zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: I completely fail to see the point about the
: phenomenal accuracy everyone seems to find
: in quartz watches. My wife has a quartz SMP
: and the damn thing gains like hell, 2.5
: seconds a week. According to Omega, this is
: within spec.

: Now here comes my comparison between mechanical
: and quartz. If a decently regulated
: mechanical watch with its gears and levers
: can keep time to within 30 seconds a month,
: then why can Omega quartz movements only
: operate within a specification of (0.4 x 30
: = ) 12 seconds per month? It's electronic,
: it's computer-engineered even (not unlike
: the mechanical calibers, I guess), and it
: still can't keep really accurate time. And
: no watchmaker seems to be able to regulate a
: quartz in his own workshop. Not particularly
: impressing, if you ask me.

: If you want accuracy, get a radio-controlled
: watch , which works with an external time
: reference and uses quartz only as the
: back-up in case there's no radio signal
: available.

: If you and your friends don't want to afford
: luxury-grade automatic watches (like Omega)
: and prefer to go for quartz in order to save
: a few quick bucks, that's fine for you, but
: stop bashing on mechanical movements. I'd
: rather go with a cheap automatic than with
: an expensive quartz, thank you very much.

: -hacmac

That's not exactly true. While the specs allow for a 12 second a month variance ,it would be difficult to find an Omega quartz movement that operates that badly. between my wife and I, we own quite a few watches. Some are as cheap as dirt. Some are relatively expensive. Some are quartz and 2 are automatic. My wife wears the exact same watch your wife wears and it only loses about 2 seconds a month, not 12. I have the automatic Seamaster Professional. After it received it's first servicing at an authorized Omega dealer, it only loses about a second a day. So her quartz version definitely keeps far better time and does not require me to reset it. If your wife's Omega SMP quartz is running fast by 2 seconds per day, it is the exception to the rul, not the rule itself.

Consequently, we travel outside the country a lot. I own a Citizen Worldtimer (Ecodrive) that I wear on the plane. It is quartz, solar powered, and keeps time in about 30 different cities worldwide simultaneously. I like it because all I need to do is touch a button and I get the correct time no matter where I am without reseting my watch. It costs about $250 a year ago. The quartz movement in that watch is at least as accurate as my wife's Omega Quartz that retails for around $1395.00.

I see your point with regards to servicing. I also sympathize with you for having purchased an Omega quartz that, while within specs, is not performing as it should reasonably be expected. It can be serviced, contrary to popular opinion. And yes, it can be adjusted as well. If your dealer cannot do it, I would check with another dealer. An authorized dealer who is concerned with customer satisfaction should understand your concerns and address them rather that simply push you out the door using the far end of the specs as a loophole. In summation, I do not feel that a better watch is in order. I feel that a better dealer/servicer is all that you need. Her watch can easily be adjusted to keep time within 1 second per week. As I said, my wife's SMP quartz did it straight out of the box. If your dealer cannot or is not willing to make the adjustment, there are other Omega dealers.