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Omega Seamaster

6K views 40 replies 13 participants last post by  neil 
#1 ·
Hi,

A question to any seamaster owners:

My local jewellers has three quartz seamasters on display, on none of the watches does the second hand line up with the second markings.

I find this hard to understand on a 850 pound watch.

I was geared up to buy one until i saw this. Is this usual? Can anyone give me their opinion on the quality of these watches?

Many thanks

PC
 
#2 ·
Hello,

Welcome to the forum.

This indeed is not right. This is very abnormal, Omega watches are excellent quality.

If you want one of these then I can offer 20% off retail and promise you that the second hand will line up with the markers.
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
Peter.

I to have noticed this with an Omega watch. I thought about buying a ladies for my Wife and noticed the same thing as you did. The salesman went to get another and that was the same.

I noticed it to on a Tag Heuer "Alter Ego" ladies model. Absolutely dreadful and unacceptable at this end of the market.

Managers of these shops should be checking things like that and sending them back. Unfortunately they, like most customers, probably don't notice.
:(
 
#4 ·
Hi Peter & welcome

I have seen a couple like this. I always look at a quartz & if the dial is not aligned correctly, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I once asked a jeweller about this, & got the answer it's very hard to get a dial exact. Watchmakers at Omega are no ordinary people. Get one from Roy if you want one.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
Mrcrowley said:
I once asked a jeweller about this, & got the answer it's very hard to get a dial exact. Watchmakers at Omega are no ordinary people.
I have 3 quartz watches.

An Accurist, a Seiko and a fake Tag Heuer.

The seconds hands on all 3 watches line up perfectly with the second markings.

Sounds like a typical case of Jewellers sales staff talking *****
:angry:
 
#6 ·
Hi Peter

I am on my second Seamaster.The quality is absolutely top. I have noticed about the second hand,

On my first quartz, the second hand was ahead of the indicies just a midges dick and after about a year it came into alignment.

On my latest, also quartz, the second hand is all over the place. Mostly ahead, sometimes on and sometimes behind the indicies. But not always the same on each turn. This is a bit funny . Something tells me it needs a battery and it would be a bit more positive about what it is doing.

If anyone knows better then please let me know.

I would love a chance to have a big row in the Omega shop on a Sat afternoon
B)
:

David
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just love going in these retailers and giving 'em a hard time over the seconds hand not lining up with the markers. I love it when they reply with a load of horse crap.......then I really go to town on 'em. I let them dance around a bit first with all the horse s***, then gradually crank up the fun bit by slowly ripping them to bits with more and more forceful argument. I'll crank it up to whatever level they want it. One manager told me to get out of his shop, so I told him I had been thrown out of bigger places than his, but it would need five of him to do it.

The fact is, they may well have noticed this sad fault..........they just don't give a s***, and will happily sell it you, and even tell you it's normal.

I hate the ######!!!
 
#9 ·
I find very few watches that really "hit the mark", and I think in general they may tend to drift with time. Also don't forget the "parallax syndrome" depending on the viewing angle, the hand might be on the marker or off the marker at the same time. Should it the marker when viewed in a 90 degrees angle? 90 degree angle to what? The marker? That would mean there are 60 different viewing angles per hour.
 
G
#10 ·
I've got a quartz SMP with a second hand that lines up fine in its markers when viewed straight on and to be honest I've often looked at them in jewellers and not seen one that hasn't.

I agree with what Sargon says in that when you look at the watch at different angles the second hand looks differently aligned.

To be perfectly frank it doesn't really worry me about "alignment" on quartz watches. I think they make up for their perceived deficiencies by being super accurate.

I set my mechanicals by a quartz watch!

Here are my SMP's, pic below.

Cheers,

Neil.

fc29f71d.jpg
 
#12 ·
Agree strongly with Andy. I really don't think parallax effect comes into it at all.

The second hand should be smack on the marker. No excuses as also said by Andy, and it matters greatly to me, and especially on a watch of the quality of an Omega. Roy seems to agree with this also!
 
#13 ·
Hi all,

i bought a Traser last year which had the same problem, i sent it back for adjustment and it was returned to me in a couple of days. It's been spot on ever since. I assumed the adjustment needed was fairly simple.

Perhaps Omega need to pay just a little more attention to detail.

Does anyone have any experience with Omega warranty returns? I've opted for the Seamaster Auto, fingers crossed i'll never need the warranty but it would be nice to know if they look after you if there is a problem!

Thanks

PC
 
G
#15 ·
Andy and Griff

I didn't say it didn't matter generally, I said it didn't matter to me .

I also said I'd never seen an SMP that was off.

Of course at that end of the market you expect things to be right, but that said, worrying and fretting over perceived inequalities (staring at the dial at different angles etc) will only spoil your enjoyment of ownership.

Roy,

I haven't had enough experience with quartz, but do they sometimes go slightly off kilter? My Smp has always stayed dead on but it has never had a battery change yet.

Is it easy to reset the second hand dead on?

PC

I've never had to use Omegas warranty but there was someone on this forum a while back who had water ingress in his SMP and the dealer changed it over for him after inspection by Omega.

So don't worry.
:D


Worry over watches seems to be a prevalent attitude, I see it all the time on forums.

I suppose people think they've spent a lot on a watch, they expect perfection.

Actually if one watch is 10 times the price of another it certainly won't be 10 times better!

I sometimes think some people would be better off with cheap watches then they wouldn't worry so much!
:(


Cheers,

Neil.
 
#16 ·
Neil I'm not particularly fussy about watches.

My Speedy gains 15 secs sometimes more a day and I couldn't care less.

Having a seconds hand that doesn't line up though is a sign of laziness in the manufacturing process because it can be achieved. Well if Seiko can achieve it with the watch currently in my hand that cost less than £50 then a company like Omega should be able to surely.

I do agree that we can end up being fussy to the point of spoiling our enjoyment of these things but I think that demanding a certain attention to detail, that even cheaper brands give, is a perfectly healthy attitude when selecting a watch in this price range.
 
G
#17 ·
Andy

Everybody has different criteria when assessing watches.

Frankly I would be more concerned at a new Speedy that was out by 15 seconds a day than a slight deviation of a second hand on a quartz dial.

The only quartz I can go by is my SMP and the second hand has always lined up perfectly so I'm only going by hearsay on these other watches previously stated.

Cheers,

Neil.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I agree that +15 seconds a day is not good and yet another example of factory indifference to attention to finer detail. Especially when I (and other forum members I'm sure) have relatively cheap mechs that are more accurate. Companys like Omega base there reputation, and indeed prices on there build quality and attention to detail.

The accuracy thing does not bother me as it's not something that I can see everytime I look at the time.
 
#19 ·
I think 15 s per day is far too much for a Speedy.

It should be regulated to no more than 3 s per day in my opinion!

I'm sticking to my guns on quartz second hand line ups though, especially on an Omega!

A girl in Goldsmiths told me they were meant to be lined up inbetween the markers, so you could read to 0.5 s!!! I wasn't kidding or exaggerating about my engaging sessions in the shop over this issue. I meant it!
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
neil said:
Worry over watches seems to be a prevalent attitude, I see it all the time on forums.

I suppose people think they've spent a lot on a watch, they expect perfection.

Actually if one watch is 10 times the price of another it certainly won't be 10 times better!

I sometimes think some people would be better off with cheap watches then they wouldn't worry so much!Â
:(
Well said Neil!!!

I think it can be too easy to get "real anal" over the little imperfections that may show up from time to time
:D
 
#21 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: second hand line up with markers on an Omega quartz.

I think that an Omega should be spot on, as does Andy, and Roy also thinks they should be in line as indicated in his earlier post. That's none of us being anal chris, which I think is inappropriate terminology, but several of us expecting better from Omega when this happens, as this type of imperfection should not show up in a watch of the quality of an Omega.

People are entitled to that little bit of extra attention to detail when paying for higher end quality watches.
 
#22 ·
Hello all,

I think it can be too easy to get "real anal" over the little imperfections that may show up from time to time
I believe chrisb meant the term to describe being an extreme perfectionist. I didn't detect a ball busting or insulting tone in his post.

My memory isn't as good as it used to be but I believe there was a discussion on quartz second hand alignnment on thepurists.com a while basck. I'll go back & take another look for it. I'm not saying they know more than we do, I'm just saying we might all learn from others' opinions.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Usmike,

The point is......... expecting a second hand to line up on such as an Omega quartz watch is not being a perfectionist at all!. It's about as basic as you can get in your expectation of a high end quality Swiss watch.

If you're telling me you'd happily buy out of a high st. retailers window an Omega Seamaster quartz with a second hand out of alignment, when the one next to it is perfectly in line, then I would find that utterly astonishing!!

It's the utter basic right to expect attention to detail on a high end Swiss quartz watch.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi all

I don't own many quartz watches (excluding my military collection) as I'm not a big fan of them. That's not to say there's anything worng with them, I just prefer mechanical movements. After reading this thread, I thought I'd check my Tag F1 to see if the second hand lines up with the markers. It doesn't, but I can't say I'd noticed it before so it can't have been a major concern to me. To be frank, I don't usually look at the seconds hand of a quartz watch - it's just not much to look at compared to the nice smooth sweep of a high beat automatic, for example. Quartz, generally being very accurate, means the only real function of the second hand, for me, is to tell me that the battery hasn't run out ;)

Cheers

Foggy
 
#26 ·
Sorry no!!

A photographer uses his second hand to time an exposure.

If the second hand doesn't line up with the markers, he suddenly gets the exposure wrong because he forgets whether the timing starts with the half second fast or half second slow.

The same with timing a race.

Does anyone want a quartz chronograph where the second hand is not lining up, and how many of you would buy one like that!?

It is not being an extreme perfectionist at all! The markers are there, and meant to be there, for the second hand to line up.

I can't for the life of me understand anyone not agreeing with this, and simply admit the high end Swiss watches should line up, considering the high amount being paid for a quartz watch! I wont touch with a barge pole any quartz watch that wont do this.
:huh:
 
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