I’ve owned 4 different Omegas between 2008-2023 (1974 Seamaster, 007 Seamaster, Speedmaster, Aqua Terra) no issues with any of them. Omega fan for life.
I have my grandfathers Speedy from 1969. I’ve had it for the last 15 years. I’ve had it serviced twice Once preemptively and once to resolve an issue. 🤷♂️
Unlike these guys, my most expensive watch is an Oris Aquis. I recently fell on some rocks, jarring the watch a.nd ruining its accuracy. As it was under warranty, I sent it in to an Oris repair center in another country. The watch came back within a week and keeping time at -. 02 sec/day. I highly recommend Oris if you want the Camry of watches.
I just wish they didn’t have the integrated bracelet in that watch. I would love to buy that, but that is such a deal killer to me. Plus, I’m not in love with that bracelet either.
@@mikej5959 lol. For me, the integrated bracelet is one of its biggest advantages. First, I'm a small wristed guy. The short lugs and integrated bracelet allow me to wear the 41.5 mm watch without it looking ridiculously huge. Second, I'm a bracelet guy. I want something that will last, and every strap I've owned is trashed after a year or two. Finally, the Oris bracelet is the most comfortable bracelet I've ever experienced. It's like butter. So, for me, the integrated bracelet design is an essential reason to choose the Oris Aquis over other divers. The one drawback is it lacks on-the-fly adjustment. I wished it had that. BUT I'm also glad the clasp is small, so between the two, I'd rather keep it the way it is.
@@mikej5959the bracelet on the aquis is honestly amazing. One of the best under 5k. Also you can get an adapter which lets you put any normal strap on the watch
3861 Sapphire Speedy, faulty out of the box with stuttering chrono that occasionally jams the movement. Currently in warranty service with everyone assuring me "don't worry, Omega will take care of it". I own it now for almost a month and wore it less than 48h. Not a good start and first impression, at least for me.
There is a UA-camr that has previously owned a major gray market watch sales company that provides a warranty for all their watches sold. According to what he said in a video, Omega was the least likely among major luxury brands to be send back for warranty repair.
Blue vs green. What a peculiar way to think about it. Getting a Jag in British Green is just like getting a Ferrari in Rosso Corsa. Great watch content.
My friend is the watchmaker at a major watch dealer in the NYC area. I was interested in modern Omega and JLC. He straight up told me that he would never buy a Co-Axial Omega - only a pre-co-axial. He said modern JLC movements are super unreliable and a fortune to service. He recommended sticking to ETA-based Omega, Hamilton, et al, or Rolex. He also said Omegas from the 1960s have some of the greatest most reliable movements of all time. I have a few that have literally never been serviced and they run basically perfectly.
@Wall2157 so a Modern Hamilton would be a good watch? I own a Rolex Air King and a Cartier Tank. So I'm used to high quality watches, and I'm a little worried about the movement quality. I don't want to have to constantly send it in, but I like the watch.
@@tyarnold4088those are not high quality watches my friend. Those are decent entry level Swiss luxury watches. High quality would be Lange, Breguet, Patek, Roger Dubouis, RGM, Gronefeld, etc. It's cute that some people think Rolex and Cartier are high horology/quality.
@blakeoneal4385 quality as in they keep time. They have kept great time for over 13 years. Those brands you Named are fancier, use precious metals in their movements and have more polishing. But they do not keep time year after year as well as a Rolex. And I could merely bitch slap one of those watches and they would stop working. Lol. You don't know shit about watches. Your BITCH ASS probably lives in your mom's basement.
I purchased a Patek 5119J from an AD the last year the model was offered for sale. Within a month I noticed its power reserve was much lower than advertised. I sent it back to Patek via the AD to have it serviced. Patek responded saying maybe I was not winding it fully, and sent it back to me without opening it up or doing anything else. I said no, I was winding it fully and sent it back to Patek again via the AD. The second time Patek opened up the watch and found they had to completely replace the barrel. It was covered under warranty. Patek did not apologize or do anything to make up for accusing me of user error. I vowed to never buy another Patek. The AD offered me a ceramic Daytona (I never purchased a Rolex before) to make up for the bad experience. A year later, Patek pulled its watches from that AD. But the AD still sells Rolexes.
My wife had a similar experience with her Datejust. It would regularly stop on her wrist. This was a fully-wounded automatic watch that was just serviced. RSC "accused" her of being too sedentary. Lol She's a doctor who moves around a lot. I bought her a Quartz Cartier and an Apple watch and she's very happy with them. She had enough with the "mechanical marvel".
I had a tudor blackbay that did that. I told my AD about it. They wrapped it up and sent it to Rolex. Rolex did not find anything wrong, but they did a full service on it and worked fine when I got it back.
I own a Tissot Seastar 2000 - for past 2,5 years I took it everywhere with me, it went probably through every activity that I do daily...never skipped a bit. One time my kid wore it as a hat, it fell from a 1m height on the floor - still going strong, highly recommend. Not to mention exceptional legibility and fantastic dial.
My 1861 speedmaster is still going strong, bought in 2005 and worn frequently. I love that watch it was on my wrist when my daughter was born and will be hers one day.
I wear my Orient Kamasu to work every day. I’m a machinist dealing with carbon fiber, wood, plastics and a large amount of steel. Lots of exposure to coolant, WD-40 and various other chemicals. I use a hammer, and impact drill quite regularly. Short of a few scratches, and dust buildup, I have no noticeable issues with the watch and it’s time keeping. I gain like 10s a day which is pretty decent for that watch. I’ve recently started wearing my Formex Reef and Oris Aquis (this last week or so) to work, and have had no noticeable issues either, but too soon to tell. What happens happens. I’ve made my choice
A list of some of the beatings my SKX has endured; daily construction, motorcycle, mountain bike, triathlons, 200 degree sauna into cold plunges, splitting wood, surfing… etc. never has a single issue and still keeps time within 5 see/day.
My skx007 has probably been beaten so much it has felt the equivalent of a nuclear blast, but dropped it after taking it off a nato strap the other week and my seconds hand popped off. Devastated.
The 7S26 is renowned for its durability for sure! Although I had an Orient calibre that supposedly was “quite similar” (maybe like a Sellita sw200 is to an ETA 2824) and I managed to mess it up real good. The “trick” was repeated shocks from ski poles, while not covering up the watch well (or at all) in -15 degree C air… that sure did it. It ran hours off per day after that. I’ve been using quartz for xc skiing ever since, although the automatic may have survived it fine if I didn’t let it get cold while getting shocks
For xmass 2009 my wife got me a black Omega Seamaster 300. I wore it every day doing whatever I was doing - camping, cutting down trees with an axe, working around the shop, fixing cars, at the office, hunting, slept with it on every night, it didn't matter, it was my one watch. I have dress watches but rarely wear them. No issues at all and at about 10 years I sent it in to Omega for its first service and it was losing .8 seconds a day. That to me is a tool watch, and what a tool watch should do. Just a data point.
I have a basic omega constellation made in 1998. It still runs just fine after decades of travelling generous with me. I wear it sparingly now though. I want to pass it on eventually. Daily wearer is a self modded Casio duro. Fantastic watch.
I have been collecting watches for the last 10 years, with brands ranging from Microbrands, to Seiko, to Omega and Rolex. I don’t baby my watches at all. The only issues I’ve had are: - My Heuer Monaco movement stopping after 8 years of ownership (bought new). Rectified with a visit to the service centre and 7 weeks of waiting. - Magnetism affecting lower-end movements, such as my Seikos and Microbrands.
In the 90s and early 2000s, BMWs came with little plastic plaques in the trunk that showed you how to orient golf club bags to maximize the number that fit in that particular trunk, and how many can fit.
I bought a brand new Omega Moon Watch Saphire Sandwich last year. Within 3 months, one of my pushers fell off and the other pusher was loose. I didn't abuse the watch, it was a factory issue. I sent it back for repair and they only fixed the one pusher that came off, and not the other one that was loose. Now 1 year later it's back at Omega Repair to fix the 2nd pusher. It took a little over 3 months to get it back the first time and I have no idea how long it will take this year. For a watch that I spent $7,200 on, I couldn't be more upset about it. It's under warranty, but they should have fixed both pushers the first time that I sent it in for repair. I love the watch and would be more forgiving if they fixed both problems the first damn time.
Almost "upgraded" from an 1861 speedy to the modern 3861. Videos like this make me relieved I haven't. My 1861 is 7 years old now, knocked around including submerged in water and still accurate as ever at +3 sec/day
I own an Oris diver sixty five with the new caliber 400 movement. It came with a 10 year warranty given the unproven movement. I’ve owned it for 2 years and recently sent it into be serviced because it would randomly stop even though I wear it every day. Service was super quick, only took 5 weeks to get it back, but it keeps stopping every so often. I’ll probably have to send it in again soon
Hi, my Tissot Seastar 2000 needed a bezel mechanism fix . It started to turn freely in both directions after a year or so of ownership. I've sended it in to Tissot and it was fixed within 3 weeks under warranty with the cost of shipping both ways cowered by the brand, so I'm very happy with the customer service. Mechanical things brake sometimes, we have to take it into consideration.
I have an Omega Seamaster Pro 300 that I purchased new in 1999. In 2000 it went back to Omega because I damaged the bracelet in a mountain bike accident. They did a complimentary service to the movement under warranty while it was there. That was the LAST time the caseback was off the watch! 23 years now without a servicing and when I wore it the other day it was still +4 seconds a day. Unreal.
Been using my Oyster Perpetual 34mm almost every day for 3 years, done 12 000 kms on a motorcycle with it (most of), used Lime electric scooters, travelled through Scandinavia for my wedding trip with a camper. All sorts of other activities. Now my 6month son keeps playing with it. After 4-5 months of constatnt runtime it gained 30secs - compared it today to my g-shock that syns with atomic clock. No problems at all. Rolex AD told me that the service interval for the reference number 124200 (silicon hairspring inside) is around 10 years - I tried to have it maintenanced after those years as I thought it should be.
My dad got me a Junghans chronoscope. 3 months in , without shock , one of the chrono sub dial hands fell off. Sent it back to Junghans. 4 months later I got it back. But there was dust all over the dial and black gunk all over the side of the Chrystal.
I wear a Marthon GSAR most days of the week. I work on airplanes and installing rivets, sanding and hammer use are the norm. I shoot competitively on the weekends shooting probably at least 200 a week. That is TONS of vibration and I haven't had a problem. I have owned this watch for almost 10 years and still haven't had to get it serviced yet. It still holds +/- 10seconds per day.
My lifestyle is not easy on watches. Brand new Omega Seamaster quartz had to go back second hand was hitting in the middle of the markers. Did come back fixed. 2021 Speedmaster professional stopped working 6 months after I bought it whenever I used the Chrono. Came back fixed and running good. Still not a good track record 2 for 2. I have and have own Rolex’s from 1965-2023 never had one miss a beat. Wore them all the time. I’ve had a bunch of seiko, generally tough but I have broke a couple seiko SKX’s from hard shocks. Also Broke a few G-shocks and Suunto’s over the years.
While you will likely love the Jag. Good luck with it's quality lol.....I work in automotive and my wife works for insurance we both see how terrible quality Jags are as soon as you drive it off the lot.
15:00. Sooo true! “When it’s more complicated there are more things to break”. That’s exactly why I prefer to own simpler watches. A three-hander is all I need. I don’t need perpetual calendars, chronographs, moon phase, etc. they’re interesting….but can to lead to malfunction and significant cost when things go wrong.
I bought a omega seamaster 300m brand new. I had it week and had to send it in because the date was not turning over. It got stuck on the 30th. It's been 4 weeks, and I'm still waiting to get it back from service.
Hah! Right after watching Adam's watch video on how his Omegas were in service, my Green Seamaster 300m (11 months old) had its clasp jammed out of nowhere! Had to send it in to the boutique where they took in to the service centre. I'm guessing they couldn't fix my clasp because they replaced it with a new fresh one. Mind you, I take care of my watches and not slam it on the desk when doing work.
I bought a brand new Zenith Chronomaster Sport last month. Beautiful watch up until one of the pushers went missing upon watch glance. I was still in the honeymoon phase and did absolutely no activity wearing it other than going out to dinner and puttering around the house. The AD had a 7 day return policy and fortunately happened on day 6. Goodbye Zenith!
Modern Jags are a lot more reliable than their reputation leads some to think they will be. They're still not Lexus-level, but I'll take the reliability tradeoff for the driving experience any day. Good call on picking green.
If you'll pardon a lengthy comment, I wrote a reply on a post yesterday that was asking how delicate mechanical watches were, and I think it's coincidentally quite relevant to this video's topic. They're breakable, but I wouldn't call them fragile. Especially in these price ranges, it's SOOO much more worth it to enjoy and relax and actually wear these watches, even if you have to repair it once or twice over the years. It's so much more enjoyable to get to that place where you're going to wear it how you want and accept that maybe it will need some help someday. Babying a watch is no guarantee it will never have an issue either. It's like a car without the risk of bodily harm. You could keep the rpm low, brake softly, stay away from bumps and dirt and rocks, park it indoors, wax it, cover the seats, and maintain it like racecar. You could do all that and still have parts die on you, tires leak, lines clog, wires short, etc. How would you feel then? You took all the fun away and still had to send it to the shop... Or you could just maintain it as recommended, let it serve you instead of serving it, enjoy the hell out of it, and accept that things need repairing sometimes. Not to say to never think about it, you should respect what it is, but living with a watch that takes some hard knocks sometimes is, if you ask me, more respectful to the watch than choosing not to take it along for the adventure. Using something, breaking it, fixing it, and using it some more used to be how we approached everything, but now we live with so much stuff that isn't repairable that we fear something breaking like it's the end of the road. With something serviceable like a watch, breaking is just a speed bump, baby. Get back in the fight, we got shit to do.
I should add, the context of this was a discussion about sub $1000 watches. There are obviously certain watches or philosophies of collecting where living your life with it on your wrist is less viable, like rare vintage watches or hyper-luxurious, delicate watches.
Parts and servicing dry up after production ends. Also, servicing will lead to unnecessary replacement of visible exterior parts, ruining the value of the watch. Servicing is a bad idea. Best to avoid damaging your watch
Over the past decade I've worn a Seiko Sea Urchin SNZF15, a Vostok Amphibia and a Steinhart Ocean one that were all my daily watch at one point. Not a single one has had an issue with heavy use and abuse. This is with plenty of equipment use, ATVs, dirt bikes, motorcycles, camping and chopping wood, and just about anything else. No troubles, no worries. The worst thing I've had with any of them is being magnetized, but that's a cheap tool and easy enough to fix yourself. In the past couple of years I've picked up a number of Chinese watches with PT5000's, and ST2130's, to my surprise the ETA 2824 clones do quite well and over the past year I've not had a single issue with any one of the six watches I have with those movements.
My one watch is a Omega SMP 300M I got new just before covid. I wear it basically all the time, except for in the shower, and it's working well to this day. I wear it while swimming, changing the oil, making a fire, camping, yard work, remodeling, etc. It's a tough one
My new Meta-certified, co-axial Speedmaster with the 3861 movement stopped ticking within 6 months of purchase. It was shipped back to Omega and they changed almost every part in the movement (I guess they couldn’t understand what was wrong with it). Now it works fine and have been for about 20 months.
Just sent my Speedmaster in for repair. Despite its truly remarkable accuracy, it recently stopped working, even on a full wind. I got it in Jan 2021. It's still under warranty, but they told me 4-6 months! Yikes.
I have a speedmaster triple date reduced that was built around 2010ish from what I can tell. I bought it 2 years ago from a guy in Japan on ebay. During the verification process they cut the case back gasket and didn't tell me. So 2 months after I got my dream watch the dial fogged and when I took the case back off, a cut piece fell into the balance an completely stopped the watch. $800 later the watch is perfect and I daily drive it. I'm hard on it to, landscaping, loading things. So I think sometimes things happen. Bur omega makes a good watch.
As a drummer, shock has always been my concern. I’ve checked on a g-force meter before and an average stroke can be between 12 and 18 G’s. So yea, I always take my watches off when I play.
I have a JLC Geophysic 1958 and during the first year of ownership I sent it twice to Switzerland, first time it was running two fast, second time it just stopped working, according to the dealer JLC in Switzerland changed the entire movement. It’s been working perfectly since then but it was a very frustrating experience. Cheers
Car companies put requirements on their cars, and one that is very common is to fit a bag of golf clubs. Some convertibles have the req to fit the golf clubs even with the roof down. It’s not a coincidence, it’s planned for.
About 2 years ago I bought a white dial seamster that worked well for a year and then the crown wouldn't screw down ... I sent it back for service (no charge) they returned it 2 weeks later but it was still not working properly. I sent it back again (was out for 4 weeks) came back last week and so far is working as expected. No out of pocket cost and turn time I think was good. That said, kind of a big issue if the 300m dive watch doesn't have a working screw down crown 😂. Great stuff guys!!
I have my Rolex 16610 that I received new when I was 18. I get it serviced once a decade. I've done everything with it. Skiing, mountain climbing, snorkeling, scuba diving, it has just kept going, although it is pretty scratched up. I did have to replace the crystal which I managed to chip.
I have around 6 watches and have never had any break by themselves. I do tend to take good care of them though and am careful when wearing them for anything other than going to the office.
i have a 1998 1863 Speedy, a 2013 42mm planet ocean, and have had a few others... they are easily the hardiest watches ive had, 5 year check ups and still havent needed any servicing or repair. But my Tudors, Sea Dwellers, Daytona, Breitlings and Zenith have allll had multiple issues per item. Its only my side of the story but Omega continue to stand the tests of daily use for me
Yeah my Planet Ocean is going 10 years + with no problems. Great watch, but I wear it much less since getting the Speedmaster (which I just sent in for repair, actually). Stopped working.
Vostok Amphibia cost me about 70 $, it has been ten years I have been wearing it, it has fallen on the ground terribly once so even one lume index got detached, but the movement was absolutely fine. The only service it has gotten was putting that lume index back into its place. The watch works nicely and wears charmingly, get looks of admiration and even compliments. I don’t think Rolex Submariner which cost 120 times more would have made me happier and would have withstood so long without serious service. High price doesn’t reflect the real quality of a wristwatch. In summary, never pay more than ~ 800 $ for a wristwatch.
I gave my Amphibia to my 5 year old because he wanted a watch. I don’t know what he did with it but it stopped working after 2 days. I miss that watch. The most erratic time keeper I’ve ever owned.
Had an Oris diver stop running within the first month. After I got it back, it ran solid for 15 years. With my collection, I've had issues with some but have been fairly lucky.
My grandpa has an Orient that he got in a Hong Kong refugee camp in 1976, works great. My orient ray ii that I bought used in 2015 still runs fine no service. My omega speedmaster reduced was serviced in 2021 and thankfully the movement broke again within the 2 year warranty LMAO
We need a Consumer Reports style survey for watch reliability. I've had a couple issues with cheap Fossil watches (mechanical and quartz) back in the day (Kudos to their 10 year warranty) and back in the late '90s, I had an issue with a quartz Victorinox that was repaired under warranty, but I've never had anything break otherwise. Either I'm lucky or I just don't abuse my watches. I certainly don't baby them, as shown by the nick on my Explorer II in the 6 months I've owned it.
I own a watch with an ETA2824-2. A tractor movement. It had broken twice in 7 years. The first one was my fault. I was hand winding it too much. One of winding wheels was damaged. And it stopped. As I learned later it’s a known weakness of ET2824-2. The second time a screw holding a bridge snapped. Watchmaker said it wasn’t my fault. Everything else was fine with the movement. It was serviced a few year prior when it broke the first time. Being an ETA2824-2 it didn’t cost me much. Around $200 total for both repairs, parts included.
It must have happened to me: A common fault with ETA 2824 and 2836 movements is sticking reversers. When this happens the hand-winding becomes tight and the rotor spins, if both reversers lock up and the determined owner continues to wind the crown something has to give and it's usually the teeth on the ratchet wheel that break.
For me, having gone through ~100 watches in my collection (and checked out many more), I seem to be cursed with misaligned hands. I.e., when the minute hand is at 0, the hour hand is either behind or ahead of the hour marker. Either I'm cursed or this is prevalent and nobody else notices or cares, but I've had bad luck with nearly every brand from Seiko and Hamilton to Rolex and AP. The one exception is Grand Seiko. I just don't understand why a company would spend so much effort making these pieces "perfect", so much resources into movements and finishing... and then not line up the very hands that provide a watch's only actual function.
I bought a brand new (from an AD) Seamaster 300M in March and the buckle has broken and been replaced twice. Apparently there is a bad batch in circulation so now the dealers just carry stock and will replace in store to save you sending away. Poor for a £5k watch!
Omega Speedy:- 7 years, started to lose time, but overdue due a service anyway. Another 4.5 years, spring broke, but service almost due. Another 2 years, started losing time... So it seems like intervals are getting shorter...
I recently had an experience with Hamilton. My wife and kids pooled their money for Father’s Day to purchase a Khaki Field Murph 42 from an authorized dealer a couple of years ago. Last year the winding became an issue. I sent it back to Hamilton under warranty. After a month the watch was returned to me with the crown and stem crooked. It went back and after 3 months the watch was returned with a new case, stem and crown, but behaved even worse 2 weeks later. The dealer declared it a lemon and an exchange was done. I’m happy they have such good cust. service and the dealer was awesome about it, but the original watch is no more and the thought did occur to me that this may be WHY their cust. service is so good. Had a bad experience with Bulova but that’s for another day.
Multiple Omega owner here, my speedy date with the omega finished 7750, still runs +1 after 12 years no service. Seamaster pro does have a minor clasp issue where it gets stuck from time to time and movement supposed to be 0 to +6 but runs slightly slow a couple seconds, all in all I’d call that a win with QC
Interesting that this topic came up. I bought my first high-end watch three months ago--a Grand Seiko Lake Suwa. Last week, I had to take it back to the boutique to be sent for service (It would stop running when the power reserve indicator was about half depleted). I still love GS and look forward to buying more down the line--that is, if this service goes well.
This just happened to my SBGA373. I literally bought it brand new from an AD a month ago. Took it to the Grand Seiko boutique on Bond Street and they're getting it sorted under warranty. They were shocked at the sight of it doing that. Will update on how long it takes and what the outcome is.
I'm from a family with motorsports in our heritage and also I am involved as a watch collector in the watch industry. What i can say is certain cars are for a certain person... So lets say a Toyota is super reliable with minimum maintenance and does not require any special treatment, just follow the manufacturers guidance. And then lets say a Lotus with a Supercharged Toyota engine requires a different type of maintenance all the time. How you have to warm up the car before putting it through its passes and also cool down after a hard run. Check the oil level before every long journey and after every hard run... every 300 - 500 miles to be exact. Maintain the coolant level and then the tyre pressure all the time. What the book says and actually what you do is a different thing. Then comes the preference for the climate and driving style. Then comes the oil maintenance, as soon as the oil colour starts to change it has changed, because 6ltr is cheaper than an engine rebuild. Then topping up as a high performance engine uses oil every 1000 miles. Then comes the washing and cleaning which we do ourselves because of the special three stage pearl paint. We don't trust these valet places because they don't own vehicles of this calibre they only clean them. On the other hand a Submariner is no maintenance until it stops, breaks or a 5 years check over by a watchmaker. On the other hand a Breguet Mark XX Chrono is looked at in a different way by less wear or a strap and spring bars change and maybe a service and regulated.
I've owned over 250 watches in the past 40 years, I still have 50 so. GShock's have been in the collection since 1985 and I have never had one fail me. Never. I've skied, crash motorcycles, built house and scuba dived with them. Rock soild G-Shocs. I have also never had an unmodified automatic watch fail me. (SKX007 with full mod, seals failed. My fault) Only my sole entry into Steinhart failed me. ETA movement, the bridge spring broke. I had it fixed and sold it. I have received Ali Express watches that were DOA, but again, my fault for buying such a cheap watch. My $50 Timex is still running along side my 25+ year old Omega SMP 300 GMT and my Tudors and Rolex.
So, to the motorcycle comment, how would you explain the GI’s in WW2 whom rode in tanks or motorcycles? They wore their watches and relied on them. Were their watches failing all the time then?
The idea of servicing a watch regularly is relatively new. Pre 1990 or so, this is not how people did things, and they don't break often enough to not save you a TON of money over the regular serving. Re: riding a motorcycle. Yes, I have messed up a vintage Omega by riding wearing it, but my Sinn with an ETA 2824 has no problems, so no excuse for a modern watch.
Not sure where you‘re getting this from. Watches before the 90s are in terrible condition because every tom-dick-n‘ harry watchmaker fumbled around on them. The whole reason brands recommend regular servicing is that you don‘t end up with massive problems in 30 years down the line.
There is nothing fast with getting your watch fixed. My Omega Constellation has been with Omega over a year now. I only wore it once in my home, when I noticed it was not working correctly. I sent it to Omega over 6 months later it comes back still broken, so off it goes again. I originally sent the watch to Omega April last year. Their servicing absolutely sucks.
I’ve owned hundreds of watches. I currently own dozens. Some high end (take your pick) and some lower (like Speedmasters and Rolex). Only an AP needed to go back (twice) under warranty and two Rolex flooded, but they were vintage and needed seals replaced. Everything else has run exceedingly well and never had an issue, except magnetized, which I could fix myself. Maybe I’m anomaly but it don’t think I’d enjoy watches as much if they regularly broke.
I have a speedmaster I bought 20 years ago. It ran slow from the start. I sent it to Omega for service twice. During the first year of owning it, it was on my wrist for about a month. Omega never fixed the timing issue. I still have the watch and it still runs slow. I ended up buying many more watches, so the slow timing doesnt impact me as much as lomg as it can stay within a few minutes over a day that im wearing it. I have two other omegas that run spot on 0spd. So i guess my speedy is a 🍋.
Purchased a Two Tone Rolex Submariner in 1992 and wore it throughout my career as a Firefighter. Never had it serviced. Bought a Hamilton Below Zero that had stopped working within it’s warranty. A PAM00176 Daylight needed servicing after 16 years of ownership.
The watches I've owned have always been influenced by the time I spent working for a high end AD when I was 19-22. I've always stuck to watches I can afford to service. So even though I could've bought an IWC or Omega at an amazing price, I didn't, because I wouldn't be able to afford $500-$1k service (should something happen) until half a decade later. Fun tangent: We didn't sell Rolex, but Ben Bridge down the road did, so when people walked in looking for their "aspirational Rolex", we'd sometimes bring up authorized service to at least plant a seed of doubt in their head. To be fair, it was largely in relation to Omega's then-new Co-Axial escapement, and because Omega's movements were still fairly basic outside of that, at the time. And we obviously never mentioned future service costs for the Cartier we sold.
My grandfather and grandmother both had experiences with lemons and when they asked their friends about it they all had similar experiences. So they invited them all over one night and had a big lemon party.
My royal oak(15400) has broke 3 times in 8 years of ownership. Not doing anything crazy with it, just daily wearing it. Was considering buying a bulgari octo finissimo but ultimately the movement scared me into buying a Cartier Santos. The cost of ownership was just annoying with AP. First service the watch lost its water resistance and the dial discolored/movement stopped. AP wouldn’t service it unless I replaced the dial. Second time, the watch’s movement wouldn’t stay running unless wound. Third time, the watch would run only some of the time.
I am familiar with the Seamaster Omega story. My Omega Seamaster 300 GMT quit working (stopped) after three years. I took my Omega Seamaster GMT 300 GMT to Bend Bridge in Seattle Wa. for repair. About a month latter I was informed my Omega was ready for pick up. I picked up my repaired Omega GMT 300 divers watch along with a note including the old spring…..stating a new version of the coaxial movement had been installed. Great news! Well not so much. Mr repaired Omega appeared to be working perfectly with a caveat; When the hour hand arrived at eleven hour position it would proceed no further while the minute and second hand worked flawlessly!?! I still have the Omega 300 GMT, but I never sent the it for a second repair to correct the hour hand problem. I physically move the hour hand past the eleven hour position and it works great until it arrives at the eleven hour position and stops. After my experience with Omega, I am shell shocked and not to purchase a new overprice Omega watch that is prone to failure. Post Script: I purchased my Omega Seamaster 300 GMT at the Omega boutique in Zurich, Switzerland.
Sorry about your experience. I was thinking about picking up a moonwatch sapphire sandwich at the Omega boutique in Bellevue, WA. I seem to be on the fence now due to QC concerns.
Regarding what is reasonable use . I do not have anything fancy . I have 4 watches in a small colection what resist water to 10 bar and still take them off when washing dishes or any manual work
Yeah..had a prx Powermatic 80, broke after I went on a walk. Movement and rotor seized out of nowhere....3 months of ownership lol. Sent it back, they sent it back still broken. Sadly won't be a Tissot owner for awhile.
I returned my speedmaster 3861 because it needed repair. It was not keeping time properly. Omega said it would take an extended period of time to repair due to supply chain shortages. So I just returned the speedy, and got an explorer 36mm.
I have many watch brands in my collection (Grand Seiko/Tudor/Rolex/Tag Heuer). No problems with any of them except my Omega FOIS Speedmaster. After one year seal issue with moisture under crystal. After two years crown fell off. All covered by warranty but still a pain to get serviced.
If you’re afraid to use your watch, it owns you. That being said, it doesn’t give you license to beat it up unreasonably. There’s an element of common sense and an expectation at the cultural level of how we interface with consumer products in this day and age. I feel previous generations were more respectful of the items they own, but weren’t afraid to use them as well. I have an Explorer 114270 that has been on my wrist for 4 years sailing, surfing, hiking to summits, and general daily use, and its only fault has been that it started running +6 seconds a day. My experience with it has been amazing, but it is something I really appreciate, and you can be sure my left arm goes behind my back when I make a left hand turn through a doorway 😉
This is very coincidental that you have this topic. I bought a Blancpain Swatch last week. I was watching a few UA-cam videos about the pro's and con's of my new shiny watch and the stress was obviously too much. I think I got quite sweaty from the worry, and this perspiration seemed to get into the Swatch. I took it back to the shop, and the Swatch assistant told me that it wasn't guaranteed against excess sweating. So people. Don't sweat near your Blancpain Swatch. It's not covered. But one good bit. No colour came off from the case, while I was wearing it. So I will definitely go and buy another one. They're obviously quality.
Had a seiko actually the only watch that ever stopped and had to be returned and replaced, not fixed, replaced outright ..had a CWard a GS brand new ,lose a movement screw within weeks of ownership, fixed under warranty have a breitling avi brand new with chrono that could never reset to 12 spent 6months with breitling first with service center in the US where they managed to dig a hole in the plexi and then sent to Switzerland to be properly fixed which they did …crap happens but would have been nice of Breitling to include a strap for not seeing a 7k watch for over 6 months but noooo
My Tudor P01 has been in for service twice in the first year of ownership. Once, the date wheel stopped turning over... after they serviced it and sent it back, it would only keep 16hrs of power reserve... They fixed it both times (the second was almost assuredly their fault during servicing anyways), and had it back to me in less than 2 weeks. Shit happens, but it's better to find out something is wrong while it's still under warranty.
You should not change date when your hand is near 12 o'clock, you probably broke it when doing that and then you will have to repair it. Always read the manual when getting a new watch to know how to use it properly
My speelmaster broke after 1 year. Washed my hands and water leaked in. Turned out the gaskets were not good. Omega took care of me and revised the watch in less then a month for free
I love commissioning "seiko-mods". About time when someone finally admit theyre actually the love child watch enthusiast too afraid to acknowledge, when I saw adam savage approved them I grinned. more and more this horology thing has becoming this ivory tower, so intimidating and requires approval. sure its cool having everything manufactured under the same roof, but its kind of remarkable too when parts are made around the world by different manufacturer, finally gets assembled by someone you actually know in person to become a one of a kind piece. its an interesting discussion sure, but i believe its one worth having. anyway, i always thought seiko-mods are fragile, "uncertified", coarse, but i was wrong at least based on mine. my attitude now wearing them is more to know how much they can take a beating, but none has failed yet.
This is weird, this is going to be one of those moments. My good buddy is an omega fan boy but what is interesting in all the year i have known him his watches are always at the shop. So much so he even has a guy now to just avoid the hassle of sending it to omega. I never connected the dots. When we were discussing it another friend of hours instantly went "intro me to your guy" my speed master keeps stopping. Its super weird you guys bring this up honestly. This was like at the back of my mind.
I have had watches come back "wronged" after service from Breguet to Ulysse Nardin to Zenith. From missing screws in the Breguet where I have to wait for them additional 3 months due to covid travel restrictions, to fingerprint smudges in on the inside of the crystal in Zenith and misaligned Movement in the Ulysse Nardin chronograph (also broken dial leg (whatever this means) which I am fighting right now because ULN service center claims i broke it)
I’ve owned 4 different Omegas between 2008-2023 (1974 Seamaster, 007 Seamaster, Speedmaster, Aqua Terra) no issues with any of them. Omega fan for life.
the 007 is the Goldeneye Quartz or another model?
Quartz
Agree same here
I have my grandfathers Speedy from 1969. I’ve had it for the last 15 years. I’ve had it serviced twice Once preemptively and once to resolve an issue. 🤷♂️
Unlike these guys, my most expensive watch is an Oris Aquis. I recently fell on some rocks, jarring the watch a.nd ruining its accuracy. As it was under warranty, I sent it in to an Oris repair center in another country. The watch came back within a week and keeping time at -. 02 sec/day. I highly recommend Oris if you want the Camry of watches.
I just wish they didn’t have the integrated bracelet in that watch. I would love to buy that, but that is such a deal killer to me. Plus, I’m not in love with that bracelet either.
@@mikej5959 lol. For me, the integrated bracelet is one of its biggest advantages. First, I'm a small wristed guy. The short lugs and integrated bracelet allow me to wear the 41.5 mm watch without it looking ridiculously huge. Second, I'm a bracelet guy. I want something that will last, and every strap I've owned is trashed after a year or two. Finally, the Oris bracelet is the most comfortable bracelet I've ever experienced. It's like butter. So, for me, the integrated bracelet design is an essential reason to choose the Oris Aquis over other divers. The one drawback is it lacks on-the-fly adjustment. I wished it had that. BUT I'm also glad the clasp is small, so between the two, I'd rather keep it the way it is.
Oris make solid built watches for sure and at an attainable price point.
@@mikej5959the bracelet on the aquis is honestly amazing. One of the best under 5k. Also you can get an adapter which lets you put any normal strap on the watch
How can you not love Oris! They are awesome!
I own several Omegas ranging from 1-15 years old and none of them have failed me. I’m surprised to hear this.
3861 Sapphire Speedy, faulty out of the box with stuttering chrono that occasionally jams the movement. Currently in warranty service with everyone assuring me "don't worry, Omega will take care of it". I own it now for almost a month and wore it less than 48h. Not a good start and first impression, at least for me.
There is a UA-camr that has previously owned a major gray market watch sales company that provides a warranty for all their watches sold. According to what he said in a video, Omega was the least likely among major luxury brands to be send back for warranty repair.
Blue vs green. What a peculiar way to think about it.
Getting a Jag in British Green is just like getting a Ferrari in Rosso Corsa.
Great watch content.
My friend is the watchmaker at a major watch dealer in the NYC area. I was interested in modern Omega and JLC. He straight up told me that he would never buy a Co-Axial Omega - only a pre-co-axial. He said modern JLC movements are super unreliable and a fortune to service. He recommended sticking to ETA-based Omega, Hamilton, et al, or Rolex. He also said Omegas from the 1960s have some of the greatest most reliable movements of all time. I have a few that have literally never been serviced and they run basically perfectly.
As a watchmaker myself, I completely agree with your friend.
@Wall2157 so a Modern Hamilton would be a good watch? I own a Rolex Air King and a Cartier Tank. So I'm used to high quality watches, and I'm a little worried about the movement quality. I don't want to have to constantly send it in, but I like the watch.
what is an " et al" ? The brand you used between Hamilton and Rolex?
@@tyarnold4088those are not high quality watches my friend. Those are decent entry level Swiss luxury watches. High quality would be Lange, Breguet, Patek, Roger Dubouis, RGM, Gronefeld, etc. It's cute that some people think Rolex and Cartier are high horology/quality.
@blakeoneal4385 quality as in they keep time. They have kept great time for over 13 years. Those brands you Named are fancier, use precious metals in their movements and have more polishing. But they do not keep time year after year as well as a Rolex. And I could merely bitch slap one of those watches and they would stop working. Lol. You don't know shit about watches. Your BITCH ASS probably lives in your mom's basement.
I purchased a Patek 5119J from an AD the last year the model was offered for sale. Within a month I noticed its power reserve was much lower than advertised. I sent it back to Patek via the AD to have it serviced. Patek responded saying maybe I was not winding it fully, and sent it back to me without opening it up or doing anything else. I said no, I was winding it fully and sent it back to Patek again via the AD. The second time Patek opened up the watch and found they had to completely replace the barrel. It was covered under warranty. Patek did not apologize or do anything to make up for accusing me of user error. I vowed to never buy another Patek. The AD offered me a ceramic Daytona (I never purchased a Rolex before) to make up for the bad experience. A year later, Patek pulled its watches from that AD. But the AD still sells Rolexes.
My wife had a similar experience with her Datejust. It would regularly stop on her wrist. This was a fully-wounded automatic watch that was just serviced. RSC "accused" her of being too sedentary. Lol She's a doctor who moves around a lot. I bought her a Quartz Cartier and an Apple watch and she's very happy with them. She had enough with the "mechanical marvel".
I had a tudor blackbay that did that. I told my AD about it. They wrapped it up and sent it to Rolex. Rolex did not find anything wrong, but they did a full service on it and worked fine when I got it back.
I own a Tissot Seastar 2000 - for past 2,5 years I took it everywhere with me, it went probably through every activity that I do daily...never skipped a bit. One time my kid wore it as a hat, it fell from a 1m height on the floor - still going strong, highly recommend. Not to mention exceptional legibility and fantastic dial.
My 1861 speedmaster is still going strong, bought in 2005 and worn frequently. I love that watch it was on my wrist when my daughter was born and will be hers one day.
I wear my Orient Kamasu to work every day. I’m a machinist dealing with carbon fiber, wood, plastics and a large amount of steel. Lots of exposure to coolant, WD-40 and various other chemicals. I use a hammer, and impact drill quite regularly.
Short of a few scratches, and dust buildup, I have no noticeable issues with the watch and it’s time keeping. I gain like 10s a day which is pretty decent for that watch. I’ve recently started wearing my Formex Reef and Oris Aquis (this last week or so) to work, and have had no noticeable issues either, but too soon to tell. What happens happens. I’ve made my choice
A list of some of the beatings my SKX has endured; daily construction, motorcycle, mountain bike, triathlons, 200 degree sauna into cold plunges, splitting wood, surfing… etc. never has a single issue and still keeps time within 5 see/day.
My skx007 has probably been beaten so much it has felt the equivalent of a nuclear blast, but dropped it after taking it off a nato strap the other week and my seconds hand popped off. Devastated.
The 7S26 is renowned for its durability for sure! Although I had an Orient calibre that supposedly was “quite similar” (maybe like a Sellita sw200 is to an ETA 2824) and I managed to mess it up real good. The “trick” was repeated shocks from ski poles, while not covering up the watch well (or at all) in -15 degree C air… that sure did it. It ran hours off per day after that.
I’ve been using quartz for xc skiing ever since, although the automatic may have survived it fine if I didn’t let it get cold while getting shocks
@@oes2546 Orient watches are in fact a brand of the SEIKO company, however they use their own specific line of calibers.
For xmass 2009 my wife got me a black Omega Seamaster 300. I wore it every day doing whatever I was doing - camping, cutting down trees with an axe, working around the shop, fixing cars, at the office, hunting, slept with it on every night, it didn't matter, it was my one watch. I have dress watches but rarely wear them. No issues at all and at about 10 years I sent it in to Omega for its first service and it was losing .8 seconds a day. That to me is a tool watch, and what a tool watch should do. Just a data point.
I have a basic omega constellation made in 1998. It still runs just fine after decades of travelling generous with me. I wear it sparingly now though. I want to pass it on eventually. Daily wearer is a self modded Casio duro. Fantastic watch.
I have been collecting watches for the last 10 years, with brands ranging from Microbrands, to Seiko, to Omega and Rolex. I don’t baby my watches at all. The only issues I’ve had are:
- My Heuer Monaco movement stopping after 8 years of ownership (bought new). Rectified with a visit to the service centre and 7 weeks of waiting.
- Magnetism affecting lower-end movements, such as my Seikos and Microbrands.
Worn a Speedy for over 30 years without issue .
In the 90s and early 2000s, BMWs came with little plastic plaques in the trunk that showed you how to orient golf club bags to maximize the number that fit in that particular trunk, and how many can fit.
I bought a brand new Omega Moon Watch Saphire Sandwich last year. Within 3 months, one of my pushers fell off and the other pusher was loose. I didn't abuse the watch, it was a factory issue. I sent it back for repair and they only fixed the one pusher that came off, and not the other one that was loose. Now 1 year later it's back at Omega Repair to fix the 2nd pusher. It took a little over 3 months to get it back the first time and I have no idea how long it will take this year.
For a watch that I spent $7,200 on, I couldn't be more upset about it. It's under warranty, but they should have fixed both pushers the first time that I sent it in for repair. I love the watch and would be more forgiving if they fixed both problems the first damn time.
I had a 2020 Jaguar F-Type in red, never had an issue. Enjoy it.
Almost "upgraded" from an 1861 speedy to the modern 3861. Videos like this make me relieved I haven't. My 1861 is 7 years old now, knocked around including submerged in water and still accurate as ever at +3 sec/day
1861 is better tbh.
I’ve had about 6 1861’s, and they all were very inaccurate. I’ve owned 5 3861’s now, and they all run within +1.5 seconds per 24 hours. Incredible
1861s are where it's at. I've owned 17 and all 0.0 seconds accurate. Stupendous.
3861s are chronographs that time intervals between needing service.
I own an Oris diver sixty five with the new caliber 400 movement. It came with a 10 year warranty given the unproven movement. I’ve owned it for 2 years and recently sent it into be serviced because it would randomly stop even though I wear it every day. Service was super quick, only took 5 weeks to get it back, but it keeps stopping every so often. I’ll probably have to send it in again soon
Swiss watches are overrated. Especially the Oris 65.
It's a beautiful watch though...
Hi, my Tissot Seastar 2000 needed a bezel mechanism fix . It started to turn freely in both directions after a year or so of ownership. I've sended it in to Tissot and it was fixed within 3 weeks under warranty with the cost of shipping both ways cowered by the brand, so I'm very happy with the customer service. Mechanical things brake sometimes, we have to take it into consideration.
True. Tissot offers a tremendous price to quality ratio.
I have an Omega Seamaster Pro 300 that I purchased new in 1999. In 2000 it went back to Omega because I damaged the bracelet in a mountain bike accident. They did a complimentary service to the movement under warranty while it was there. That was the LAST time the caseback was off the watch! 23 years now without a servicing and when I wore it the other day it was still +4 seconds a day. Unreal.
They don’t make them like that anymore. Watches nowadays are basically junk
My Christopher Ward came broken, the replacement was also broken, but the third has been amazing for the last 6 years. Amazing customer service.
Been using my Oyster Perpetual 34mm almost every day for 3 years, done 12 000 kms on a motorcycle with it (most of), used Lime electric scooters, travelled through Scandinavia for my wedding trip with a camper. All sorts of other activities. Now my 6month son keeps playing with it.
After 4-5 months of constatnt runtime it gained 30secs - compared it today to my g-shock that syns with atomic clock.
No problems at all. Rolex AD told me that the service interval for the reference number 124200 (silicon hairspring inside) is around 10 years - I tried to have it maintenanced after those years as I thought it should be.
My dad got me a Junghans chronoscope. 3 months in , without shock , one of the chrono sub dial hands fell off. Sent it back to Junghans. 4 months later I got it back. But there was dust all over the dial and black gunk all over the side of the Chrystal.
I wear a Marthon GSAR most days of the week. I work on airplanes and installing rivets, sanding and hammer use are the norm. I shoot competitively on the weekends shooting probably at least 200 a week. That is TONS of vibration and I haven't had a problem. I have owned this watch for almost 10 years and still haven't had to get it serviced yet. It still holds +/- 10seconds per day.
My lifestyle is not easy on watches. Brand new Omega Seamaster quartz had to go back second hand was hitting in the middle of the markers. Did come back fixed. 2021 Speedmaster professional stopped working 6 months after I bought it whenever I used the Chrono. Came back fixed and running good. Still not a good track record 2 for 2. I have and have own Rolex’s from 1965-2023 never had one miss a beat. Wore them all the time. I’ve had a bunch of seiko, generally tough but I have broke a couple seiko SKX’s from hard shocks. Also Broke a few G-shocks and Suunto’s over the years.
While you will likely love the Jag. Good luck with it's quality lol.....I work in automotive and my wife works for insurance we both see how terrible quality Jags are as soon as you drive it off the lot.
This 💯…too bad we can’t save him before he realizes the money pit he bought 😂
Yep. Mechanic here in the UK. Jaguar are owned by Land Rover, and Land Rover are at the very top of my sh!t list 😂. Awful, overpriced junk.
Is the same true for Jags from the 90s and 2000s?? Or just modern ones? Really curious.
15:00. Sooo true! “When it’s more complicated there are more things to break”. That’s exactly why I prefer to own simpler watches. A three-hander is all I need. I don’t need perpetual calendars, chronographs, moon phase, etc. they’re interesting….but can to lead to malfunction and significant cost when things go wrong.
I don't even like date windows, time only watches are the way to go for me.
I don’t even like a mechanism. Just wear a sundial on my wrist.
@@willburrows8834 here comes will the moron who thinks he's funny.
I bought a omega seamaster 300m brand new. I had it week and had to send it in because the date was not turning over. It got stuck on the 30th. It's been 4 weeks, and I'm still waiting to get it back from service.
Hah! Right after watching Adam's watch video on how his Omegas were in service, my Green Seamaster 300m (11 months old) had its clasp jammed out of nowhere! Had to send it in to the boutique where they took in to the service centre. I'm guessing they couldn't fix my clasp because they replaced it with a new fresh one. Mind you, I take care of my watches and not slam it on the desk when doing work.
I bought a brand new Zenith Chronomaster Sport last month. Beautiful watch up until one of the pushers went missing upon watch glance. I was still in the honeymoon phase and did absolutely no activity wearing it other than going out to dinner and puttering around the house. The AD had a 7 day return policy and fortunately happened on day 6. Goodbye Zenith!
Modern Jags are a lot more reliable than their reputation leads some to think they will be. They're still not Lexus-level, but I'll take the reliability tradeoff for the driving experience any day.
Good call on picking green.
If you want durable, the Grand Seiko 9F movements are tanks.
My seamaster pro bought in 2012 took on humidity in my first swim in it. I never went below 6 feet. It was fixed.
Now it completely stop working.
I toasted my Seiko SARB017 Alpinist by wearing it at the range. I think it just couldn't take repeated firing of the S & W .44 magnum.
I own six Omegas dated from 1970 to 2016 and have had zero issues with any of them. This was a sadly click-baity episode.
If you'll pardon a lengthy comment, I wrote a reply on a post yesterday that was asking how delicate mechanical watches were, and I think it's coincidentally quite relevant to this video's topic.
They're breakable, but I wouldn't call them fragile. Especially in these price ranges, it's SOOO much more worth it to enjoy and relax and actually wear these watches, even if you have to repair it once or twice over the years. It's so much more enjoyable to get to that place where you're going to wear it how you want and accept that maybe it will need some help someday. Babying a watch is no guarantee it will never have an issue either.
It's like a car without the risk of bodily harm. You could keep the rpm low, brake softly, stay away from bumps and dirt and rocks, park it indoors, wax it, cover the seats, and maintain it like racecar. You could do all that and still have parts die on you, tires leak, lines clog, wires short, etc. How would you feel then? You took all the fun away and still had to send it to the shop...
Or you could just maintain it as recommended, let it serve you instead of serving it, enjoy the hell out of it, and accept that things need repairing sometimes. Not to say to never think about it, you should respect what it is, but living with a watch that takes some hard knocks sometimes is, if you ask me, more respectful to the watch than choosing not to take it along for the adventure.
Using something, breaking it, fixing it, and using it some more used to be how we approached everything, but now we live with so much stuff that isn't repairable that we fear something breaking like it's the end of the road. With something serviceable like a watch, breaking is just a speed bump, baby. Get back in the fight, we got shit to do.
I should add, the context of this was a discussion about sub $1000 watches. There are obviously certain watches or philosophies of collecting where living your life with it on your wrist is less viable, like rare vintage watches or hyper-luxurious, delicate watches.
Parts and servicing dry up after production ends. Also, servicing will lead to unnecessary replacement of visible exterior parts, ruining the value of the watch. Servicing is a bad idea. Best to avoid damaging your watch
Over the past decade I've worn a Seiko Sea Urchin SNZF15, a Vostok Amphibia and a Steinhart Ocean one that were all my daily watch at one point. Not a single one has had an issue with heavy use and abuse. This is with plenty of equipment use, ATVs, dirt bikes, motorcycles, camping and chopping wood, and just about anything else. No troubles, no worries.
The worst thing I've had with any of them is being magnetized, but that's a cheap tool and easy enough to fix yourself.
In the past couple of years I've picked up a number of Chinese watches with PT5000's, and ST2130's, to my surprise the ETA 2824 clones do quite well and over the past year I've not had a single issue with any one of the six watches I have with those movements.
My one watch is a Omega SMP 300M I got new just before covid. I wear it basically all the time, except for in the shower, and it's working well to this day. I wear it while swimming, changing the oil, making a fire, camping, yard work, remodeling, etc. It's a tough one
My new Meta-certified, co-axial Speedmaster with the 3861 movement stopped ticking within 6 months of purchase. It was shipped back to Omega and they changed almost every part in the movement (I guess they couldn’t understand what was wrong with it). Now it works fine and have been for about 20 months.
mine has just failed after 7 months... did you get a report on their diagnosis and repair work?
Just sent my Speedmaster in for repair. Despite its truly remarkable accuracy, it recently stopped working, even on a full wind. I got it in Jan 2021. It's still under warranty, but they told me 4-6 months! Yikes.
did the chrono cause the movement to stop? was it fixed? still functioning ok?
@daveydarko5026 I'm not sure what the issue was.
I have a speedmaster triple date reduced that was built around 2010ish from what I can tell. I bought it 2 years ago from a guy in Japan on ebay. During the verification process they cut the case back gasket and didn't tell me. So 2 months after I got my dream watch the dial fogged and when I took the case back off, a cut piece fell into the balance an completely stopped the watch. $800 later the watch is perfect and I daily drive it. I'm hard on it to, landscaping, loading things. So I think sometimes things happen. Bur omega makes a good watch.
As a drummer, shock has always been my concern. I’ve checked on a g-force meter before and an average stroke can be between 12 and 18 G’s. So yea, I always take my watches off when I play.
I have a JLC Geophysic 1958 and during the first year of ownership I sent it twice to Switzerland, first time it was running two fast, second time it just stopped working, according to the dealer JLC in Switzerland changed the entire movement. It’s been working perfectly since then but it was a very frustrating experience. Cheers
I bought a grey market Bulgari Octo in 2020 and it was running 2 minutes fast after about 2 years, 3 month service time but since then it's been fine.
That might have just been magnetized. I’d say that’s pretty good. Those watches are really sharp looking. Hoping for a 38mm someday.
Car companies put requirements on their cars, and one that is very common is to fit a bag of golf clubs. Some convertibles have the req to fit the golf clubs even with the roof down. It’s not a coincidence, it’s planned for.
About 2 years ago I bought a white dial seamster that worked well for a year and then the crown wouldn't screw down ... I sent it back for service (no charge) they returned it 2 weeks later but it was still not working properly. I sent it back again (was out for 4 weeks) came back last week and so far is working as expected. No out of pocket cost and turn time I think was good. That said, kind of a big issue if the 300m dive watch doesn't have a working screw down crown 😂. Great stuff guys!!
I have my Rolex 16610 that I received new when I was 18. I get it serviced once a decade. I've done everything with it. Skiing, mountain climbing, snorkeling, scuba diving, it has just kept going, although it is pretty scratched up. I did have to replace the crystal which I managed to chip.
I left the watch hobby because its getting ridiculous and I predict in 2024 there will be a flood of watches with huge discounts!
Where did you go since leaving the hobby?
Please oh please oh please be right.
@@michaelriera6277apparently he left the hobby and went to watch enthusiast UA-cam channels.
@@michaelriera6277apparently the theo and Harris comment section still watching wrist watch content 😂😂
I have around 6 watches and have never had any break by themselves. I do tend to take good care of them though and am careful when wearing them for anything other than going to the office.
i have a 1998 1863 Speedy, a 2013 42mm planet ocean, and have had a few others... they are easily the hardiest watches ive had, 5 year check ups and still havent needed any servicing or repair. But my Tudors, Sea Dwellers, Daytona, Breitlings and Zenith have allll had multiple issues per item. Its only my side of the story but Omega continue to stand the tests of daily use for me
Yeah my Planet Ocean is going 10 years + with no problems. Great watch, but I wear it much less since getting the Speedmaster (which I just sent in for repair, actually). Stopped working.
My recent Omegas all needed servicing within a year. My Tudor doesn't need anything.
@@Qubnomil - I had the opposite experience. My Omega PO has been through everything and remains strong. My Tudor has been in for service 3 times.
Vostok Amphibia cost me about 70 $, it has been ten years I have been wearing it, it has fallen on the ground terribly once so even one lume index got detached, but the movement was absolutely fine. The only service it has gotten was putting that lume index back into its place. The watch works nicely and wears charmingly, get looks of admiration and even compliments. I don’t think Rolex Submariner which cost 120 times more would have made me happier and would have withstood so long without serious service. High price doesn’t reflect the real quality of a wristwatch. In summary, never pay more than ~ 800 $ for a wristwatch.
I gave my Amphibia to my 5 year old because he wanted a watch. I don’t know what he did with it but it stopped working after 2 days. I miss that watch. The most erratic time keeper I’ve ever owned.
Are you sure it was exactly Amphibia and not just Vostok komandirskie with 17 rubies? Because Amphibias never stop working.
Had an Oris diver stop running within the first month. After I got it back, it ran solid for 15 years. With my collection, I've had issues with some but have been fairly lucky.
My grandpa has an Orient that he got in a Hong Kong refugee camp in 1976, works great. My orient ray ii that I bought used in 2015 still runs fine no service. My omega speedmaster reduced was serviced in 2021 and thankfully the movement broke again within the 2 year warranty LMAO
People watching the video, skip to 21:00 and save yourself time.🤐
We need a Consumer Reports style survey for watch reliability. I've had a couple issues with cheap Fossil watches (mechanical and quartz) back in the day (Kudos to their 10 year warranty) and back in the late '90s, I had an issue with a quartz Victorinox that was repaired under warranty, but I've never had anything break otherwise. Either I'm lucky or I just don't abuse my watches. I certainly don't baby them, as shown by the nick on my Explorer II in the 6 months I've owned it.
I will say too, my Seiko and Citizen, 7S26 and Miyota 8203, no issues ever. Do they keep perfect time, hell no. Are they reliable? Absolutely.
Those two are among the greatest watch movements of all time in my opinion. Like you said, they don't keep perfect time, but boy are they reliable!
@@kresimirpleic couldn't agree more!!!
I own a watch with an ETA2824-2. A tractor movement. It had broken twice in 7 years.
The first one was my fault. I was hand winding it too much. One of winding wheels was damaged. And it stopped. As I learned later it’s a known weakness of ET2824-2.
The second time a screw holding a bridge snapped. Watchmaker said it wasn’t my fault. Everything else was fine with the movement. It was serviced a few year prior when it broke the first time.
Being an ETA2824-2 it didn’t cost me much. Around $200 total for both repairs, parts included.
You shouldn’t really be able to damage a modern, automatic movement by winding too much. They have a clutch that slips when the reserve is full.
It must have happened to me:
A common fault with ETA 2824 and 2836 movements is sticking reversers. When this happens the hand-winding becomes tight and the rotor spins, if both reversers lock up and the determined owner continues to wind the crown something has to give and it's usually the teeth on the ratchet wheel that break.
For me, having gone through ~100 watches in my collection (and checked out many more), I seem to be cursed with misaligned hands. I.e., when the minute hand is at 0, the hour hand is either behind or ahead of the hour marker. Either I'm cursed or this is prevalent and nobody else notices or cares, but I've had bad luck with nearly every brand from Seiko and Hamilton to Rolex and AP. The one exception is Grand Seiko. I just don't understand why a company would spend so much effort making these pieces "perfect", so much resources into movements and finishing... and then not line up the very hands that provide a watch's only actual function.
I bought a brand new (from an AD) Seamaster 300M in March and the buckle has broken and been replaced twice. Apparently there is a bad batch in circulation so now the dealers just carry stock and will replace in store to save you sending away. Poor for a £5k watch!
Omega Speedy:- 7 years, started to lose time, but overdue due a service anyway. Another 4.5 years, spring broke, but service almost due. Another 2 years, started losing time... So it seems like intervals are getting shorter...
Which mechanical watch is good for golfing? Rolex explorer?
I recently had an experience with Hamilton. My wife and kids pooled their money for Father’s Day to purchase a Khaki Field Murph 42 from an authorized dealer a couple of years ago. Last year the winding became an issue. I sent it back to Hamilton under warranty. After a month the watch was returned to me with the crown and stem crooked. It went back and after 3 months the watch was returned with a new case, stem and crown, but behaved even worse 2 weeks later. The dealer declared it a lemon and an exchange was done. I’m happy they have such good cust. service and the dealer was awesome about it, but the original watch is no more and the thought did occur to me that this may be WHY their cust. service is so good. Had a bad experience with Bulova but that’s for another day.
Multiple Omega owner here, my speedy date with the omega finished 7750, still runs +1 after 12 years no service. Seamaster pro does have a minor clasp issue where it gets stuck from time to time and movement supposed to be 0 to +6 but runs slightly slow a couple seconds, all in all I’d call that a win with QC
Interesting that this topic came up. I bought my first high-end watch three months ago--a Grand Seiko Lake Suwa. Last week, I had to take it back to the boutique to be sent for service (It would stop running when the power reserve indicator was about half depleted). I still love GS and look forward to buying more down the line--that is, if this service goes well.
Curious to hear how long it takes.
This just happened to my SBGA373. I literally bought it brand new from an AD a month ago. Took it to the Grand Seiko boutique on Bond Street and they're getting it sorted under warranty. They were shocked at the sight of it doing that. Will update on how long it takes and what the outcome is.
I'm from a family with motorsports in our heritage and also I am involved as a watch collector in the watch industry.
What i can say is certain cars are for a certain person... So lets say a Toyota is super reliable with minimum maintenance and does not require any special treatment, just follow the manufacturers guidance. And then lets say a Lotus with a Supercharged Toyota engine requires a different type of maintenance all the time. How you have to warm up the car before putting it through its passes and also cool down after a hard run. Check the oil level before every long journey and after every hard run... every 300 - 500 miles to be exact. Maintain the coolant level and then the tyre pressure all the time.
What the book says and actually what you do is a different thing. Then comes the preference for the climate and driving style.
Then comes the oil maintenance, as soon as the oil colour starts to change it has changed, because 6ltr is cheaper than an engine rebuild. Then topping up as a high performance engine uses oil every 1000 miles.
Then comes the washing and cleaning which we do ourselves because of the special three stage pearl paint. We don't trust these valet places because they don't own vehicles of this calibre they only clean them.
On the other hand a Submariner is no maintenance until it stops, breaks or a 5 years check over by a watchmaker. On the other hand a Breguet Mark XX Chrono is looked at in a different way by less wear or a strap and spring bars change and maybe a service and regulated.
I've owned over 250 watches in the past 40 years, I still have 50 so. GShock's have been in the collection since 1985 and I have never had one fail me. Never. I've skied, crash motorcycles, built house and scuba dived with them. Rock soild G-Shocs. I have also never had an unmodified automatic watch fail me. (SKX007 with full mod, seals failed. My fault)
Only my sole entry into Steinhart failed me. ETA movement, the bridge spring broke. I had it fixed and sold it.
I have received Ali Express watches that were DOA, but again, my fault for buying such a cheap watch.
My $50 Timex is still running along side my 25+ year old Omega SMP 300 GMT and my Tudors and Rolex.
I love these chats and I know that’s just Christian’s personality but my god these two feel like they’re in such different socioeconomic groups.
It’s because they are lol
So, to the motorcycle comment, how would you explain the GI’s in WW2 whom rode in tanks or motorcycles? They wore their watches and relied on them. Were their watches failing all the time then?
Stupid question but does g shock and Casio even have a service center ?
The idea of servicing a watch regularly is relatively new. Pre 1990 or so, this is not how people did things, and they don't break often enough to not save you a TON of money over the regular serving.
Re: riding a motorcycle. Yes, I have messed up a vintage Omega by riding wearing it, but my Sinn with an ETA 2824 has no problems, so no excuse for a modern watch.
Not sure where you‘re getting this from. Watches before the 90s are in terrible condition because every tom-dick-n‘ harry watchmaker fumbled around on them. The whole reason brands recommend regular servicing is that you don‘t end up with massive problems in 30 years down the line.
@@JamesIdentityi got the from being old
There is nothing fast with getting your watch fixed. My Omega Constellation has been with Omega over a year now. I only wore it once in my home, when I noticed it was not working correctly. I sent it to Omega over 6 months later it comes back still broken, so off it goes again. I originally sent the watch to Omega April last year. Their servicing absolutely sucks.
I’ve owned hundreds of watches. I currently own dozens. Some high end (take your pick) and some lower (like Speedmasters and Rolex). Only an AP needed to go back (twice) under warranty and two Rolex flooded, but they were vintage and needed seals replaced. Everything else has run exceedingly well and never had an issue, except magnetized, which I could fix myself. Maybe I’m anomaly but it don’t think I’d enjoy watches as much if they regularly broke.
I have a speedmaster I bought 20 years ago. It ran slow from the start. I sent it to Omega for service twice. During the first year of owning it, it was on my wrist for about a month. Omega never fixed the timing issue. I still have the watch and it still runs slow. I ended up buying many more watches, so the slow timing doesnt impact me as much as lomg as it can stay within a few minutes over a day that im wearing it. I have two other omegas that run spot on 0spd. So i guess my speedy is a 🍋.
Purchased a Two Tone Rolex Submariner in 1992 and wore it throughout my career as a Firefighter. Never had it serviced. Bought a Hamilton Below Zero that had stopped working within it’s warranty. A PAM00176 Daylight needed servicing after 16 years of ownership.
what happened to his rolex explorer? did the water got in the watch? or broke the crown?
My Omega has been amazing. People rant a lot louder when they have an issue then when everything is perfect
My Smiths PRS48 had the mainspring snap which was kind of annoying. My Nezumi chronograph had a pusher fall off.
The watches I've owned have always been influenced by the time I spent working for a high end AD when I was 19-22. I've always stuck to watches I can afford to service. So even though I could've bought an IWC or Omega at an amazing price, I didn't, because I wouldn't be able to afford $500-$1k service (should something happen) until half a decade later.
Fun tangent: We didn't sell Rolex, but Ben Bridge down the road did, so when people walked in looking for their "aspirational Rolex", we'd sometimes bring up authorized service to at least plant a seed of doubt in their head.
To be fair, it was largely in relation to Omega's then-new Co-Axial escapement, and because Omega's movements were still fairly basic outside of that, at the time. And we obviously never mentioned future service costs for the Cartier we sold.
My grandfather and grandmother both had experiences with lemons and when they asked their friends about it they all had similar experiences. So they invited them all over one night and had a big lemon party.
My royal oak(15400) has broke 3 times in 8 years of ownership. Not doing anything crazy with it, just daily wearing it. Was considering buying a bulgari octo finissimo but ultimately the movement scared me into buying a Cartier Santos. The cost of ownership was just annoying with AP. First service the watch lost its water resistance and the dial discolored/movement stopped. AP wouldn’t service it unless I replaced the dial. Second time, the watch’s movement wouldn’t stay running unless wound. Third time, the watch would run only some of the time.
I am familiar with the Seamaster Omega story. My Omega Seamaster 300 GMT quit working (stopped) after three years. I took my Omega Seamaster GMT 300 GMT to Bend Bridge in Seattle Wa. for repair. About a month latter I was informed my Omega was ready for pick up. I picked up my repaired Omega GMT 300 divers watch along with a note including the old spring…..stating a new version of the coaxial movement had been installed. Great news! Well not so much. Mr repaired Omega appeared to be working perfectly with a caveat; When the hour hand arrived at eleven hour position it would proceed no further while the minute and second hand worked flawlessly!?! I still have the Omega 300 GMT, but I never sent the it for a second repair to correct the hour hand problem. I physically move the hour hand past the eleven hour position and it works great until it arrives at the eleven hour position and stops. After my experience with Omega, I am shell shocked and not to purchase a new overprice Omega watch that is prone to failure. Post Script: I purchased my Omega Seamaster 300 GMT at the Omega boutique in Zurich, Switzerland.
Sorry about your experience. I was thinking about picking up a moonwatch sapphire sandwich at the Omega boutique in Bellevue, WA. I seem to be on the fence now due to QC concerns.
Regarding what is reasonable use . I do not have anything fancy . I have 4 watches in a small colection what resist water to 10 bar and still take them off when washing dishes or any manual work
What I really wanna know are the odds on a Royal Oak chronograph's pushers falling off. One in five? One in three?
Whats the company with 14%?
My Seamaster is a quartz model. I think that was a good move in hindsight.
Yeah..had a prx Powermatic 80, broke after I went on a walk. Movement and rotor seized out of nowhere....3 months of ownership lol. Sent it back, they sent it back still broken. Sadly won't be a Tissot owner for awhile.
Those are junk. Avoid. Literally disposable
I returned my speedmaster 3861 because it needed repair. It was not keeping time properly. Omega said it would take an extended period of time to repair due to supply chain shortages. So I just returned the speedy, and got an explorer 36mm.
did you use a timegrapher to check ots accuracy or how did you measure the timekeeping accuracy?
I have many watch brands in my collection (Grand Seiko/Tudor/Rolex/Tag Heuer). No problems with any of them except my Omega FOIS Speedmaster. After one year seal issue with moisture under crystal. After two years crown fell off. All covered by warranty but still a pain to get serviced.
If you’re afraid to use your watch, it owns you. That being said, it doesn’t give you license to beat it up unreasonably. There’s an element of common sense and an expectation at the cultural level of how we interface with consumer products in this day and age. I feel previous generations were more respectful of the items they own, but weren’t afraid to use them as well. I have an Explorer 114270 that has been on my wrist for 4 years sailing, surfing, hiking to summits, and general daily use, and its only fault has been that it started running +6 seconds a day. My experience with it has been amazing, but it is something I really appreciate, and you can be sure my left arm goes behind my back when I make a left hand turn through a doorway 😉
This is very coincidental that you have this topic. I bought a Blancpain Swatch last week. I was watching a few UA-cam videos about the pro's and con's of my new shiny watch and the stress was obviously too much. I think I got quite sweaty from the worry, and this perspiration seemed to get into the Swatch. I took it back to the shop, and the Swatch assistant told me that it wasn't guaranteed against excess sweating. So people. Don't sweat near your Blancpain Swatch. It's not covered. But one good bit. No colour came off from the case, while I was wearing it. So I will definitely go and buy another one. They're obviously quality.
Had a seiko actually the only watch that ever stopped and had to be returned and replaced, not fixed, replaced outright ..had a CWard a GS brand new ,lose a movement screw within weeks of ownership, fixed under warranty have a breitling avi brand new with chrono that could never reset to 12 spent 6months with breitling first with service center in the US where they managed to dig a hole in the plexi and then sent to Switzerland to be properly fixed which they did …crap happens but would have been nice of Breitling to include a strap for not seeing a 7k watch for over 6 months but noooo
My Tudor P01 has been in for service twice in the first year of ownership. Once, the date wheel stopped turning over... after they serviced it and sent it back, it would only keep 16hrs of power reserve...
They fixed it both times (the second was almost assuredly their fault during servicing anyways), and had it back to me in less than 2 weeks.
Shit happens, but it's better to find out something is wrong while it's still under warranty.
You should not change date when your hand is near 12 o'clock, you probably broke it when doing that and then you will have to repair it.
Always read the manual when getting a new watch to know how to use it properly
No scratches ever? The scratches you give it adds to its character IMHO.
My speelmaster broke after 1 year. Washed my hands and water leaked in. Turned out the gaskets were not good. Omega took care of me and revised the watch in less then a month for free
16:39 cars are so much more expensive to fix? Consider the size of a car and the size of a watch. By volume, watches are crazy expensive to fix.
I love commissioning "seiko-mods". About time when someone finally admit theyre actually the love child watch enthusiast too afraid to acknowledge, when I saw adam savage approved them I grinned. more and more this horology thing has becoming this ivory tower, so intimidating and requires approval. sure its cool having everything manufactured under the same roof, but its kind of remarkable too when parts are made around the world by different manufacturer, finally gets assembled by someone you actually know in person to become a one of a kind piece. its an interesting discussion sure, but i believe its one worth having. anyway, i always thought seiko-mods are fragile, "uncertified", coarse, but i was wrong at least based on mine. my attitude now wearing them is more to know how much they can take a beating, but none has failed yet.
My speed master is 11 years old without a service and hasn’t missed a beat.
This is weird, this is going to be one of those moments. My good buddy is an omega fan boy but what is interesting in all the year i have known him his watches are always at the shop. So much so he even has a guy now to just avoid the hassle of sending it to omega. I never connected the dots. When we were discussing it another friend of hours instantly went "intro me to your guy" my speed master keeps stopping. Its super weird you guys bring this up honestly. This was like at the back of my mind.
I have had watches come back "wronged" after service from Breguet to Ulysse Nardin to Zenith. From missing screws in the Breguet where I have to wait for them additional 3 months due to covid travel restrictions, to fingerprint smudges in on the inside of the crystal in Zenith and misaligned Movement in the Ulysse Nardin chronograph (also broken dial leg (whatever this means) which I am fighting right now because ULN service center claims i broke it)