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Which watch?

Surf

Surf

Well-Known Member
pilot
Question for the more experienced. I purchased my first automatic watch about 6 months ago, and have had it either on my wrist or on a watch winder. How often should it be sent in for maintenance? Also, I've noticed that over time (months) it tends run fast. Could this be an issue of the winder or an issue with the movement itself?
 
HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
Sevice is usually 5 to 7 years. Depending on the brand, there might be a code with the manufacturer date on the watch case. The store didn't services it and who knows how long it sat there.

Almost anything can affect the accuracy but it should go too far off (seconds not minutes). Tempurature, humidity, how you leave it if you set it down for a long time (day, weeks, months) then start wearing it again. The key to accuracy is consistency. It eventually "settles". If you wear it daily, it settles to that and after a few weeks should be fairly consistent. If you wrar it one day, leave it on the dresser the next, put it on the winder the next, etc. it has a hard time settling in.

I rotate my watches and wear a difderent one every few days or even daily. Then they sit on the winder for a week or two. I check my accuracy using the time on the winder as my norm. Also, when it says +/- 5 seconds daily (or whatever), don't check it daily. Check it after a week or so from when you set it then divide the difference by the days.

When a watch consistently starts loosing or gaining time, it's a good indication it needs serviced. I just have mine serviced at 5 year intervals to make it easy.

Also, having the watch running or stopped doesn't change the service interval. The oils break down with time noy movement. Friction is your enemy.
 
sevenhelmet

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
Surf said:
Question for the more experienced. I purchased my first automatic watch about 6 months ago, and have had it either on my wrist or on a watch winder. How often should it be sent in for maintenance? Also, I've noticed that over time (months) it tends run fast. Could this be an issue of the winder or an issue with the movement itself?
Click to expand...

If it's running noticeably fast over a period of months, then your watch's day-to-day accuracy is probably OK. Even the best mechanical watches are nearly always off by at least a couple of seconds per day- usually on the slightly fast side. My most accurate mechanical watch is about 1-2 seconds/day fast. My Speedmaster was +8 sec/day when I got it, and eventually settled in to about +3 sec/day. Some lower end watches are only spec'd to be within 20 sec/day. If a mechanical watch is fast or slow by minutes/day, then it is either magnetized or needs a service.

There seems to be a lot of debate about winders and whether they're good or bad vs. letting the movement run down occasionally. Personally, I don't use a winder, I just rotate what watch I wear, and accept that sometimes they'll run down. Either way, folks seem to agree the service interval should be the same. 5 years is a good starting point for a service interval unless you watch develops a problem, like refusing to run or keeping crappy time.

Oh, and as a general rule, never try to change the date with the hour hand in the top half of the dial.
 
Last edited:
ChuckMK23

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
My Speedy was fast initially fully 10 seconds per day - and has now settled to +2 seconds per day. I am amazed at the accuracy of something that has gears, springs, and pins and cams.
 
sevenhelmet

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
ChuckMK23 said:
My Speedy was fast initially fully 10 seconds per day - and has now settled to +2 seconds per day. I am amazed at the accuracy of something that has gears, springs, and pins and cams.
Click to expand...

That's what I love about mechanical watches. For hundreds of years, people have been able to tell time by perfecting a piece of tiny machinery that needs nothing more than spring pressure to function. Some might find it anachronistic, but I think it's pretty neat, especially in an age of cheap digital watches.
 
sevenhelmet

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
jollygreen07 said:
Anyone have any experience with DePol watches? I'm thinking about starting my watch collection in the near future and I like the look of some of his offerings. Plus, I'm always willing to support a fellow JO!
Click to expand...

No first-hand experience with them, although I've had watches with the same movement inside. It's a workhorse quartz with good battery life, although I'm personally not a fan of the slanted date window. Stylistically I find the face very similar to Bremont Chronographs, which is to say it's a decent design. That said, De Pol seem overpriced for what they are (you're paying for a Rhonda quartz "drop-in" movement with a custom face). In my opinion they should be in the $300-600 range, not $900+. Other watches with that style of quartz movement are priced significantly less. As crowded as the pilot/sport watch scene is, that price point seems too high to be competitive. That said, if you're in it to support someone in the VFA community (which I completely get, BTW), then knock yourself out. Watches can be about the company as much as the watch itself, and it's something that's just a bit different, commissioned by someone who flies Navy jets. YMMV.
 
Surf

Surf

Well-Known Member
pilot
HAL Pilot said:
Sevice is usually 5 to 7 years. Depending on the brand, there might be a code with the manufacturer date on the watch case. The store didn't services it and who knows how long it sat there.

Almost anything can affect the accuracy but it should go too far off (seconds not minutes). Tempurature, humidity, how you leave it if you set it down for a long time (day, weeks, months) then start wearing it again. The key to accuracy is consistency. It eventually "settles". If you wear it daily, it settles to that and after a few weeks should be fairly consistent. If you wrar it one day, leave it on the dresser the next, put it on the winder the next, etc. it has a hard time settling in.

I rotate my watches and wear a difderent one every few days or even daily. Then they sit on the winder for a week or two. I check my accuracy using the time on the winder as my norm. Also, when it says +/- 5 seconds daily (or whatever), don't check it daily. Check it after a week or so from when you set it then divide the difference by the days.

When a watch consistently starts loosing or gaining time, it's a good indication it needs serviced. I just have mine serviced at 5 year intervals to make it easy.

Also, having the watch running or stopped doesn't change the service interval. The oils break down with time noy movement. Friction is your enemy.
Click to expand...

sevenhelmet said:
If it's running noticeably fast over a period of months, then your watch's day-to-day accuracy is probably OK. Even the best mechanical watches are nearly always off by at least a couple of seconds per day- usually on the slightly fast side. My most accurate mechanical watch is about 1-2 seconds/day fast. My Speedmaster was +8 sec/day when I got it, and eventually settled in to about +3 sec/day. Some lower end watches are only spec'd to be within 20 sec/day. If a mechanical watch is fast or slow by minutes/day, then it is either magnetized or needs a service.

There seems to be a lot of debate about winders and whether they're good or bad vs. letting the movement run down occasionally. Personally, I don't use a winder, I just rotate what watch I wear, and accept that sometimes they'll run down. Either way, folks seem to agree the service interval should be the same. 5 years is a good starting point for a service interval unless you watch develops a problem, like refusing to run or keeping crappy time.

Oh, and as a general rule, never try to change the date with the hour hand in the top half of the dial.
Click to expand...

Thank you both, interesting point to the consistency piece. The most I've seen it off current time is about 4 minutes. For a while I was just nervous to wear it, so it sat on the winder. I've started wearing it more frequently, and may just let it run it's reserve before I wind it again.
 
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