zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Attached some correspondence from Omega, I love the part about putting the watch in the oven to loosen the locktite.

Dear Mr. Copeland,

I am sorry to learn that your watch is not operating as it should. It seems that the synchronization issue with the hands should be something that can be taken care of quite quickly with the proper setting.

In order to best assist you we will need to have the watch brought back to our service facility. Rest assured that I will receive the watch personally and verify what needs to be done and take quick action to resolve this matter.

As for your concern regarding the two versions of the X-33, I can assure you that there is no technical difference between version you own and the last version of the watch that was produced. The aesthetic features of the bezel, pushers and crown are what distinguish the two references, but the have the exact same movements and features.

As you are familiar with loctite I am sure that you know that there are a large variety of strengths that offer different hardening levels. In the watchmaking industry we use loctite that can be removed using at the most warming ovens, not open flame, because as you stated this would surely have an adverse effect on the cases whenever the crown or pushers would need to be removed.

Rest assured that your Omega watch will be un-repairable in years to come when it needs it’s next regular maintenance service.

Mr. Copeland, Replacing your watch is not an option, but satisfying you by insuring that your watch is working as it should is something I can commit to. Please e-mail me back directly with your home address and I will arrange for FedEx to do a direct pick up from you. All that you will need to do is to have the watch packaged and boxed and the driver will arrive with a pre-addressed and paid shipping form.

Again, I do apologize for the fact that your watch was not 100% to your satisfaction and I will ensure a swift and complete remedy to this issue.

Sincerely,

Peter Foster

Dear Ms. Mastrodonato:

I received my Omega X. 33 watch back from the Swatch service department on Saturday. I had sent the watch in for warranty service because the button that turns on the screen lighting had stopped working.

When I received the watch this problem had been corrected, but I found that the secondhand would no longer stay in synchronization with the digital time, or the minute hand.

I also noticed that the minute hand was not precisely aligned with the minute marks on the watch face.

I followed the instructions in the manual to synchronize the hands with the digital time a half-dozen times. Each time, the second hand would be properly synchronized for a few minutes, and then it would be out of synchronization again.

Needless to say, this was extremely disappointing, and unfortunately continued my extremely poor experience with this watch, and with the Swatch service department.

I contacted the Swatch service department and all they could offer was to have me ship the watch back to them again. This means I will again be without the watch for a month, which considering that this watch is not a year old is completely unacceptable.

I spoke to Dan Fenwick in the Swatch service department who confirmed that this model was known to be defective in that the screws which secure the push buttons to the case will not stay tight. I asked him what the fix for this was, and he replied "locktite", which I know from my experience as a gunsmith is basically glue. I also know that small parts which have been secured with locktite can only be removed after the locktite bond has been broken with heat from a flame or. It is clearly impractical to heat up a watch case, and this means that once the screws have been secured with locktite they can no longer be removed. If any problem develops with the push button again, it will be unrepairable. So, if a further problem with the push buttons happens after the warranty has expired I will have watch that is even more useless than it is now.

To summarize:

Omega was aware that this model of watch was defective before I purchased it.

The "repair" that has been done to my watch renders it unrepairable for any future problem.

The Swatch repair department returned the watch to me in worse shape than when I sent it to them.

This watch was represented to me as being a fine Swiss timepiece. This is clearly not the case. Omega owes me a new watch, one of the new models which has been redesigned to correct the known problems with my model.

Chris Copeland
408-255-6111

: I should be receiving my watch back this week
: or early next week. I will certainly let
: everyone know how it turned out. The sad
: thing is that I never even had the chance to
: see how well it was regulated after they
: serviced it, since all of the cosmetic
: defects forced me to return it the same day
: I received it.

: I echo your comments about a lack of attention
: to detail. How can a watch go through all of
: those QC checks and a "final visual and
: technical inspection" and yet no one
: noticed the dust on my dial, the scratched
: bezel, or that my bracelet was on backwards
: ? This is just complete and utter
: carelessness, which should not be accpeted
: when working on four-figure watches.

: I am praying I don't have to send it back a
: third time.