Omega Speedmaster repair | FerrariChat

Omega Speedmaster repair

Discussion in 'Fine Watches, Jewelry, & Clothes' started by Nurburgringer, May 28, 2010.

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  1. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

    Jan 3, 2009
    11,184
    Texass
    Hi all,

    A few years ago a german friend purchased an Omega Speedmaster in the USA and had it shipped to me.

    He just emailed me from Germany saying it's accuracy has been slipping, currently off 11 seconds/day.

    A german Omega dealer said he needs to go through the US vendor for warranty work; luckily that vendor has been responsive to his questions. They suggested that it may just need to be 'demagnetized', but if it is a serious repair it would be sent (through them in Brooklyn) to Omega.

    Nothing found here searching for "demagnetize", just curious if anyone has experience with this. Would appreciate any input on the issue and possible fixes.

    I suggested to my friend as an alternative to repairing the Omega he could buy the new Ferrari watch with 1 sec/day accuracy, but of course he'd need to buy a Ferrari car first...

    cheers
    Kurt
     
  2. definitelysomeday

    definitelysomeday Formula Junior

    Aug 7, 2009
    656
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Full Name:
    Tom Kavan
    How would your friend have magnetized the watch? Is he an engineer or have some other reason to be around strong magnetic fields?

    Watchmakers have machines to to demagnetize watches. For what it is going to cost to send the watch to the US and back to Europe, just have him pick a watch maker at home. It might just need a simple adjustment of the balance.
     
  3. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

    Jan 3, 2009
    11,184
    Texass
    Thanks for the reply Tom.
    Don't think he regularly works around magnetic fields, but he is going to check out having it de-magged in Germany.

    He'll be in the States this summer for my wedding so if it's a serious/costly repair he'll likely ship it to Brooklyn while over here and maybe pick it up from me during the next trip.

    Kurt


     
  4. dsd

    dsd F1 Rookie
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 19, 2006
    4,271
    Northern Virginia
    Watches becoming magnetized are very common and very simple for any watch repair facility.

    What Speedmaster did he buy? The Speedy Pro Moon watch has serious anti-gausse ratings-- one of the reasons it was selected to go to the moon, so are you sure it has been magnetized?

    -dsd
     
  5. VTChris

    VTChris F1 World Champ

    Aug 21, 2005
    13,259
    If it has been magnetized it would run much much worse than 11 sec/day.
    Usually more along the lines of 5 minutes a day from what I have seen.

    And the culprit usually is a winder without protection around its magnet
     
  6. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

    Jan 3, 2009
    11,184
    Texass
    it is the 'Day Date' model

    http://www.watchmaxx.com/3220-50.html

    He doesn't yet know what the issue is, the seller (WatchMaxx) only suggested he have a local (i.e. German) place try to 'demagnetize' it as a possible easy fix.

    VTC - thanks. I don't know anything about mechanical watches, so 11 sec/day doesn't mean much to me. Is this considered 'out of spec' for a watch like this?

    I wear a basic quartz Swiss Army watch with a black fabric velcro band BTW, spend too much money on my 308 to consider anything fancier :)

    cheers
     
  7. Dutchman

    Dutchman F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 4, 2002
    6,184
    EU
    Full Name:
    Ton
    The watch probably just needs a service. My Speedmaster goes in for service (cleaning, oil and whatever else they do) once every two years. These watches need maintenance. :)
     

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