Help with Omega SMP quartz fault

I reset the date on my quartz SMP yesterday evening and woke this morning to find it had stopped. I released the crown slightly and it started ticking away again.

Now , my first thought .. the crown was overtightened .... but I wouldn't consider myself heavy handed and I'm careful about over tightening but obviously when the crown is screwed in to a certain point it stopped the watch, not immediately but after an unknown period.

My questions .. what is the cause of this? How would the crown stop the movement? ....and also, is this common or it is a fault with my watch?

Any help/ comments gratefully received

The battery was replaced last year sometime .. just to point out

If the battery swap was done by Omega or a decent watchmaker I'd get it back to them for a check. Did you get a 12 month warranty?

Strange. I can't think of any reason why a tight crown should stop the movement. Does it happen whenever you tighten the crown or was it a one off situation?

Rob

The battery was done by watch doctors but this has happened before so I wouldn't think it's something they've done. I haven't really checked to see if it does it all the time .. it's happened a few times in the past but as I don't wear it that often last night reminded me so I thought I'd post it up.

I don't know anything about the movements to take even a guess as to why it's doing it

Sounds like it needs a trip to a watchmaker. I'd avoid water in case the crown seals are compromised...

The problem with working on Quartz Omegas is the non-availability of circuits. I`m not saying this is a circuit problem because I`m sure it won`t be; the problem is the risk of damaging the circuit whilst dismantling. This shouldn`t happen if the repairer is careful, but you only have to accidentally touch the coil with a tool and it's knackered.......it can happen. In the past, a new circuit (approx. £20) would fix this, but not any more. If the coil gets damaged the watch ends up going to an Omega accredited repairer and I`m guessing that a new movement gets fitted because I don`t think even they can get the circuits. Either way, there's a big bill to pay and the hapless repairer who took the job on ends up paying it.

It's highly likely this fault could be fixed fairly cheaply. Stripping these movements isn`t hard, and the parts are cheap I`ve done few of these in the past and they're straightforward. However, given the risk of getting into deep (expensive) water with that bloody circuit I won`t touch the things thesedays.

Why Omega/Swatch chose to stop supplying circuits is beyond me, it's madness. It puts people off working on the watches and it costs the owners money. A point to bear in mind when considering ownership of a quartz Omega; I wouldn`t buy another, I have my pre-Bond Seamaster Pro and that's the only one I`ll own.

Best advice to the OP is to try and find a repairer who'll work on it for a fair price. I can`t see it being a crown problem but I could be wrong.

Paul

Had loads of these and have one now,never had a problem with any of them or any other quartz watch tbh.
So I certainly won't be put of a quartz watch and stick to autos by any means.

Cheers for the replies fellas ..

I'm thinking just leave it alone .. it's had this 'fault' since I've had it I think. It's been in water fairly recently and it's all working as it should. I'd just love to know why it's doing it.

Anyone else got any interesting theories on this ??? ... or not so interesting?? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

The problem with working on Quartz Omegas is the non-availability of circuits. I`m not saying this is a circuit problem because I`m sure it won`t be; the problem is the risk of damaging the circuit whilst dismantling. This shouldn`t happen if the repairer is careful, but you only have to accidentally touch the coil with a tool and it's knackered.......it can happen. In the past, a new circuit (approx. £20) would fix this, but not any more. If the coil gets damaged the watch ends up going to an Omega accredited repairer and I`m guessing that a new movement gets fitted because I don`t think even they can get the circuits. Either way, there's a big bill to pay and the hapless repairer who took the job on ends up paying it.

It's highly likely this fault could be fixed fairly cheaply. Stripping these movements isn`t hard, and the parts are cheap I`ve done few of these in the past and they're straightforward. However, given the risk of getting into deep (expensive) water with that bloody circuit I won`t touch the things thesedays.

Why Omega/Swatch chose to stop supplying circuits is beyond me, it's madness. It puts people off working on the watches and it costs the owners money. A point to bear in mind when considering ownership of a quartz Omega; I wouldn`t buy another, I have my pre-Bond Seamaster Pro and that's the only one I`ll own.

Best advice to the OP is to try and find a repairer who'll work on it for a fair price. I can`t see it being a crown problem but I could be wrong.

Paul

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I am so glad I read this thread, I am/was close to pulling the trigger on a 2265 and this has me worried! I naively thought a quartz movement could easily (and cheaply) be sourced to cure any ills on a watch which is going to be in excess of 10 years old....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

I can`t see it being a crown problem but I could be wrong.

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Any particular reason why Paul??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tim63

I am so glad I read this thread, I am/was close to pulling the trigger on a 2265 and this has me worried! I naively thought a quartz movement could easily (and cheaply) be sourced to cure any ills on a watch which is going to be in excess of 10 years old....

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The probability of a 10yr old quartz giving problems is slim, but unfortunately (owing to the parts supply situation) they are going to prove more costly to fix than they used to be. At the moment, a dead circuit would require purchase of a new ETA movement (cost around £100) to use as a parts donor. The watch would work OK but the circuit would be slightly different; arguably it devalues the watch.

Swapping a circuit isn`t much harder than replacing the battery on these, that's why the non-availability of parts is so annoying.

Given that prices for quartz Omegas have risen sharply, I`d advise going the extra mile and buying a mechanical with an 1120 movement (aka ETA 2892). These can be serviced with ETA parts, so there isn`t a problem.

If anyone can explain the Swatch Group/ETA/Omega logic in all this I`d be glad to learn something. Frankly, it doesn`t make sense to me. The fact that the circuit has died does NOT imply that the rest of the movement will be in poor shape, it simply does not follow.

Paul

Quote:

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Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

The probability of a 10yr old quartz giving problems is slim, but unfortunately (owing to the parts supply situation) they are going to prove more costly to fix than they used to be. At the moment, a dead circuit would require purchase of a new ETA movement (cost around £100) to use as a parts donor. The watch would work OK but the circuit would be slightly different; arguably it devalues the watch.

Swapping a circuit isn`t much harder than replacing the battery on these, that's why the non-availability of parts is so annoying.

Given that prices for quartz Omegas have risen sharply, I`d advise going the extra mile and buying a mechanical with an 1120 movement (aka ETA 2892). These can be serviced with ETA parts, so there isn`t a problem.

If anyone can explain the Swatch Group/ETA/Omega logic in all this I`d be glad to learn something. Frankly, it doesn`t make sense to me. The fact that the circuit has died does NOT imply that the rest of the movement will be in poor shape, it simply does not follow.

Paul

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Many thanks again Paul...I am cautious at best, so will pass on the idea of my first Omega quartz. Just as an aside, I searched on Ebay and there is a new quartz movement up for sale at £500 or best offer - about half the price of the watch I was looking at. I already have a 2254 (which has the 1120 cal) and was toying with the idea of buying a good quality 'grab and go' watch...but on a rather quiet afternoon in the office something else has just popped up on the screen!!! Nothing like what I first wanted, but infinitely more desireable and only three times more expensive, but an auto....so not all bad. :nervous: