I asked my mrs about Omega.
"I wouldn't buy one. I've sold hundreds of the years and had more than a fair share back. They spend all their campaigns on glossy magazine articles, James Bond placements in the movies - and spent little on the mechanics. Their inerds are not a patch on some brands and their customer service is shocking. They got through about 5 Omega reps in about 2 years. Every few months the rep would come into branch and it was a completely different person."
I said "yeah but they look nice and 007 wears one."
She said thats why they sell. Just hope you dont get a lemon.
The movements are no worse than any others. The 1120 movement in mine is an upgraded ETA 2892/A (ETA are also part of the Swatch group). The movement has been upgraded over almost three decades. I was advised by several people who are in the know that the troubles I had were very uncommon. The new coaxial escapement is a product Omega are very proud of and confident enough to offer a three year warranty on so it is a little unfair to say they are neglecting product development because of their marketing budget.
I agree that customer service is a disgrace. The whole experience of buying a luxury watch is very pleasant. They really do treat the customer like a king and the same is the case when you take it in for a service. However, when it really mattered when I had a complaint, it was as if they couldn't give a F*ck. I asked an expert why Omega were trying so hard not to repair my watch free of charge. My concern was that they are aware of an inherent defect which would cost them a fortune if they kept repairing as a gesture of goodwill. I was told this wasn't the case and the cost of the service to Omega would be a drop in the ocean compared with the loss of another sale.
The contact at Omega suggested informed me he was not authorised to make any better offer than he gave me (it was originally 10% off the service price). I then put pressure on them to name the person who could give the authority to make a better offer and with a bit of detective work tracked down Nick Towndrow (Head of Customer Service). It was as if he was protected by several subordinates who would battle really hard to stop me speaking to him directly. It was like I'd asked for an audience with her majesty.
They had the watch twice - it was inspected once and then Nick Towndrow's secretary asked for it again so he could inspect it personally (I suspect he didn't as one of the staff implied one of their senior technicians was looking at it). The whole process of getting it repaired lasted five months.
I suspect the original time keeping issue was something neglected in the first service. The water ingress is a bit more of a puzzle - I have had it down to 43 metres deep with no problems so I was a little surprised when it leaked in about 0.6 metres of water. It passed the pressure test Omega carried out so my suspicions are the place I took it to didn't seal the case back properly after having it open.
Some info on the ETA 2892:
http://www.chronometrie.com/eta2892/eta2892.html
