Who copied who?
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
I'm familiar with the Titus and the Accutron came first by a few years. Most of the Titus tuning fork watches you see advertised are said to be not running.
I've been told that the Titus movement is based on the Omega tuning fork movement and that some of the parts are interchangeable but I really have to wonder about quality since most of them aren't running.
I've been told that the Titus movement is based on the Omega tuning fork movement and that some of the parts are interchangeable but I really have to wonder about quality since most of them aren't running.
I think the Titus watches get kind of an unfair comparison with the likes of Omega etc. Their electronic watches use the exact same ESA 9162 movements (except for a few very minor cosmetic differences) as the Omega F300's, Eterna Sonics, Tronosonics, etc. and the quality of construction seems to be equal to the Omegas using the same movement.
The Titus designs are rather uninspired and derivative, though, so I can certainly understand the bias on the basis of design. Omega certainly deserves kudos for their past technical innovation, although people sometimes tend to ascribe magical properties to Omegas that may not necessarily be the case.
Concerning precision and reliability:
It seems that a high percentage of Omegas movements of various types are no longer functioning, particularly the f300, Megasonic, Electroquartz, and Megaquartz movements. By comparison, a pretty high percentage of simple pin lever and electronic movements (Timex etc) from the same era are still functioning. It may be that the Timex's that are no longer working are simply thrown away, skewing the percentages, but I think it's more than that. Sometimes, highly engineered devices have very tight tolerances and are more prone to failure by design, so failure rate is not necessarily an indication of precision and in some cases the relationship can even be inverted.
-abe.
The Titus designs are rather uninspired and derivative, though, so I can certainly understand the bias on the basis of design. Omega certainly deserves kudos for their past technical innovation, although people sometimes tend to ascribe magical properties to Omegas that may not necessarily be the case.
Concerning precision and reliability:
It seems that a high percentage of Omegas movements of various types are no longer functioning, particularly the f300, Megasonic, Electroquartz, and Megaquartz movements. By comparison, a pretty high percentage of simple pin lever and electronic movements (Timex etc) from the same era are still functioning. It may be that the Timex's that are no longer working are simply thrown away, skewing the percentages, but I think it's more than that. Sometimes, highly engineered devices have very tight tolerances and are more prone to failure by design, so failure rate is not necessarily an indication of precision and in some cases the relationship can even be inverted.
-abe.
I suspect that there is a lot to be said for the theory that many of the Timexes and similar price class watches that quit running have been thrown away skewing the numbers regarding reliability.
I would compare this to my 1977 Corvette compared to other 1977 Chevrolet models. There are still a lot of the old Corvettes on the road while the other models have pretty much been melted and made into something else.
My only evidence of Omega versus Titus is anecdotal. I don't have a Titus, will have to get around to doing something about that, and I've had my only tuning fork Omega for about 2 1/2 years during which it has been very accurate and dependable.
I would compare this to my 1977 Corvette compared to other 1977 Chevrolet models. There are still a lot of the old Corvettes on the road while the other models have pretty much been melted and made into something else.
My only evidence of Omega versus Titus is anecdotal. I don't have a Titus, will have to get around to doing something about that, and I've had my only tuning fork Omega for about 2 1/2 years during which it has been very accurate and dependable.
Ha Ha. been there before, failed that test! :lol:
I like the one at or near the top listed as NOS. I would think they can be resurrected using f300 parts. Could be most folks just don't bother. IIRC, I recently saw a post somewhere about an Omega f300 sent to the factory and being repaired by Omega. One might make a nice addition to our Accutron tuning fork collection. I would love to have a Slava Transistor - operational or not.
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Join the discussion
