zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: John copied an email message from Maria at
: Omega that read in part as follows:
: "The service cycle of mechanical
: watches equipped with the revolutionary
: Co-Axial Escapement is 6 to 8 years,
: depending on the conditions in which it is
: used."

: But after being told by my AD that my Planet
: Ocean required service after 8-10 years, I
: wrote to Maria weeks ago: "I have been
: told that watches with the Co-Axial movement
: require servicing after 8-10 years. But the
: Operating Instructions manual that came with
: my watch and the related sections on Omega's
: website state that all watches require
: servicing after 4-5 years. When should I
: first have my watch serviced?"

: ...and Maria responded...

: "Like any high-precision instrument, a
: watch needs to be serviced regularly in
: order to work perfectly. Obviously, we
: cannot indicate the intervals for such work,
: which depends on the model, climate and the
: care taken by the watch's owner. As a
: general rule, service intervals are between
: 4 and 5 years, depending on the use of the
: watch."

: I will also note that there is no information
: in the manuals or the Omega website to
: contradict the 4-5 year service interval
: position.

: From where I sit it's still 4-5 years...plus
: more confusion.

: I would suggest Omega clear this up by stating
: on their website that all (or some?)
: Co-Axial models are 4-5, or 6-8, or 8-10
: years. They should pick a position and
: publish it. Because the threads here are
: only serving to confuse us.

I don't think it's these threads that are confusing us, it's Omega that's confusing us. I wholeheartedly agree that Omega needs to publish a number and stick with it, not keep changing their minds. I genuinely believe that even Omega does not know what the true service interval should be, since the co-axial hasn't been out long enough for any proper, "real world" data to exist.

Perhaps they should have said that the watch has the potential to go 8 years without servicing, but time will tell us if this is true. Instead, they started out with 10 years, downgraded it to 6-8 years, and now say 4-5 years in some e-mail exchanges with customers like yourself. This tells me that Omega really doesn't know the true interval since there's no good data readily available.

Additionally, Chuck Maddox pointed out something else to me about Maria's reply that doesn't quite make sense. She says, "Since the friction and wear of the components is practically reduced to zero, it is no longer necessary to lubricate the mechanism." This can't be true. One gentleman on this website sent his Planet Ocean in for warranty repair, and the cause of the problem was found to be a dry escapement. If the escapement requires no lubrication, then this should not have been a problem. It is true that George Daniels, who created the co-axial, did envision a completely lubricant-free escapement, but Omega hasn't perfected it to this level quite yet. After all, the Planet Ocean has the newest version of the co-axial escapement, and it still requires some lubrication.

I'm as confused as everyone else, so for now I'm just going to sit back and see how long it takes for my watches to require servicing. That will be the only way to get any "real world" data.