Man Returns Watch to Authorized Dealer Because It Gained One Second in Six Months

Investment banker Philip Creighton, 51, returned his $8,400 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean to an authorized dealer Tuesday, citing an unacceptable timing deviation of one second over six months of daily wear. The watch, powered by Omega's Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8900 -- certified by METAS to maintain accuracy within 0 to +5 seconds per day -- had gained exactly one second since Creighton purchased it in August, a performance that falls well within certified parameters and that Omega's technical department described as 'exceptional.' 'I was told this was a precision instrument,' Creighton said at the dealer's service counter, where he had arrived with a folder containing six months of daily timing records documented in a spreadsheet. 'One second is not precise. One second is chaos. Do you know what can happen in one second? A stock trade. A car accident. The entire trajectory of a human life.' The service advisor attempted to explain that all mechanical watches deviate from atomic time and that one second in six months represents an accuracy rate of 99.9999936 percent. Creighton was unmoved. 'My iPhone doesn't gain a second in six months,' he said. 'My iPhone cost $1,200. This watch cost seven times that. I expect seven times the accuracy, at minimum.' Omega's customer service team offered a complimentary regulation, which they estimated would bring the deviation to 'as close to zero as mechanically possible.' Creighton requested a written guarantee of zero deviation. He was informed that such a guarantee 'violates the fundamental laws of physics as they apply to oscillating mechanical systems.' 'Then physics needs to do better,' Creighton replied. He has since purchased an Apple Watch Ultra, which he reports is 'perfectly accurate.' He wears it on his left wrist. The Seamaster remains on his right, 'for aesthetics.' He checks both hourly.