zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Hello everyone. I've got a Seamaster GMT
: 2535.80 Co-ax which I've had for a few
: months now and am very happy with. It runs
: very consistently at about 3 seconds fast
: per day. I don't mind this and I know it's
: well within COSC spec, but was wondering if
: I could get it regulated at my dealer to
: slow it down 3 secs per day, leaving it in
: theory keeping perfect time?

: Specifically I was wondering: - if any AD can
: regulate the watch or would they need to
: send to Omega?
: - what the increments are by which a watch can
: be regulated i.e. can they specifically slow
: it down by 3 seconds, or is it a case of a
: quarter turn of a tiny screw somewhere which
: may or may not slow it down by about 3
: seconds, give or take a bit?
: - any reason I shouldn't get it regulated with
: the aim of getting it to run within 1sec per
: day?

: Any answers, opinions or advice appreciated.

Here's your dilemma - if anyone other than an authorized Omega service center opens up your watch during the warranty period, the warranty becomes void. So, even if you have a good independent watchmaker locally, he technically can't work on your watch until the warranty expires. Omega does this as a way of protecting themselves from having to perform warranty repairs on watches that other watchmakers may have damaged. For a list of US authorized service centers, you can call Omega at 1-800-766-6342.

To answer your other question, yes, Omega can regulate the watch for you, but regulation isn't an exact science. It is indeed a matter of making minor adjustments and then watching to see how this affects the watch's timekeeping. If it were simple to get all automatics to run at exactly zero time gain/loss per day, they'd all come from the factory like that. If you send it to Omega, the round trip shipping costs plus the fee you will pay for the regulation aren't worth it in my opinion. +3 sec/day is well within COSC specs, so I wouldn't spend the money for what may result in only a second or two difference.

Also, you may want to try resting your watch in different positions overnight (crown up, crown down, face up, face down, etc). Often a watch will gain time in one position while losing time in another, so if you find the right overnight position you may be able to "offset" any time gained during the day. Each and every mechanical watch is different, so you'll need to experiment with your particular watch to determine which overnight position results in the best timekeeping.

One last suggestion - you can order your watch's COSC certificate free of charge from Omega. This certificate shows you how well the watch kept time in various positions during testing. You can use this as a starting point for your tests if you wish. Just take a digital picture or scan of your AD stamped and dated warranty card and attach it to an e-mail which includes your full shipping address. Send the e-mail to aftersales@omega.ch and you should receive the certificate within a few weeks.

Good luck,
John