Omega Caliber 1310

The Omega caliber 1310 Megaquartz 32 Khz was introduced in 1973. It was Omega’s first in-house quartz movement, and was produced until about 1978.

The 1310 has 8 jewels and a frequency of 32,768 Hz. Watches with this movement were advertised as being resistant to shocks, magnetism, and temperature changes.

The caliber 1310 later evolved into the caliber 1315.

Important Service Notes:

According to official Omega technical documentation, the 1310 “must in no case be demagnetized”.

Also:

“In order not to disturb the proper functioning of the watch, the electronic module must not be touched either with a tool – except key for trimmer – or with the fingers.”

And:

“The motor module must IN NO CASE be disassembled; the characteristics of the magnetic circuit would be disturbed. Do not clean the electronic module and motor module in bath.”

Accuracy:

Omega claimed watches with this calibre had an average accuracy rating of 5 seconds per month when worn. It has a trimmer which be used to regulate the timekeeping if the timing is off.

Below is what the trimmer looks like, but DO NOT mess with this unless you know what you are doing. It allows for a total adjustment of 10 seconds. If the trimmer cannot correct the daily rate of the watch, then the chances are that you will need a new electronic module (part 1310.9100).

Changing the battery:

The original power cell (watch battery) the 1310 came with was a Vartachron 508 (aka Varta), which cross-references to a 354 mercury cell. As these are not available anymore, you will want to find the modern equivalent: 386/SR43W. You can order new batteries here (your purchase supports this site). (In the image below, the watch is using an LR43 cell – it is an equivalent to the 386.)

The original Omega manual for watches powered by the 1310 stated that a new battery would run for “more than one year”. It is unconfirmed as to how this translates over to the modern 386 cell, but if you have experience with 1310 battery life, please comment below.

Be sure that the orange insulator tab under the battery is intact and in place.

Also take note that the battery strap is somewhat flimsy and can easily snap in half. Be very gently when unscrewing and screwing back in the holding screw.

Luckily, if this part breaks, you should be able to find NOS replacements. Look for “power cell bridle with screw”, part number 1310-9178. This part also fits the calibre 1315.

How to set the time/date:

Pull the crown out one click to advance the hour hand. Adjusting the hour hand independently in this position allows for quick adjustment when traveling across time zones or setting your watch for daylight savings time. This is also how to set the day of the week.

Pull the crown out two clicks to set the hours and minutes together.

Watches with this caliber will have two buttons on the right side of the case – above and below the crown:

The top button hacks the second hand for precise time setting. Hacking the seconds is achieved by pressing and holding the button in. You can also use this button to “catch-up” the time if your watch is running a few seconds slow. Quickly pressing the button will advance the seconds hand by one second.

The bottom button advances the calendar date. Each press of the button will advance the date by one day.

Crown/Stem Removal:

The detent button for removing the stem from the 1310 is a little red button on the crown side of the watch.

Coil Cover:

Typically there would be a shield over the coil, but it’s not uncommon for the shield to be missing.

The part is referred to as upper magnetic protection (part number 1310.9230). It will be a thin piece of metal with two prongs which fit into the two hole below the coil.

More Examples:

Below is another image of the 1310 submitted by Niklas:

Additional Resources:

• Official specs from ETA