zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: A titanium PO chrono whould be the ONE watch
: that would make me consider giving up my Ti
: SeMP 2293.50. The only problem I have is
: that I am very hard on watches, and they get
: banged around a lot when I'm wearing them.

: And that brings up an interesting issue, which
: I'd like to hear other people comment on
: (and particularly georges) as far as
: durability of the 3301 movement versus the
: 2500 A/B/C, which is still 33XX based. We
: all know that there were huge reliability
: and durability issues with the A and B
: models, and the jury is still out on the C.
: At the same time, I am unaware of any big
: problems with the 3301 movement that was
: used before the coax came out, so I am not
: sure whether trading from a 3301 movement to
: a 2500C (or D, if they get there) would
: really be staying the same or trading down
: as far as durability is concerned. A Ti PO
: chrono would be very cool (and light enough
: to actually wear...), but I don't want a
: watch that is going to toes up in the middle
: of the Caribbean ocean if I bang it off one
: of the jib winches while I'm coming about.

Hi Sam,

Actually, version A was the only bad one. 2500A was scrapped from the beginning and replaced with the B version, which was used in the Aqua Terra line for nearly 3 years. 2500C came out in early 2005 and has been reliable in the Planet Ocean models so far.

Comparing the 3301 to the 2500C is an apples to oranges comparison, since one is a Piguet based chronograph movement and the other is a co-axial non-chrono based on an ETA movement. The earlier versions of caliber 3301 were more problematic. As Chuck can tell you, Omega came out with some "retrofit" parts for the 33xx series that were supposed to correct the problems once and for all. We still see reported failures in Chucks' blog, but there haven't been as many of late as there had been in earlier years.

If you've had your SMP chrono for many years now and have not had a problem, then you may simply have received a "good one". I hope it keeps on running great for you.

-John

P.S. I do think a PO in titanium would be a good idea, since the PO is a heavy watch that could use some of Ti's "lightening effects".