I used to track a stripped out E30 325is with 240k miles on the clock I also drove a E46 M3 Vert to 125k miles and it still looked like new in the exterior and interior.

Old Omegas are supposedly better made than new Omegas according to some people so old Omegas should last as long as there are spare parts and a desire to keep it running.

Every part of a watch is relatively easy to replace from movements to crystal to cases to dials to hands so just depends on parts.

 

Ya, but going back to the car analogy, obviously you can keep ANY car (or watch) running forever in theory, but it is not reasonable to do so. That's why there are very few BMWs with 500,000 miles out there --nearly every part would have to have been replaced by then and that's just not realistic.

So, I imagine watches are the same way. Sure, you could replace every part, but there comes a time when it's just not worth it. In the car world thats usually about 175,000 miles or so...

What is it for watches?

 

When the watch is no longer desirable enough by anyone to keep wearing or it becomes a collector show only piece.

 

I was just wondering how long these watches generally last, since I don't see many very old ones for sale, and the ones you do see tend to give the impression they have been sitting in someone's attic for the last 30 years.

It sounds like the maintenance interval for watches is 4-5 years. Does that mean if you were to wear it every day for 20 years it would be worn out beyond any reasonable repair? I understand that most watches end up spending most of their time unworn, but I just wonder how long they can last if worn every day.

I am relatively new to Omegas, however, I wore a Seiko 5 every day for 35 years. It was COA'd 4 times during that period. It still keeps astonishingly good time for such a movement. My educated guess is that a well-cared for Omega will easily outlive the normal lifespan of the person wearing it.

There are lots of watches quite old; service intervals are only a recommendation, as it is with vehicles. I only have my watches serviced when they begin to lose or gain time to the point where I am no longer able to adjust them to within specification. An automobile is a considerably higher maintenance machine than a watch.

More antecdotes to come, for sure ...:-!

Have fun

Glen

 

What does "COA'd" mean?

 

It sounds like the maintenance interval for watches is 4-5 years. Does that mean if you were to wear it every day for 20 years it would be worn out beyond any reasonable repair? I understand that most watches end up spending most of their time unworn, but I just wonder how long they can last if worn every day.

Not sure your basis for saying most watches spend most of their time unworn...but that is not really the issue. So long as you service it regularly and avoid serious accidents (i.e., the kind that would cause serious harm to you, not just your watch) or things like water damage, a mechanical Omega will outlive you...regardless of whether it spends most of its time worn or in a drawer.

Less history to go by with quartz models, but my guess is that so long as you can continue to find batteries and parts, quartz models will outlive you too.

So, I imagine watches are the same way. Sure, you could replace every part, but there comes a time when it's just not worth it. In the car world thats usually about 175,000 miles or so...

What is it for watches?

Are you asking how long is it until you've spent more on service than the watch is worth? Well, take a $2000 watch, say it costs $400 to get it service. So after 5 servicings (or approx. 25 years) you will have spent more on service than on the watch itself. Is that what you're looking for?

 

I just got my Planet Ocean, but if you give me your info I'll have my grand kids let you know how it holds up!:-!

 

I have my grandfathers Omega, 42 years old and going strong.

 

Indeed, my old gold bumper still tells relatively good time, even though it has probably never been serviced. It's off by about a minute a day, and considering it is 50+ years old, that's pretty decent to me.

 

Longer than you expect!

Ok, these four together have a little over 250 years of survival between them.

'Nuff Said!

*edit* Sorry, the pocket watch is a Dent. I'll replace it with an Omega tomorrow as I'm off to bed now.

 

Longer than you expect!

Ok, these four together have a little over 250 years of survival between them.

'Nuff Said!

 

I would think that with appropriate care they should last as long as one wants. Its a matter of cost, as indicated in the car analogy. If you wear a watch every day for several years, it would increasingly need replacement of parts that will eventually fall out of production. If say the seals are not replaced, moisture might damage the dial and this will also need replacement - again costing a considerable amount. So in the end it boils down to how these watch are serviced and taken care of. Here are a few of mine that are at least 50 years old:

 

This one dates from 1950 and is still running strong:

Here's one from 1930 that needs some work but a local watchmaker says he can get it going again very easily:

Fr. John†

 

That's a lot of cool examples of old watches! However, can you testify to the fact that the watch from 1950 has been running relatively consistently for the last 60 years? I'd bet it spent a good amount of time in a box, not wearing out. It seems difficult to predict how long you can wear a watch until it isn't worth repairing anymore, since there is no objective and consistent way to measure usage (like miles on a car). It's easy to say "well, look how old this watch is!" But that doesn't actually prove the watch is/was long-lasting, unless you can also vouch for the fact that it hasn't been collecting dust that whole time.

The simple fact alone that so many of you have entire "collections" of watches suggests that most of them are not being worn at all on any given day. Also, most people wouldn't throw out a perfectly good Omega in running condition, so the fact that there aren't millions of 40-year-old used watches running around suggests that most of them have been thrown out because someone decided they were not worth fixing. That suggests that the old watches you guys have are the exceptions to the rule --the few watches that were lucky enough to be preserved carefully, or painstakingly restored.

 

Well, even if it only lasted 20, it would still be a better watch value than my Citizen Ecodrive that required warranty service three times in five years, then stopped working after the warranty expired...

 

My father and father-in-law have worn their Connies (Cal 551 and Cal 561 respectively) as their daily wearer since new in 1959 and 1960 as near as I can tell. This average age of ~50 years shows how robust these movements are. For that generation, you only had one watch. They aren't tradesmen so the watches haven't been bashed around, and the watches aren't worn when doing yardwork. But they are worn for nearly everything else. I admire those watches and I think they'll have to be pried out of their dead fingers before I get hold of them!

 

I'd venture to say a pretty long time, Omega only guarantees parts for 15 years post production but the reality is they are known to support most everything, and if there is enough demand they will start to manufacture parts again...contrast that with something like Rolex that tells owners of vintage pieces to take a leap when they are too old.

 

Hi guys, yesterday i read in a thread about the stiffnes of the speedy's crow that the constant winding eventually wears the axis of the crown and the wr resistance is degraded and it becomes a little "loose" with the passing of the years and so on, but then i thought....The axis of the rotor in an automatic watch suffers many times more that "eroding" effect because the rotor is moving wether you want it or not. Now, with a manual winding watch, you make the crow turn, parhaps.....50 times a day or so...
So in comparison that particular part should last more than an automatic's rotor. In fact i have some friends who have automatics, a 30 year-old seiko 5 to which he had to have the rotor changed due to wear.

I am not a watchmaker or watch expert but that's my humble opinion...
cheers

 

I have a WWW Omega with a movement which is dated circa 1943 - still going strong although I think it could do with a service or good clean. At 66 yrs old I think that says a lot about the longevity of mechanical watches. |>

 

I think the sort of 'conspicuous consumption' watch collecting by the middle classes that you see here is a rather new phenomenon. There may have always been rich eccentrics who collected but the fact is that up until recently most people owned one watch and made it last.

As far as the photos I posted, the majority have either had crowns replaced or have crowns that have been worn smooth. for a crown to be worn smooth by winding suggests a history of use.

 

I was just wondering how long these watches generally last, since I don't see many very old ones for sale, and the ones you do see tend to give the impression they have been sitting in someone's attic for the last 30 years.

I'm not sure where you're looking because the vintage watch sites I look at have Omegas as a significant percentage of their offerings.

I've often heard the analogy that swiss watches require maintenance just like cars do, since they are both complex machines. Well, my BMW requires significant maintenance every 30,000 miles, then by about 200,000 it would be more or less beyond repair --time for the junkyard... What's the watch equivalent to 200,000 miles?

Each time the watch undegoes maintenance it comes back virtually brand new. Overhauling a relatively uncomplicated watch won't break the bank, either. And a watchmaker, in a pinch, can create the needed part if necessary. So there really is no point where something is beyond repair. Of course, the repair might exceed the value of the watch, but as time goes on, you won't have the same watch to buy somewhere else, either.

It sounds like the maintenance interval for watches is 4-5 years. Does that mean if you were to wear it every day for 20 years it would be worn out beyond any reasonable repair? I understand that most watches end up spending most of their time unworn, but I just wonder how long they can last if worn every day.

Mileage (forgive the pun) varies by use, as mentioned already. But you need to determine what is "reasonable repair" cost for you. Like I said, overhauling an uncomplicated, old watch might cost you, say, $1000. You paid $500 for it. Is that unreasonable? Maybe, maybe not. At that point, the watch might be very sentimental to you, and/or might not be easily obtainable anymore. But it probably can get back to good working order. That's why the valuation/insurance/total loss analogy might not apply to watches.

 

I'm going to hazard a guess and say that a watch that has seen reasonable care could last upwards of 175 to 200 years. Naturally, without proper cleaning and lubrication, there will be wear and inaccuracy could result. But looking at the pocket watches of old and the metallurgy we have today, I think that our great-great-great grandchildren could still hold our Omegas and listen to them tick. Of course, once a crystal is cracked, or a winding stem is pulled out, all bets are off. But for the most part, I think a LOT of today's watches are going to be around two centuries from now, and maybe a lot later!