zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Well I always wanted to get a better opinion on
: this than a jeweler (who didnt seem to know
: anything). Heres the story of what happened
: to my Omega two years ago.

: I had gotten the watch as a gift (My jaw fell
: about 100 stories when I opened the box)
: after two fakes I really wanted to get the
: real thing. Anyways, I wanted the Bond model
: REALLY badly, but the person got me a
: 2532.80 (with the stainless steel bezel) and
: out of courtesy and the fact that a 2000$
: watch had just been bought for me I just
: relished the fact that I had an Omega and
: thats all that mattered. When I had the
: bracelet fitted I asked the jeweler there if
: a bezel switch was possible (I'd pay for
: this myself), they looked at me like I was
: crazy. "Nooo...the bezel is made
: specifically for that watch and you cant
: switch anything." Hmmm, well either way
: I figured they were right and went along
: with my business.

: Then I was swimming one day and opened the
: helium valve while I was rising to the
: surface (The beginning of my folly) and
: water must had gotten in. When I woke up the
: next morning the watch had fogged up from
: the inside...I was new to watches in general
: (it was all Timex and Casio before this) so
: I figured it would go away. But, after three
: days it didnt and I began to worry (although
: I had been since it fogged up). then, when I
: was doing the dishes it accidently got
: doused in VERY hot water and the fog briefly
: went away. Even a local watchmaker told me
: it wasnt anything to worry about.

: It continued to function, but when I took it to
: another jeweler he looked at it and just
: said "Send this to the factory
: now." So, after less than a week my
: Omega had to be sent to Lancaster, PA. After
: a week I got an estimate paper back and then
: the LOOOOONG process of the infamous
: "Omega USA" repair process. After
: calling about twice a week for a good month
: they always said "10 business
: days" (they were especially rude a few
: times as well). Then one day out of boredom
: I called and they said it had been packed
: and shipped yesterday! It came back like new
: even with a few of the scuffs it had gotten
: were gone. So, I wore it frequently and
: until I moved a year later and the frequency
: dropped a bit.

: Enter:Chronocentric two years later....I had
: finally started wearing my Seamaster
: everyday again and really became a useful
: tool for me since all my other watches were
: MIA or broken (I still need to get a Raymond
: Wiel fixed and re strapped). Then one day
: when looking at watches on Ebay I wanted to
: see what progress (or lack thereof ;)) fake
: watches had made. Then I came here and saw
: they were just as horrid looking as they
: were two years ago. I then read the Omega
: FAQ (THANK YOU zOwie!!) and read that you
: can in facto get the bezel changed. So, I
: did some more research and yesterday I sent
: my SMP to La Grange llinois to have it done
: (and probably cleaned while there as well).
: And hopefully, when it gets back...I'll
: finally have a Bond SMP! I especially like
: the automatic because there is such a sense
: of craftmanship that goes into those.
: Anyways, I've probably bored you people now
: lol, thanks for making it this far. Pleas
: though, could someone explain what exactly
: happened to my watch all those years ago?

it sounds like something happened to the seals on your watch. I think the general consensus is to get it to a a professional ASAP so that they can fix the problem.

I always thought that the Helium Release Valve was always waterproof even if it was unscrewed a little.