WATCH POP

I need the forum's help regarding my possibly-ailing Seamaster Professional.

My SMP 2254.50.00 has been consistently losing time over the past few months that I have been monitoring it. About four months ago, it was -5 secs/day; now it is about -12 secs/day. The decrease in accuracy has been very gradual; it has never been fast.

I have left the watch in various nighttime resting positions (face up/down, crown up/down) to see if it will improve the accuracy, but no luck there.

It purchased as a new watch two years ago from a large chain AD. It has never been serviced.

Since purchase, my SMP has been used for everything--pool, beach, surfing, hiking, travel, etc. It has also been worn during military training exercises, and all the fun that comes with that. On two painfully memorable occasions, the watch was dropped on concrete or recieved a strong blow.

This watch used to share wrist time with my Hamiltons and Panerai, but is now my primary wearer. I got rid of the PAM, destroyed a Hamilton, and gave another to a friend. So now it is my only quality time piece, aside from a Suunto Vector.

I am planning to purchase a new quality watch in the next few months (Speedy Moon Watch, Aqua Terra, Brietling Navitimer, Rolex GMT-II, or Rolex Explorer II) so I don't want to spend too much on service costs for my SMP, if possible. I also do not want to lose the watch for a long period of time for servicing, if possible.

In your opinions, what could be causing my consistently growing accuracy problem?

What is the best course of action to have my SMP fixed?

I live near one of the Omega official service centers in California...should I take it to them? I've heard some bad stories about Omega service on this site.

To all reading this, although I am having accuracy problems, I could not be happier with my Omega. It was my first "nice" watch purchase, though I had been into watches for many years. My SMP has taken everything I have thrown at it, and everything I have thrown it into. It is the most legible watch I have ever owned (yes, even better than a Panerai), and is an engineering marvel. Even my Rolex Sub and Sea Dweller-wearing friends acknowledge the SMP's robustness and give it justly- deserved kudos.

All help/responses appreciated.
Hi,

Difficult to know exactly what might be wrong without someone having a look inside. It's not unheard of that a watch might need an overhaul after just two years of heavy use, but it may also be another issue. My "guess" is that your watch just needs an overhaul.

The more economical thing that you could try to do is to have it regulated to run faster. This can be done in minutes at a watchmaker. That's only a temporary fix though.

Personally, I'd stay away from Omega authorized service depots other than Bienne, and go with a good reputable local watchmaker instead. They tend to be faster, better, and far more affordable than the authorized depots in my experience.

Good luck,

JP I have the same watch and its a great piece. The cheapest thing you can do is have a watchmaker check to see if its been magnetized. I was a RSC and a guy brought his watch in because its fairly new and running fast. He travelled a bit and the metal-detecting machines at the airport may have magnetized his watch.

To de-magnetized a watch is fairly easy and doesnt require the watch being opened. I have read that usually a megnetized watch ususally runs MUCH faster then you 12 sec/day. But this is a quick, cheap, and non-invasive method. If they were that strong, they would wipe out your credit cards in your wallet.

Best Regards,

Damon When your watch gets out of order you have a choice of two things to do: throw it in the fire or take it to the watch-tinker. The former is the quickest. -MT Yep Overhaul! Rings, grind the valves, camshaft bearings, crank inserts & set of gaskets.

Take it to a local area, reputable watchmaker. Describe in detail what its recent/current behavior is. Ask him if he can look at it while you there.

If for some reason a quick inspection/clean/lube of the balance staff/escapement (I don't know if this in the detente model or not?) and a sit on the Vibrograph doesn't put it right - ask him for a hard estimate - subject only to additional parts/installation for complete service. It almost never hurts to let him know that its a "service" watch - it may not be any cheaper - but you'll be sure that there are no compromises in the work. j.l. It's a longshot... But do you leave it next to a clock radio at night? That may have magnetized it.