zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: i've seen some questions recently about
: changing the date too close to midnight and
: how that could damage the watch. i bought a
: used 2531.80 seamaster and i was curious to
: how i could know if this had ever been done
: by the previous owner. i have watched the
: date flip over for the past few nights and
: it completes its' flip at 11:58 every time.
: is this a sign that there is no damage or
: could the damage show up sometime in the
: future? also-would this affect the time
: accuracy of the watch or is the date changer
: a seperate mechanism than the actual
: movement? thanks.

You have absolutely NOTHING to worry about, so put your mind at ease. When the watch leaves the factory, it is typically set so that the date will change within +/- 10 minutes of midnight. You can always have a watchmaker adjust it, but since yours is changing so close to midnight, I don't think you should waste your money.

I wouldn't think twice about what a previous owner may or may not have done. Since your date is changing within 2 minutes of midnight, it's obvious that no damage has been done. If the watch were abused and the previous owner did knock the date wheel out of alignment, your date would be changing much further from midnight. You should not expect any future problems, either, as long as you don't change the date betwen 8PM and 2AM.

The date change wheel has absolutely no effect whatsoever on the accuracy of the movement. An entirely separate mechanism is involved in the date change.

Relax and enjoy your Omega!!!!

Cheers,
John