zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

omega's current stance on 33xx

Posted By: greg b (adsl-75-4-37-106.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)

Date: 10/4/06 04:46:35 GMT

FYI, I contacted omega after I ordered my 2594.52.00 and then learned of the problems with 33xx. 2 weeks later i got the response below. BTW chrono without problems, running a total of +4 seconds over 4 days. Only problem is a crown that screws down everytime i try to wind.

That's a new one ...

I have viewed a few forums that have stated the 33xx (ie 3301) movement has had a lot of reliability issues. This is of some concern to me as i feel i have spent a considerable amount of money for a watch i hope to have for many years.

Is this true? Have the problems been fixed? How do I know if my watch will have the problems?

We thank you very much for your message and your interest shown in our brand.

Taking note of your concerns regarding the family of OMEGA 33XX movements, we would like to give you the following information:

After the initial introduction of the OMEGA 33XX movements, we did experience some teething problems with the chronograph function. Since then these problems have been identified and corrected as part of our continuous quality improvements. Following this, new improved versions of the calibres 33XX have been introduced.

Any watches with problems have been &endash; and will continue to be &endash; corrected under warranty on an individual basis by our Customer Services Centres. Due to the limited number of repairs within our Customer Service Organization as well as the continuous improvements no recall has been necessary.

As with all OMEGA products, the calibers 33XX are the object of continuous evolution to meet the highest possible quality standards.

I'm reminded of "The Who" song "We won't get fooled again" which has the lyrics:

‘Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss’

Their current stance/explanation is to classify the problems the c.33xx's have (and continue to have) as “some teething problems with the chronograph function” ... with the ... “the initial introduction of the OMEGA 33XX movements”... They go on to claim that “Since then these problems been identified and corrected”...

This is essentially the same response that Omega has been making for over two years, minimum.

It'd be nice if that was the case. Unfortunately, more recent production c.33xx's continue to surface at a fairly regular pace. Virtually all of them suffer from the same four issues that early c.33xx's suffer from and/or a fifth issue that was not identified nearly three years ago, that being the "Rotor disengagement" issue.

These problems are not only from c.3303 models, which have been in production/distribution since late 2001, but newer models, like the Schumacher Limited Edition's which are c.3301 (newer production) models, models like the DeVille Co-Axial c.3313 which has only been in production for about two years, and the Constellation Co-Axial c.3313, which has only been in production for about a year. And we've seen reports posted of problems with these new models which have symptoms identical to those described in Omega's service bulletins. If the problems have been corrected as Omega claims then why are these new models experiencing the exact same problems?

Then there are the multiple cases of watches repaired by Omega that fail shortly after their return. But that's probably another topic.

Greg, I appreciate your taking the time to post Omega's current stance on the c.33xx. However, as I've pointed out, Omega's stance (PR spin in my opinion) hasn't really changed any, nor have the problems with the c.33xx ceased as Omega would prefer everyone to believe. They continue to happen, with the same symptoms, even with newer models.

-- Chuck