zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

The Coaxial Escapement, according to Omega, dramatically reduces friction in the watch movement. Theoretically, this should result in two things; better accuracy for longer periods of time, and less frequent routine servicing.

"Routine servicing" (service done on a watch that is performing within specs) is essentially cleaning up the by-products of lubrication breakdown and replacing said lubricants.

Friction is the bane of all mechanical watches. As time passes following the routine servicing of a watch, friction causes the lubricant to break down, which in turn causes more friction, and so forth and so on, until routine servicing is needed again. As friction increases, accuracy decreases, thus a watch design that significantly reduces friction 1) increases the length of time that a watch will perform accurately and 2) increases the length of time between routine servicing.

Omega apparently truly believes that the Coaxial Escapement reduces friction significantly, as they give a 3-year service warranty with these models as opposed to their normal 1-year warranty.