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Omega 5000g Shock Resistance: What does that mean?

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jsbach

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi Folks,

I was on the Omega.ch site the other day reading the FAQ page and noticed all Omega watches have a shock resistance of 5000g. What does that mean? I understand shock is measured by dropping the item from a certain height onto a hardwood surface. But what exactly is the reference to 5000g shock resistance with regard to my watch? I tried to research some sites on shock resistance, but came up with nothing. I even checked out the G-shock videos on the website, but they didn't really explain anything. I imagine the G-Shocks can withstand way more shock than my Seamaster Bond. So then, what would a G-Shock's resistance number be? 10,000g? 15,000? 50,000g?

jsbach :)
 
#2 ·
I suspect that it means that if you put them very carefully into a machine that very smoothly decelerates them in a way that means they 'feel' a momentary 5000g they don't break. In my experience that means that you can drop one from your wrist onto carpet and it probably will not break, wood and it probably will break and stone will certainly invalidate your warranty in 8.3 picoseconds.
 
#3 ·
Basically don't drop your watch.
 
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#4 ·
a shock rating means nothing without impulse duration and profile. basically it's marketing.

it's also a heck of a lot higher rating than most mil-spec equipment.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Basically don't drop your watch.
Click to expand...
Nicely put!:-!

a shock rating means nothing without impulse duration and profile. basically it's marketing.
Click to expand...
I would assume that the the shock's duration and profile will at least make a show of simulating a landing after being dropped. The first thing to go in a watch that is dropped is the balance and the anti shock protection does make a difference. However pretty well every high end watch since the fifties has it and so I would assume that, with minor variation for different anti shock strategies; KIF, Incabloc, etc, all decent escapements will have similar resistance. Actually, on reflection, I would suspect that those with a deformable plastic movement spacer will cope with intense shocks better than those with movements that are bolted in. I'm actually in the middle of writing something about the way that high end manufactures add or advertise features that are, at best, irrelevant or universal. I wasn't going to, but I might well use this as another example now.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Re: It's the equivilent to

dropping the watch onto a hard surface from about 3 and a half feet. (True)
Click to expand...
That makes sense, however, to be pedantic, the Swiss don't use the foot as a unit of measurement. I guess you mean a metre, which converts to 3.281 feet?
More to the point, the devil is in the details. Both pine wood and granite are hard, but they will have very different shock profiles. More to the point, simply dropping something would introduce too many variables to be a reliable test and wouldn't allow Omega to accurately control the shock profile. I agree that the test will be loosely equivalent to dropping from about wrist height, but I'm quite certain they will use a testing machine.

5,000G does seem like a suspiciously round number. Does anyone know the precise details of the shock test?

*edit*

Here we go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_resistant_watch

ISO 1413.
 
#9 ·
Shock resistance is also related to the weight of the watch, so full ss and heavy watches (such as the SMP series) will experience more severe consequences after an accidental fall. Add to that the complications of the watch. I bet a 2594.50 SMP chronograph will suffer more compared to the non-complicated 2254.50 SMP...
 
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#10 ·
Real world test results -

I live in the middle of nowhere and it's a 6 mile round trip to the nearest village down country lanes. Sadly a minority of drivers don't seem to be very good at it around these parts and i've been hit 5 times in the last year while walking along said lanes.

One time i was hit full force by the passing car at about 40-50mph on the arm/wirst (as that's the bit of you that sticks out most when walking) There was a piece of the cars wing mirror stuck to the bezel edge on my Speedmaster. It took the full force of the hit. No damage at all apart from scuffed up hesalite, watch kept on ticking and keeping time as good as before.

How many "G's". No idea.
 
#12 ·
Sounds like the main (only?) concern as to impact damage has to do with the mechanical movement. I mostly wear quartz watches (I like to know the time), e.g. the Omega Seamaster 300 in quartz. My guess is that quartz watches are much more rugged.

Any knowledge or opinions?
 
#13 ·
Well, to resurrect an old thread, today I had an unexpected real world testing moment too. Whilst completing a quick DIY job at home, I had left my Omega SMP 2531.80 Bond on a shelf. My wife then took some items off the shelf and in doing so knocked the watch onto a tiled floor. It fell just over 5 feet and thankfully survived. Upon inspecting the watch to find where it had actually impacted the floor, the only trace I could find was a slight dint in the bezel at the 35 minute mark which you can just make out in the photo. This means the watch probably fell face down and the crystal must have had some of the force of the impact. TBH, I'm not at all fussed about the dint, this just merges into the other various marks that are on the watch due to daily wear. The bezel insert itself now has a slight fade and, to me at least, just adds character to what looks like a well loved watch... and it is! The whole event has impressed me a great deal. There is no question that G-shocks are able to withstand far greater shocks - anyone who has ever worked on these or even changed a battery on one will know that for sure - but the old Omega is a quality, well designed and well built piece of kit that can clearly also take a few knocks and that just makes me love it all the more. In hindsight, the safest place for my watches is on my wrist... at least in my house it is.
 
#14 ·
That moment when you react but realize you will never ever catch your watch and then you sit and watch it sail to the ground in slow motion while you make a sloth from goonies sound.

Been there....we all have. glad to see it came out relatively unscathed! Might be a good time to buy a new one though ......you know....because you're old one is broken. *hint hint*
 
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