Omega Speedy: Clean (but not service)?

[ShortShift811]

Slightly unusual query; does anyone know any independents who might be able to clean, but not service, my Speedmaster Pro?

I'm getting married in October and would like the bracelet and case cleaning / generally tidying up beforehand. But as the watch is only 18 months old, timekeeping is fine and it doesn't need the case opening or any form of service.

Went into my AD yesterday who said Omega will need to remove the movement if it goes back to them, no matter what, hence the full service charge of 490 would apply for the privilege.

Any thoughts or recommendations gratefully received!

[marcosgt]

I suspect anyone worth their salt would remove the movement to clean the watch, although they may not charge as much as Swatch to do it

M

[ecain63]

Could ask either myself or Variomatic if we could help.

Eddie

[Big_Dog]

Mine is 20 years old and I sling it in an ultrasonic cleaning bath with hot water every month or so. It hasn't filled up with water or stopped yet.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/JPL-7000-Ultrasonic-Cleane...

[Polome]

if your your watch has a the plastic type glass (not sure the correct name for material) try a good clean with " poly watch " cream . It will come up like new with a few minutes buffing. I've even used it on the metal case/ bracelet to good effect. Cheap at £5 a tube from decent watch shop. Not sure if this will work on crystal type faces. Worth a try. Good luck.

[Aidayboy]

Hi, the chap you should be speaking to is Martin Walport, Omega specialist, looks after 4 of mine.

Deals with clients from all over the world, check out the testimonials.

Feel free to say Aidan recommended him

http://www.martinsjewellers.co.uk

Good luck
Aidan

[Variomatic]

ShortShift811 said:

Went into my AD yesterday who said Omega will need to remove the movement if it goes back to them, no matter what

They're right. Anyone who offers to do anything more than a light brush-down with soapy water and a toothbrush on a cased-up watch is someoone to avoid like the plague.

Polishing compounds, buffing dust and grit will get inside the pushers and crown and will play havoc with the seals over time. Ultrasonics will put seals under far more strain than simple immersion - while that may not cause problems, if there's any weakness then ultrasonics will find it!

It's a little different doing it to your own watch because it's your watch / your risk but anyone who offers to "professionally" clean a watch case with the movement inside is showing a pretty cavalier attitude to someone else's kit.

That said, simply removing the movement doesn't mean that it has to be serviced as well. Omega may insist on it but any reputable indie should be able to do what you want at a fraction of their quote.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Really? Really?

I have a 14-year-old from new Seamaster.

It gets a little grubby and the stainless loses it's shine after 5 or 6 weeks or so. Basically due to dirt.

When it is grubby, and requires a clean, it gets taken into the next bath I have, whereupon I work some liquid soap into the bracelet and the entire watch (usually after I have done the same to my balls ) and I then set about it, gently, with a normal scrubbing brush - nothing too heavy, just a little brush with soft bristles.

It's a 300m diver's watch FFS - so I am sure (and it does) happily take a wee scrub in a domestic bath!

Once gently scrubbed, it gets rinsed under the tap, and padded dry with a towel. Then, it gets left in my bedroom, resting on another towel, until totally dry. This takes maybe an overnight drying session - water will ingress into the strap pins, and no matter how much you dry it initially - if you try to wear it on the same night, you get drips of grubby water seeping out onto your wrist!

But anyway - my regime costs nothing, brings the watch back to sparkling newness - and causes zero damage or worry to the thing...



Sending it away for 'cleaning...?' Madness!

[Variomatic]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Really? Really?

I have a [...]

Like I say, different story if it's your own watch. When, one day, the crown seal decides it's had enough of all that soap and you start getting rust inside then it's your watch, your problem.

A professional doing the same would (rightly) be liable for the damage but a "professional" doing that sort of thing is very unlikley to stand up and take the hit when you complain

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Variomatic said:

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Really? Really?

I have a [...]

Like I say, different story if it's your own watch. When, one day, the crown seal decides it's had enough of all that soap and you start getting rust inside then it's your watch, your problem.

A professional doing the same would (rightly) be liable for the damage but a "professional" doing that sort of thing is very unlikley to stand up and take the hit when you complain

It's a 300M professional diver's watch.

I am sure (because I get it serviced with new seals and a pressure test every 5 years at £400) that it will happily withstand (as it has done so for 14 years) a bit of a clean in my bath, no?

[Variomatic]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

It's a 300M professional diver's watch.

I am sure (because I get it serviced with new seals and a pressure test every 5 years at £400) that it will happily withstand (as it has done so for 14 years) a bit of a clean in my bath, no?

It should, but it's not what it's designed for - 30cm of hot soapy water is a totally different environment to 100m (the very most it's likely to see on any dive) of cold salty water. Soaps attack rubber, hot water expands cases, softens seals and increases rate of rubber degradation, steam gets through gaps that water can't and so on.

So, given that the maker wouldn't guarantee it in that environment, anyone other than the owner who did that would be acting unprofessionally.

[yeti]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Really? Really?

I have a 14-year-old from new Seamaster.

It's a 300m diver's watch FFS - so I am sure (and it does) happily take a wee scrub in a domestic bath!

Good for you.

However the OP has a Speedmaster,
Not a Seamaster. What you do with your watch in the bath is hardly relevant to what he does with his 30m WR chronograph.

[Variomatic]

yeti said:

[...]What you do with your watch in the bath is hardly relevant to what he does with his 30m WR chronograph.

Yeah, there is that too

[ShortShift811]

Cheers all, some interesting points.

I didn't know the Speedmaster had any kind of water resistance rating. I've even been reluctant to get it splashed when washing my hands!

I wouldn't be comfortable sticking it in an ultrasonic cleaner, but my next plan of action may well be some polywatch and a soft-bristled brush to try and remove the build up of dirt around the case.

Pretty impressed that I've worn it every day for 18 months and it still looks relatively unscathed though.

[yeti]

ShortShift811 said:

I didn't know the Speedmaster had any kind of water resistance rating. I've even been reluctant to get it splashed when washing my hands!

30m doesn't mean you can submerge it to 30m (although it would have been static pressure tested to the equivalent when new); effectively it means splashproof. I've seen people swim in theirs but I'd say that's only a matter of time before a pusher seal gives in...

[theaxe]

I use:

- An old toothbrush and some toothpaste on the strap.
- A gentle rub of t-cut on the hesalite to take any scuffs out.

[Variomatic]

The thing with a 30m rating is that there's no such thing.

By that, I mean that the official ISO ratings (which are all done to standard tests) start at 50m, which is considered the minimum for swimming. Any rating that's not in the ISO series (50, 100, 150, 200m) is done to an in-house standard and it's up to the makers what exactly it means, and how they test them.

From that pov, "water resistant to 30m" could mean that it won't leak if you take it wthin 30m of water, or that it won't leak on the surface if you're 30m from shore, or.... ????

Omega is reputable enough that they will have tested in the way people assume - by putting it under 30m worth of pressure. In practice, that's plenty of static pressure to ensure it's ok for immersion in cold water. The advantages to them in using a non-standard depth are that (a) makers have to pay for every watch produced to a standard rating in order to "use the mark". and (b) they don't have to guarantee it for any particular type of use.

[traffman]

I trained as a silversmith , worked for a goldsmith for a while.

We used to immerse our items into a mixture that was warmed and given the ultrasonic treatment.

But the best advice i ever received was to place my grubby watch in a warm soapy solution overnight . Hey presto morning comes and its really shiney.

Try it , dam site cheaper than nigh on 500 quid.

I guess you can remove marks with p800 then p1200 grade wet n dry. That's only if the watch is brushed steel in the first place.

[ShortShift811]

Interestingly it's listed as 50M water resistance on the Omega website:

http://m.omegawatches.com/collection/speedmaster/m...

[ecain63]

traffman said:

I trained as a silversmith , worked for a goldsmith for a while.

We used to immerse our items into a mixture that was warmed and given the ultrasonic treatment.

But the best advice i ever received was to place my grubby watch in a warm soapy solution overnight . Hey presto morning comes and its really shiney.

Try it , dam site cheaper than nigh on 500 quid.

Or don't! A soaking in soapy water won't help the seals at all. You wouldn't wash your car with Fairy washing up liquid would you?

Im a proper jeweller btw!