Servicing My 20+ Year Old Speedmaster at Omega, Experience & Cost

[CORRECTIONS] Thanks everyone for your comments, turns out a few things I had thought about my Speedmaster may need Correcting based on all your great comments:

1) I misspoke, mine is not the 'Sapphire Sandwich'.
2)A few people have noted it may be a later model from 1996-1999.
3) The grey gasket is from the sapphire case back seal.
4) California does not charge Tax on services and also the work was completed 'out of state'.

Omega Speedmaster is my favourite watch, After 12 years of ownership and 27 years of life I decided to get it serviced by Omega. In this upload, I discuss Omega Servicing, pricing, what it was like to deal with an Omega Boutique for servicing and what parts they replaced and sent back!

Disclosures:

[CasualWatchReviews]

[CORRECTIONS] Thanks everyone for your comments, turns out a few things I had thought about my Speedmaster may need to be corrected after some more knowledgable people than me gave feedback.
1) I misspoke and mine is not the 'Sapphire Sandwich'.
2) I'm trying to verify when it was made, a few people have noted it may be a later model from 1996-1999.
3) The grey gasket is from the sapphire case back seal.
4) Apparently, California does not charge Tax on services and also the work was completed 'out of state'.

[jimm]

Our family spent a few days in Panama, in March 1969, and during that time my father visited the Canal duty free zone, which back then was a real paradise for deals, and bought three brand new Omega Speedmasters - one for himself, one for my elder brother and one for me - just before my 14th birthday. Back then, Speedmasters sold in Panama for USD 100 each, believe it or not. A few months later, I wore it when we watched live on BW TV, as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. I wore the heck out of my Speedmaster through high school and college - it was the only watch I owned. It just never dawned on me that I might need another one. Foolishly, I took it swimming, even skin diving. Rode motorcycles with it. Played sports. The works. Proposed to my sweetheart. Got married with it on my wrist. Today, fifty years later, and cared for with much more care than before, it is still with me, still running. It was serviced for something (I forget what) back in the 70s. Then, I overwound it and broke the mainspring, sometime in the 80s. I do missions work in South America and to fix that at an official Omega shop down here was way above my means, so it went into a drawer, and I bought some cheap quartz thing. Then a few years ago I met an old watch repairman locally, who, though not an official Omega repairman, told me with confidence that he often had serviced Rolex, Omega, etc. and I decided - what have i got to lose? I got very lucky and found a vintage, never used Omega 861 mainspring for less than 100 at an Ebay source in Germany. The old gentleman serviced my watch and changed the mainspring for about US 50. Today it is running great, and I am so happy, now more than fifty years after receiving it from my father, to be wearing it again. I wore it the entire month of July to conmemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Would I ever sell it? Maybe after hell freezes over, but even then, probably not. Now i own several nice watches - but nothing has the sentiment, the history, the quality or makes me smile like my Omega Speedmaster.

[guylezius]

For a watch you purchased second hand, 27 years old and you’ve had it 12, the money you’ve spent to bring it back to such an amazing condition, well worth it taking every thing into account with the watch itself, cheers, great vid and enjoy your new watch 👍👍👌👌

[vanillacoffee]

27 years and no major movement parts replaced. That's testament to quality in my book. Good video, cheers.

[jerryg]

I have a Speedmaster I bought in August 1974. It is the version with the sapphire face. It is a manual wind version. It is the same 861a movement as was used in the space program starting in the 1960's. The tachometer numbers are silk screened on to the inside of the glass. I have been getting the watch cleaned and maintained about every 4 to 5 years.

Back in the 1970's, I was flying aircraft. I was flying in areas north of Montreal and Ottawa. I used the watch with the navigation timing for the operation of the aircraft.

Over the years, I had to replace the sapphire face a number of times because I accidentally hit it against things while working. I work in doing electronic systems service. After the third time I damaged the face I stopped wearing the watch while I work. I remove it and keep it in a soft cloth pouch. The sapphire face of this watch is very expensive to replace.

As for accuracy, my Speedmaster is keeping about -2 to about +3 seconds per day average. Sometimes it has been a second or two more or less than its average. This depends on movement and the type of activity I have been doing. It also depends on if I leave it over night sitting face up or standing propped up on its side.

Depending on my long term activities and etc., I have had times where the watch was keeping an average of better than 1 minute accuracy over a one month period. When the watch is lying flat face up it can run an equivalent of about +1 to about +3 seconds over 24 hours. If lying on its side or propped up to be in a standing position it can run about -1 to about -3 seconds over 24 hours. Overall when this watch is functioning properly, over a long period it keeps time almost as good as an average quartz watch. I was very surprised.

This is not an easy watch to service. It takes a fair number of hours to take apart and re-assemble after the parts are cleaned. Then there is the inspection and adjustment. Over the lifespan of my watch it required some internal parts to be changed from wear. A few years ago the balance wheel, main spring, hair spring, and escapement wheel were changed along with some other small parts. The white color on the hands was fading, and thus the service tech put on new hands.

After every time I have had the watch serviced take it back after about 4 to 6 weeks of use to have its speed-rate verified by the service technician. He can then touch up the regulation if necessary. After the maintenance it can take a few weeks for the lubricants used to settle down. To adjust the watch they use an instrument that can verify the beats per hour, the beat error factor, and the span of the balance wheel in degrees of rotation. There are adjustments for this. Regulation of this type of movement is not from simply moving a single speed adjustment.

I found this watch model is sensitive to magnetic fields. There are articles in various watch sites about this. Cell phones and tablets, and common magnets used in various areas can affect this watch. I know when the watch is slightly magnetized when its average time keeping is off time more than 7 seconds or more over the day. I have a watch degausser (demagnetizer) that I bought for about $30 on line. It is important to know how to use it, or you can magnetize the watch even more.

The 861a and the older versions of the Speedmaster had to meet very ridged specifications for the NASA space program. This watch movement has to be able to withstand the G-Force of taking off in a rocket and still maintain time. It can be fitted with a long strong Velcro strap put on to it and be warn on the outside of a space suit in space. This watch is not a very water resistant watch, but it can work in the vacuum of space and be used in high speed jet aircraft, rockets, and various aircraft under harsh atmospheric conditions. The 861a movement is still used in the NASA aerospace program. The space rated version is using the hard plastic face instead of the sapphire. This has to do with safety in case the face is broken. Pieces of glass inside of a space capsule can be dangerous.

I have a number of other Omega watches. I have an older De Ville, and a recent Planet Ocean. Both are automatic movement. These are terrific watches.

[grahamcawthorne]

Looks sharp! Totally worth it, only 800$ and 1 service in almost 30 years!

[Markus-Domanski]

I did the same about 10 years ago. It was a bit cheaper back then, but a perfect job as well. It's a standard prize, so regardless what is broken, they will fix it. The funny thing is, maybe this make me a bit weird, that I have never worn the watch ever since.

[Bugster]

Looks good. Ready for another 27 years.

[tods.]

It looks like you had a great experience from Omega. This is very helpful to see. Thanks for the details in the vid!

[jmfa]

I can't thank you enough for this video. I have been pondering where to take my Speedmaster Professional; my watchmaker closed up shop and disappeared. I live 45 minutes away from South Coast Plaza, so this information is GOLD to me, as there are a lot of guys working on watches that I wouldn't trust with this, the flagship of my modest collection. I too bought mine used back in 2009, and to my knowledge, the watch has never been serviced. Many thanks for sharing your experiences, and you now have a new subscriber.

[chateaubullion]

That's a fine looking 27 year old Omega. I have a 2018 Speedy Pro and makes me feel good to know I have quite a few years before I start worrying about service. I did ask the Omega store (here in Hawaii) about servicing the Speedmaster and was quoted the same price as you did. $750 must be the standard price for a full service on a Speedmaster. I think it's totally worth it to have it serviced by Omega and have that peace of mind. When the time comes I'll have mine serviced by Omega but by then it'll probably be around $1500 or more. Congrats!

[Supercruze]

Watch turned out beautiful. Nice to see they did not over restore the case. Absolutely worth the price of admission.

[hockeyrd]

I've sent my GMT and Railmaster there (via an Omega Boutique), and also felt like I got a brand new watch back. My Railmaster was almost 20 years old. My comment to readers would be that since they so thoroughly overhaul them.. completely disassembling and polishing bracelets, replacing mainsprings, gears, hands, if needed, etc... I think the price is worth it. However I wait until they stop running (or give me trouble) to send them in because the price for service is the same on a running and non-running watch.

[robertlevy]

I recently bought a Speedy Reduced from Tourneau. I overpaid on purpose since I know they do a similar service to every pre-owned watch they sell. I could have gotten the same watch from a different seller for less, but I have to say, the watch feels and looks new and is probably close to 20 years old. I am very happy and I recommend buying from Tourneau for watches that are known to need expensive service.

[paulbrady]

Hi Sam the service gives you piece of mind for next 10 or 15 years I’d say it’s money well spent my friend and the watch looks almost new. There is just something that has drawn me to the speed master akin to a longing but some day my ship will come in .Beautiful.

[Peter_WongVI]

Nice overview! Good to know you had a good experience with the Omega service centre.

[ticktology]

I’m glad you are satisfied with Omega’s service. That is a hell of a watch and it should last many more years! I really like the exhibition case back which provides a glimpse of that beautiful movement. My 2020 Omega Seamaster 300m is currently out for warranty work because it wasn’t keeping the advertised METAS certified threshold of 0 to +5 sec/day. Eagerly awaiting its return, but I am wearing my blue Planet Ocean in the meantime. Cheers 🍻

[SWatchik]

Looks amazing. Really appreciate these kind of videos, so useful for a future owner!

[JohnMartin-ohbf]

Got mine serviced, collected it today, no intérnal parts except for two cogs which obviously came from within the movement.
Pushers, crown, crystal, spring bars and a very small spring (probably from one of the pushers) came with the watch.
Watch looks new again.
5 star work from omega.

[stevemarshall]

Good to see. I have a Speedmaster which was a 21st-birthday gift in late 1970, so made in maybe 1969 or 1970. I think it will have either the 321 or 861 movement, but I did not keep the paperwork so don't know. It has never had any work done on it apart from a couple of crystal replacements. I'd love to have a restoration done on it - it's in reasonable condition but there are some corroded areas on the tachymetre scale and just general wear and tear of 50 years of use, even though I don't wear it all the time. I've been quoted about AU$1300 by a local Omega specialist watchmaker, and that was a while back so may be even more now. I haven't bitten the bullet just yet. I think these watches were retailing for about AU$270 when it was purchased!