zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Hello again,

: My new vintage Seamaster automatic (1960s) was
: running 2 minutes slow per day when it
: arrived.

: I had it looked at by a watchmaker (who I don't
: know very well, so don't really trust yet!).
: He said it looks in good, clean condition
: inside. He thought that it could be made
: good by adjusting the regulator.

: After adjustment the watch is now going slow by
: 1.5 minutes a day. He did say that he only
: "tweaked" it so it seems like
: there is more adjusting to be done.

: However my local Omega dealer told me today
: that it would be unwise to adjust the
: regulator of the watch without carrying out
: a full service first.

: My question is, should I just ask the
: watchmaker to make a further adjustment, or
: is the dealer right?

: Many thanks for any advice!

The dealer may or may not be right. It all depends on when the watch was last serviced. As a general rule, you do NOT need to have a watch serviced prior to regulation. If the watch has been kept up-to-date on its servicing and is simply keeping poor time, a regulation is all that's required. However, if the watch hasn't been serviced for 5 years or so and the movement is dry or any parts are worn, then it is best to have it serviced prior to regulation.

You really need to have a qualified, reputable watchmaker look at your watch and determine what it needs. An Omega dealer who hasn't examined the watch and is NOT a watchmaker isn't qualified to make that call.

Good luck!