. I set those on my X-33, and that's when you appreciate the LOUD alarm. I did not miss any of the alarm / alert, doesn't matter if its inside, outside, tons of people talking ... 😀

"Yes Sir buddy" . (North Carolina mountain slang for "fυcking a") which might translate to "fυcking a" which might translate to... "Yeah...right"

Anyhow...right on!

Have fun
kfw

DocG4 · Nov 6, 2018

Archer
Based on what you have said you didn't actually get any formal quote, and the place you took the watch to said they had no idea what the battery service would cost. Saying it would be a huge expense every 2 years and unreasonable is just speculation really.

The amount quoted for the battery and o-ring exchange plus water-resist check, is 230 EUR (260 USD) and 6 weeks with Omega and it includes only that. I was also informed that in case there is any repair activity to be done it will done fully at my (additional) expenses.
Since the full "refurbishment" of the watch including dismantling and cleaning of each part is 500 then you can draw the conclusion yourself.

Archer · Nov 6, 2018

D DocG4
The amount quoted for the battery and o-ring exchange plus water-resist check, is 230 EUR (260 USD) and 6 weeks with Omega and it includes only that. I was also informed that in case there is any repair activity to be done it will done fully at my (additional) expenses.
Since the full "refurbishment" of the watch including dismantling and cleaning of each part is 500 then you can draw the conclusion yourself.

Odd because you said this initially:

"the Omega shop in The Hague (Netherlands) stated they did not even know how much a battery change would be because they would have to send it back to the factory....and probably in the order of hundreds euro."

So you said you did it yourself. So did you send the watch away for a formal quote, reject it, and get the watch sent back?

DocG4 · Nov 6, 2018

Archer
Odd because you said this initially:

"the Omega shop in The Hague (Netherlands) stated they did not even know how much a battery change would be because they would have to send it back to the factory....and probably in the order of hundreds euro."

So you said you did it yourself. So did you send the watch away for a formal quote, reject it, and get the watch sent back?

No Al, after your mail I phoned back insisting to know the exact price and detail of the service which is what I repoorted so you all could see what kind of service Omega offers (at least here in NL).

Archer · Nov 6, 2018

D DocG4
No Al, after your mail I phoned back insisting to know the exact price and detail of the service which is what I repoorted so you all could see what kind of service Omega offers (at least here in NL).

Thanks for clarifying. Again people can choose to use Omega or not, and there appears to be a large amount of variability in what is being asked for this work, but it is up to the country or regional management to set pricing for their own areas.

larryganz · Nov 6, 2018

Archer
Well, $165 is certainly more than I would charge for this, but I wouldn't charge as little as $60 either, in particular for a watch where the testing is an extensive as it is on an X-33 type movement. No idea what kind of movement is in the Tag you refer to, but keep in mind that the X-33's movement is far more complex than a simple 3 hand analogue quartz. This isn't a 5 minute job to perform all the tests...the testing procedures and parameters are 5 pages long in the tech guide for the movement. For a 3 hand analogue movement it's 1 page.

...

And that would be a bargain considering the work involved and the price of the parts. The service kit is over $300 and that leaves a little for the labour to remove the movement, completely disassemble the case, refinish, clean, and assemble with new parts, then final assembly and pressure testing, plus all the movement tests. Trust me it's time consuming to do all that.

...

Keep in mind that for anyone purchasing a new watch after July of this year the warranty is now 5 years. I think that would help take the sting out owning a watch like this.

Cheers, Al

Agreed, although I still don't understand why Omega did a full service with free polish, such it came back looking new. We only hoped for a courtesy battery change and making it pass a WR test.

X-33 Battery change

larryganz

Co-axial

sevykor

Shrike

JacksonStone

DocG4

Archer

DocG4

Archer

JacksonStone

Archer

larryganz

Archer

stockae92

time flies

DocG4

Archer

DocG4

Archer

larryganz

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