Aqua Terra just shipped off for minor service. Wish me luck!

[AEC]

I dread sending watches for service. It usually goes fine, but the risk of sending it off on a journey to be disassembled and all that...

Anyhow, the crown in my three-year-old Aqua Terra has been extraordinarily stiff since the day it was new, and I think it has become even stiffer in the last few months. The crown does everything it's supposed to do, but every aspect of operating it is really stiff (unscrewing/screwing down, winding, pulling out to other positions, turning it to set the time, etc., everything feels really stiff).

Until recently I figured I would just live with it until the watch is ready for its first full maintenance service, but lately I realize it's impacting my enjoyment of the watch, and now I'm also concerned that the seals around the stem could be faulty, and it really ought to be addressed.

The watch remains under Omega's International Warranty, so I packed it up with a photocopy of my warranty card (per Omega's instruction) and a note describing the symptoms in detail, and I sent it off to the Omega Service Center in Seattle, WA.

I'll report back about my experience. Meanwhile, please join me in wishing safe travels to my Aqua Terra!

[Soarer]

Nice. Omega AT is one of my favourites. I am sure it'll do good in Omega hands. I personally will not give to anyone else.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[DCheeta]

It'll be fine. I had my AquaTerra serviced by Omega a few years ago and it came back perfect. Great experience with Omega service.

[sco]

Mine went back twice when the hour hand stopped jumping while setting. The second time Omega made it perfect. Good luck!

[brandrea]

Good luck Tony, hope you get it back sooner than expected!

[JeremyS]

Hey Tony--good to see you over here, too. Sorry to hear about the AT; I think I remember this topic coming up on Timezone, too. I've been pleased with Omega's service, actually. They did an amazing job on my Speedmaster Racing Chrono. This crown issue is something of a not-so-secret, secret on the AT, so I'm sure they'll take good care of you.

[AEC]

Update:

My Aqua Terra is back now, and it's operating better than new. I am very pleased with the quality of service provided by the Seattle Service Center, and I can recommend it with full confidence.

Of course, there's a bit more to the story

I thought I was being clever by navigating to the shipping and contact info for the Seattle Service Center on Omega's web site and shipping my watch there directly, but this actually caused a bit of ironic complexity. It seems that a recent reorganization of Swatchgroup USA Customer Service resources included a change in how the Seattle Omega Service Center operates. Now, all Omega watches handed in for service at Omega Boutiques across the USA are sent by the Boutiques to the Seattle Service Center, and it's not really set up any longer for routine interaction directly with consumers (no reception desk, etc.).

After I sent my watch to the Seattle address listed for the Omega Service Center, I received confirmation from someone at a Tourbillon Boutique listed at that same address saying my watch had been received by the Tourbillon Boutique and handed over to the Omega Service Center. Apparently, the front end of the Omega Service Center used to be an Omega Boutique, which now is a Tourbillon Boutique (another Swatchgroup subsidiary). After the service was complete, I received more communication from the Tourbillon Boutique saying they would ship it back to me. They weren't able to tell me much about what was found or what service was performed, and it seemed like they weren't sure how to connect me with someone at the Omega Service Center. I thought this was odd, and I didn't really like that I was not communicating directly with Omega Customer Service.

My watch arrived home, but there still was a problem with the crown, so it needed to go back. This time, I persisted with the Boutique staff until they arranged for the manager of the Omega Service Center to phone me. He's the one who explained about the reorganization and the Omega Service Center's new role as an in-house resource.

The manager of the Service Center was great to work with directly. He emailed me a shipping label to get my watch directly to the Service Center (bypassing the darned Boutique). They made the necessary adjustment to the crown the same week, and shipped the watch back to me right away. Now it performs and operates perfectly.

The manager of the Service Center explained that we still can send our watches to the Seattle Center for service if that's our preference, but we should do it in a somewhat specific way. We should phone the toll-free number listed for Customer Service on Omega's web site and request their assistance in shipping our watches directly to the Omega Service Center located in Seattle. Customer Service will then email the pre-paid shipping label we need in order to do that. Once the watch is received in Seattle, the Service Center there will send email directly to us with log-in credentials for tracking progress in Omega's on-line Customer Information System.

Thanks for reading! Hope this will be helpful in case members here prefer to direct their watches to Omega's Seattle Service Center.

[DonBateman]

Beautiful watch!

[superdog]

Originally Posted by DCheeta

It'll be fine. I had my AquaTerra serviced by Omega a few years ago and it came back perfect. Great experience with Omega service.

I can wholeheartedly agree.

Omega appears to put a real focus on their service as a whole.

Your AT will likely come back stunning as new.

[superdog]

^^ whoops. Just read the update.

[J!m]

I had my Planet Ocean serviced in New Jersey and the winding is so smooth and quiet you have to put it to your ear to hear the click.

Smoothest operating crown of any watch I’ve handled.

Omega service (NJ anyway) really do outstanding work.

[fiendfx]

If you hand it to the Omega boutique, do they charge you for shipping? What would be the difference to hand it to an Omega boutique vs send it directly to the Omega Service Center? THanks

[AEC]

Originally Posted by fiendfx

If you hand it to the Omega boutique, do they charge you for shipping? What would be the difference to hand it to an Omega boutique vs send it directly to the Omega Service Center? THanks

Probably best to pose this question to Omega Customer Service when the time comes, just to be sure, but I believe there are no shipping charges if you hand it off at a Boutique. The thing I'm not sure about is whether you still would receive email with log-in credentials for the Customer Information System allowing you to track progress yourself. I would think a Boutique or Omega Customer Service can say exactly how it would work.

[Jster]

That's great to hear. My 10+ year old 2254.50 is running a bit slow and I've been thinking about sending her in for service. The Seattle Center sounds like a good choice.