Omega - crown repair recommendations

[M1011]

22/12 - update on post #16

Wondering if anyone might give me a point in the right direction to a reliable place to get a repair on an Omega crown that won't screw in? I've never had a watch serviced / repaired so I don't have a 'go-to' and it's all a bit new to me. Manufacturer service isn't really a viable option given the value of the watch.

I'm hoping it'll be a simple fix, as the watch is working fine other than the crown not screwing down into the case. The crown operates fine and visually looks right to me. It was already pretty low on 'screwdownness' (new word), maybe a third of a turn, and last week it just stopped screwing in at all after I set the time. No knocks, dings or anything like that visible to the case, so I don't think it's likely to be an issue with the case in my inexpert opinion... famous last words! Keeping it in a little plastic bag for now, as I'm unsure if this unscrewed position will allow moisture in.

Pictures aren't likely to help, but why pass up the opportunity to show off that dial?

[higham5]

I would be PM Paul “ ” https://forum.tz-uk.com/member.php?1253-walkerwek1958 on here. He is a great resource on all things Omega service related.

Steve

[TheGent]

Almost certainly stripped threads on either the crown or crown tube (one easier to solve than the other). As above, Paul’s reputation is superb on Omega’s.


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[Sinnlover]

Obtaining parts maybe a problem if you don’t go to Omega or an accredited repairer
It’s well known that they only supply parts to accredited repairers and as the Gent says you will need at least a crown or tube.
So maybe STS might be a better bet?

[walkerwek1958]

I can’t help with this one because I can’t get the parts it needs to fix it.

It’s highly likely that the pendant tube and crown will need replacing, getting the pendant tube out of the case is tricky if its press- fitted, if its screw- fitted it’ll probably need a special tool to remove it.

The watch needs to go to an Omega accredited repairer who can get the parts. If the watch hasn’t been serviced for years it makes sense to get it serviced, I don’t follow the OP’s logic regarding value of the watch and how that relates to the cost of getting it sorted out properly. There is a running cost involved with watch ownership, like all mechanical items they need maintaining and that’s no longer cheap.

If the crown was only turning one third of a turn to screw down it’s been in poor condition for a while, by coincidence I’m wearing the same watch and mine screws down approx 2.5 turns.

[gerrudd]

by coincidence I’m wearing the same watch and mine screws down approx 2.5 turns.

Mine is the same.

[ben4watches]

Duncan @ Genesis did exactly this job for me last year on my Seamaster, from memory it was about £150 and he replaced all case and crown seals and pressure tested to spec.

[walkerwek1958]

Duncan @ Genesis did exactly this job for me last year on my Seamaster, from memory it was about £150 and he replaced all case and crown seals and pressure tested to spec.

I used to do this for a lot less! The seals are straightforward O rings that cost around 70p each, there are 2 in the He valve, one in the crown and the caseback seal. The glass seal is a plastic affair that doesn’t seem to deteriorate, To apply the heat required to remove the pendant tube and He valve involves having to remove the glass. The pendant tube comes out using a special tool, an octagonal allen- key type that’s easy to snap if heat isn’t applied to the pendant tube.

If Swatch Group were still supplying Omega parts the service / repair options for owners would be a lot healthier. Anyone who believes Swatch Group’s claim that restricting parts was in the customers best interests to ensure quality if work is deluding themselves.

I have a reasonable supply of movement parts for the older 60s/ 70s Omega movements but I’m now struggling to get crowns and crystals. Most of my parts are in sealed original packaging so I could always sell them and make a few ££££ if I decide it isn’t worth the hassle of trying to stay involved in the repair game.

The legal challenge by Cousins against Swatch Group seems to have gone quiet and I doubt whether it’ll succeed, the days of big manufacturers supplying wholesalers and independent repairers are over. The cost to owners of maintaining their watches will continue to increase, they’ve got you over a barrel. Small manufacturers such as Doxa and Steinhart are no better, when I tried to buy a glass seal from Steinhart they were un-cooperative despite the fact that the seal had failed badly after only 5 years due to poor materials quality. I eventually found a generic that fitted with a bit of modification and the watch was fine, there was no good reason for Steinhart to refuse to sell the part to me but that’s what happened.

I sometimes question whether its worth bothering with watches any longer, both as a collector and repairer.

[ben4watches]

I used to do this for a lot less! The seals are straightforward O rings that cost around 70p each, there are 2 in the He valve, one in the crown and the caseback seal. The glass seal is a plastic affair that doesn’t seem to deteriorate, To apply the heat required to remove the pendant tube and He valve involves having to remove the glass. The pendant tube comes out using a special tool, an octagonal allen- key type that’s easy to snap if heat isn’t applied to the pendant tube.

If Swatch Group were still supplying Omega parts the service / repair options for owners would be a lot healthier. Anyone who believes Swatch Group’s claim that restricting parts was in the customers best interests to ensure quality if work is deluding themselves.

I have a reasonable supply of movement parts for the older 60s/ 70s Omega movements but I’m now struggling to get crowns and crystals. Most of my parts are in sealed original packaging so I could always sell them and make a few ££££ if I decide it isn’t worth the hassle of trying to stay involved in the repair game.

The legal challenge by Cousins against Swatch Group seems to have gone quiet and I doubt whether it’ll succeed, the days of big manufacturers supplying wholesalers and independent repairers are over. The cost to owners of maintaining their watches will continue to increase, they’ve got you over a barrel. Small manufacturers such as Doxa and Steinhart are no better, when I tried to buy a glass seal from Steinhart they were un-cooperative despite the fact that the seal had failed badly after only 5 years due to poor materials quality. I eventually found a generic that fitted with a bit of modification and the watch was fine, there was no good reason for Steinhart to refuse to sell the part to me but that’s what happened.

I sometimes question whether its worth bothering with watches any longer, both as a collector and repairer.

Actually Duncan had to remove the press fit pendant tube, get the case tapped to take a screw in pendant tube as well as seals and pressure test. I think I made what Duncan did sound very simplified. Quite a tricky job apparently and I was more than satisfied.

[mr.chef]

I used to do this for a lot less! The seals are straightforward O rings that cost around 70p each, there are 2 in the He valve, one in the crown and the caseback seal. The glass seal is a plastic affair that doesn’t seem to deteriorate, To apply the heat required to remove the pendant tube and He valve involves having to remove the glass. The pendant tube comes out using a special tool, an octagonal allen- key type that’s easy to snap if heat isn’t applied to the pendant tube.

If Swatch Group were still supplying Omega parts the service / repair options for owners would be a lot healthier. Anyone who believes Swatch Group’s claim that restricting parts was in the customers best interests to ensure quality if work is deluding themselves.

I have a reasonable supply of movement parts for the older 60s/ 70s Omega movements but I’m now struggling to get crowns and crystals. Most of my parts are in sealed original packaging so I could always sell them and make a few ££££ if I decide it isn’t worth the hassle of trying to stay involved in the repair game.

The legal challenge by Cousins against Swatch Group seems to have gone quiet and I doubt whether it’ll succeed, the days of big manufacturers supplying wholesalers and independent repairers are over. The cost to owners of maintaining their watches will continue to increase, they’ve got you over a barrel. Small manufacturers such as Doxa and Steinhart are no better, when I tried to buy a glass seal from Steinhart they were un-cooperative despite the fact that the seal had failed badly after only 5 years due to poor materials quality. I eventually found a generic that fitted with a bit of modification and the watch was fine, there was no good reason for Steinhart to refuse to sell the part to me but that’s what happened.

I sometimes question whether its worth bothering with watches any longer, both as a collector and repairer.

If you ever need crowns give me a shout. I’ve a large stash of NOS crowns and would be happy to help you out

[TheGent]

I sometimes question whether its worth bothering with watches any longer, both as a collector and repairer.

That’s a sad, but true reality.


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[M1011]

Thank you everyone! Apologies for the slow reply, I had a late night at work.

Loads of great information here now, so thanks for sharing. Nice to go into these things with some idea what the problem could be and a few recommended contacts.

I'll be sure to update here with the outcome when all is done.

Duncan @ Genesis did exactly this job for me last year on my Seamaster, from memory it was about £150 and he replaced all case and crown seals and pressure tested to spec.

Thanks that's excellent info.

I can’t help with this one because I can’t get the parts it needs to fix it.

It’s highly likely that the pendant tube and crown will need replacing, getting the pendant tube out of the case is tricky if its press- fitted, if its screw- fitted it’ll probably need a special tool to remove it.

The watch needs to go to an Omega accredited repairer who can get the parts. If the watch hasn’t been serviced for years it makes sense to get it serviced, I don’t follow the OP’s logic regarding value of the watch and how that relates to the cost of getting it sorted out properly. There is a running cost involved with watch ownership, like all mechanical items they need maintaining and that’s no longer cheap.

If the crown was only turning one third of a turn to screw down it’s been in poor condition for a while, by coincidence I’m wearing the same watch and mine screws down approx 2.5 turns.

Thanks - helpful to know what the issue could be. Also that yourself and gerrudd mentioned that I should expect 2-3 turns ideally, I guess this is one for me to watch out for next time as a warning sign that something may be wrong.

It's a shame about the restrictions on parts. This is quite a big issue with phones too. Interestingly, Apple famously were very restrictive around parts and the right to repair, however recently they launched a scheme to begin shipping the most common replacement parts (screens etc) out to retail customers, a somewhat dramatic change in direction. Seems to be them getting ahead of upcoming legislation around right-to-repair in the USA. I wonder whether such things will apply more generically to other products (such as watch parts), not close enough to the detail to know but we can hope!

My point on the value of the watch was simply it becomes uneconomical to repair at a certain point. In this instance a standard Omega service costs the majority of the watch value, before factoring in presumably additional cost for the specific fix. Potentially worthwhile if no alternatives were available or the watch held special significance, but in this instance it's just the most recent one in the door. However the independents mentioned thankfully appear, based on the recommendations here and your steer, to be a much more economical prospect even including the service.

I'll update the thread with progress

[oldoakknives]

Had a similar problem with a watch recently. Sent to Brendan at Webwatchmaker for new crown tube but turned out to be dirt in the threads. Simply needed cleaning out and good as new.

[walkerwek1958]

Actually Duncan had to remove the press fit pendant tube, get the case tapped to take a screw in pendant tube as well as seals and pressure test. I think I made what Duncan did sound very simplified. Quite a tricky job apparently and I was more than satisfied.

Yes, that makes it harder! Some of the early SMP cases had press-fit pendant tubes and the standard fix is to remove the old one then tap the case to accept the threaded version. I don`t have the equipment to do this, it's not difficult but it's not something to attempt without the correct drill and taps, the pendant tube must go in exactly perpendicular. The extra cost is definitely justified, being equipped to do these tasks doesn`t come cheap.

Regarding the cost of repair relative to the value of the watch, I think people have to be realistic when choosing to buy and own watches. There's an element of 'pass the parcel', folks buy and sell watches with no real feel for the condition or service history and no-one wants to pay to get watches serviced because it's now becoming expensive. At some point the music stops and someone ends up owning a watch they've not had long, with no sentimental attachment, that needs money spending on it. Personally, I buy watches to keep long-term so if I buy one that needs money spending I`m not too bothered. The old adage with expensive cars applies, if you can`t afford the running costs don't buy them, ageing watches definitely come with a running cost and buyers should always factor that in unless there's evidence of recent service history. Screw-down crowns are trouble waiting to happen, unless they're used carefully the threads end up damaged and repair is needed.

[M1011]

Regarding the cost of repair relative to the value of the watch, I think people have to be realistic when choosing to buy and own watches. There's an element of 'pass the parcel', folks buy and sell watches with no real feel for the condition or service history and no-one wants to pay to get watches serviced because it's now becoming expensive. At some point the music stops and someone ends up owning a watch they've not had long, with no sentimental attachment, that needs money spending on it. Personally, I buy watches to keep long-term so if I buy one that needs money spending I`m not too bothered. The old adage with expensive cars applies, if you can`t afford the running costs don't buy them, ageing watches definitely come with a running cost and buyers should always factor that in unless there's evidence of recent service history. Screw-down crowns are trouble waiting to happen, unless they're used carefully the threads end up damaged and repair is needed.

Each to their own of course, but I have a core of 'keepers' that do hold sentimental attachment and would be on their way to the manufacturer in the same circumstance. Yet I still enjoy having fun with other watches with no expectation they'll stay particularly long term, so I enjoy them then move on to make room for the next thing. Occasionally of course one may end up sticking, but usually not - I like to keep a small collection so don't hang on to many. Personally don't see anything wrong with that, and while it may carry some risk on occasion (e.g. this Omega), I'll take it on the chin when necessary.

On the cost part, it's not about affording the running cost in this case, it's just about making an economically sensible choice. To use an exaggerated example, you don't spend £5,000 fixing up a car that'll only be worth £4,000 once repaired, unless it's got some sentimental value, your best move is to write it off. Of course this isn't the situation with this watch which I will have repaired, my original point was simply the manufacturer cost of servicing the watch is expensive relative to it's value. Thankfully the thread and a few PMs have highlighted recommended options at half the cost, which is much more appetising

[M1011]

Thought I'd share an update.

The watch had a crown issue previously about 6 months back as alluded to earlier, although this was prior to my ownership so I can't say for sure if it was the same thing. Anyway prior to making this thread I'd tried contacting the previous repair place with the limited info I had, to see if they would be able to sort it under warranty. My expectations were low having not heard back in a week and given their warranty seemed to be 3 months on the website, hence making this thread.

Of course sods law, shortly after making the thread and getting some suggestions, they replied and asked to have the watch sent in for inspection. They mentioned they may be able to repair it but needed to inspect first. I figured nothing to lose, so I agreed and they arranged for it to be picked up. It was confirmed received about 3 weeks ago, but I wasn't expecting much to happen this side of Christmas and to be honest I was expected a £quote after inspection. However yesterday I got a DHL notification that a package was on the way out of the blue, and today the watch turns up all sorted under warranty. The crown now screws in properly with 4-5 solid turns and feels much more secure.

Very pleased to have it back. Thanks again for the recommended contacts, which will no doubt be useful when it's time for a service

[lewie]

Well great news and always good to hear a positive update

[TheGent]

Glad to hear you got it sorted!


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[Kirk280]

Thought I'd share an update.

The watch had a crown issue previously about 6 months back as alluded to earlier, although this was prior to my ownership so I can't say for sure if it was the same thing. Anyway prior to making this thread I'd tried contacting the previous repair place with the limited info I had, to see if they would be able to sort it under warranty. My expectations were low having not heard back in a week and given their warranty seemed to be 3 months on the website, hence making this thread.

Of course sods law, shortly after making the thread and getting some suggestions, they replied and asked to have the watch sent in for inspection. They mentioned they may be able to repair it but needed to inspect first. I figured nothing to lose, so I agreed and they arranged for it to be picked up. It was confirmed received about 3 weeks ago, but I wasn't expecting much to happen this side of Christmas and to be honest I was expected a £quote after inspection. However yesterday I got a DHL notification that a package was on the way out of the blue, and today the watch turns up all sorted under warranty. The crown now screws in properly with 4-5 solid turns and feels much more secure.

Very pleased to have it back. Thanks again for the recommended contacts, which will no doubt be useful when it's time for a service

Great news. What’s the company? Good customer service should be highlighted.

[walkerwek1958]

Have they replaced the crown, pendant tube, or both?

[M1011]

Great news. What’s the company? Good customer service should be highlighted.

FixMyWatch.co.uk

My only hesitation in mentioning them was that I’m not sure of the original crown situation it went in for. But certainly it all seemed to go flawlessly for the part I was involved in.

Have they replaced the crown, pendant tube, or both?

I don’t know for sure, but the crown is unchanged I believe, so I guess the tube was the issue. I do intend to drop an email to see if they have any info to share.

[oldoakknives]

FixMyWatch.co.uk

My only hesitation in mentioning them was that I’m not sure of the original crown situation it went in for. But certainly it all seemed to go flawlessly for the part I was involved in.



I don’t know for sure, but the crown is unchanged I believe, so I guess the tube was the issue. I do intend to drop an email to see if they have any info to share.

Sounds very similar to the Rolex I sent to Brendan to be honest. Be interested to know the outcome.

Had a similar problem with a watch recently. Sent to Brendan at Webwatchmaker for new crown tube but turned out to be dirt in the threads. Simply needed cleaning out and good as new.

[M1011]

Sounds very similar to the Rolex I sent to Brendan to be honest. Be interested to know the outcome.

Turns out I got it wrong; they replied back via email to say the "watch required a replacement crown and stem."

All still working perfectly, so happy customer here