: I took the watch to my local repairer but he
: couldn't pressure-test it so he sent it
: somewhere else for an estimate. As they
: wanted 300 GB pounds (just based on a visual
: inspection), I took it home and, after a
: glass or two of wine, took the damned thing
: apart myself.
: I replaced the stopwatch second hand but the
: circlip that should have been holding the
: push-button was nowhere to be seen. Either
: it has gone inside the mechanism somewhere
: (if that's possible) or it wasn't there to
: begin with.
: Anyway, the watch is working again!
How bizarre,
my own experience with a watch getting its innards wet were a rapid demise of all chrono functions (it was an early seventies Breitling Chronomat), followed by a grinding halt of the rest within 3-4 hours.
It was taken to a dealer the following day, who immediately removed the movement, and cleaned it in light oil. It was then forwarded to his workshop, where it required a new mainspring and a number of smaller components that had severe corrosion. A very expensive swimming pool visit.
I would guess in your case that there was very little moisture entered the case (due to the fact that yours is still working) and it was an unfortunate coincidence that the hand and button fell off at the same time (did you try and 'shake out' the moisture, maybe a bit rougher than you would normally handle your watch?).
As to the missing circlip, God forbid that Omega would produce a 'Friday afternoon' watch.
