Speedy 3861 - Omega Service Expectations

Why do you think the watch need service?

Unfortunately that is just the reality of owning a luxury mechanical watch.

The Watchmaking industry is having a “watchmakers crisis” because not too many are getting into, it’s time consuming, tedious, often difficult work. Exacerbating this issue is a boom in the popularity of luxury watches.

There just aren’t enough technicians to service them, so it’s gonna take a while. If you want to know why it costs so much, check out any number of watchmakers on YouTube to get an idea of what’s involved in just a servicing.

It takes 2-3 years to go through watchmaking school, and only a handful graduate a year. I am told by those in the industry that there is a need for 5,000+ watchmakers to join the field every year just to keep at current pace (which is clearly behind track) and the numbers actually becoming professional watchmakers is much smaller.

Check out episode 263 of the Grey NATO, starting at minute 24. This conversation is what got me perusing a career in watchmaking, leaving the automotive industry. It is not easy, there are now only 2 schools in the US, Lititz just closed and they were backed by Rolex. Rumors of all kinds around why, some saying they are moving to Texas, but they wouldn’t tell me when I asked, they just said they are closing after the current classes graduates in ‘25.

It’s strange, it’s almost like the industry is hostile to newcomers. Everywhere I turn I get shot down so I am just plowing ahead and educating myself online and will get my CW21, and maybe just open my own shop. There are clearly many many people like you who just want what’s best for their watch and there has to be more like me who just want to learn and do things the right way.

I don’t know what I’m getting at now and feel like I’m rambling, but this topic is endlessly fascinating to me

Oh I don’t, it runs great currently. I am just forward thinking about future services when needed. Assessing if I want to get out rather than deal with those concerns.

Great feedback! Thank you! I fully understand the shortage and actually listened to that episode as well. Makes sense. I’ve had some services done before by other brands (albeit not chronographs) and turn around was 2 months. Hard for me to justify buying this watch to have it sitting at omega for a year before I can wear it again. That would be a long year lol

Wow yeah that’s quite the difference! Maybe it’s because Omega is just so big, their volume of repairs and service must be staggering. I would imagine they want it to be profitable so are likely turning them around as fast as they can.

Maybe you can find a cheap moonswatch to wear when the time comes to send your sweetheart back to the mothership lol

I would say- wear it, enjoy it and find something more important to worry about. But that's just me.

It's not like you have a shortage of watches to wear while it's getting serviced years in the future...

Haha I can’t do it! No hate to those who buy them, I just haven’t had the interest when I own the real deal.

I think you’re going to have a hard time finding a watchmaker having a complete set of used parts for a Speedy just on hand. Also, most people looking to have watches repaired usually insist on new authentic parts unless the movement has been long discontinued and used parts are your only option. Omega and Rolex have very tight control on who gets parts now to prevent potential fraud or profiteering. It’s possible to get new cloned parts that are basically the same but now you would technically have a frankenwatch. Definitely anyone buying a luxury watch should factor in a repair cost eventually. Pivots wear out, gears break, mainsprings lose power, oils dry out. It’s a mechanical marvel that has a beating heart and will eventually be less and less accurate or will stop completely. Better to have that oil change before the engine seizes up. I’m almost at the 10 year mark for my Rolex OP 39 (2016); it used to have 2 seconds a day accuracy but now is up to over 8 seconds and is clearly out of spec. I know I’ll have to foot the bill for this repair soon and I’m not looking forward to it but it wasn’t unexpected. For my Railmaster I definitely won’t be taking this in to Omega unless I notice a problem first or I’m close to the 10 year mark. It’s part of the deal with owning a nice mechanical watch, but if you’re lucky you don’t have to worry about a repair for a loooong time.

Oh yes, I would want new authentic parts for certain. It may have come across this way, but I wasn’t suggesting non oem parts be used by a local watchmaker. I definitely would want one who has an agreement with omega to get new parts. At any rate, it’s less the cost than it is the time away for me. Understand that repair is part of it, but a year is hard to swallow for me is all. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

This is the reason that my original wishlist got slashed to pieces when I first got into the game. After learning what at least one of those would cost in periodic maintenance, I knew that owning more than one or two at a time was not going to be affordable. I think a lot of people forget to take that into account.

Some of the movements that have been hanging around for decades can go for quite awhile before needing a service - certainly more than the 5-7 year suggested interval (Submariner, Speedy, etc). I would hope that would be true for the new Speedy 3861, but time will tell as it's a newer movement design/variant.

That's not to say you should necessarily skip the recommended interval if it makes you nervous, but just know you would probably be fine to stretch it depending on your environment and what the watch is exposed to. The seals, oils, and friction points in the watch will need inspection and replacement over time, but not every watch experiences wear and tear at the same rate.

Maybe just budget $15-20/mo. so by the time you get to 5 years (earliest), you'll have what you need (hopefully, service won't be needed at that time).