Hi,
My 3717 of late has been gaining some time.I don't wear the watch everyday but I have noted that the watch seems to be gaining about 8 secs per day or so .
Should I send the watch back to be checked at the factory or should I just monitor it over a couple more weeks ?
Thanks,Tom
The difference between wearing and not wearing
I noticed that my watches gain more on time when they lay around idly in their box than when I wear them. I think that it would be a good idea to wear the watch a few days, and then check it while still wearing it daily. I would think that accuracy while wearing the watch is the most important: when they lay waiting for action they most of the time run out of power anyway, unless you wind them manually every day: I do so for several watches, so I noticed the result mentioned above. By the way, when you use a winder I would think that the behaviour of the watch should be comparable to when you wear the watch. I don't know, I don't use a winder.
Kind regards,
Paul, wearing manually wound and very accurate steel VC Portuguese
Advice >>>
First of all 8 sec per day, while slightly out of spec, is not a big deal in my opinion. Wearing it more often could help, but also be aware of the position you leave the watch when off your arm. I am assuming you are not letting in run completely down while off your wrist. If the watch is left, e.g, in the dial down position, it will gain time. If left in in the crown up position, it will lose time.
Gaining a bit of time is okay with me. I will make all my meetings and not be late. LOL. Of concern not only is the accuracy , but also the consistency of deviations. If the watch is gaining and then losing at different rates in one position, that is more troublesome.
In the end, if this is driving you crazy, take it to a competent watchmaker, preferably IWC, and have it adjusted.
Bill
absolutely concur, good advice (nt)
advice please on time gain
My Spitfire UTC was in the first year slow anything between -2 to - 12 sec. day . Decided to have it adjusted last summer. The IWC watch adjusters in Hong Kong did a superb job. Now the watch is 1 to 4 sec. day pending my daily activities and overnight positions. I found out crown down or up slows down the watch gaining only about 1 sec.to max. 2 sec.day. Being a former navigator watch precision and time keeping is a bit of my obsession although these few seconds fast or slow in a day does not make any difference to my life now. However having an accurate watch is a good feeling.
Regards ,
Tom
Please explain
I read with interest the question and the responses. I'd appreciate if someone could explain why resting position it makes a difference to the accuracy of the watch. I am very much interested in learning the mechanics of the movemnet but please realize I am not an engineer.
Thanks,
Gary
Gravity?
I guess that because of gravity the position of the movement makes a minute difference. In the old days, with pocket watches hanging in one position, this was considered a small problem that was solved by a tourbillon, that made part of the movement turn to get rid of this effect. With wrist watches, moving around at your arm, this problem disappeard too, but it becomes visible when putting it down.
Kind regards,
Paul, wearing steel VC Pilot's watch
a little more tehcnical information
Watches operate differently depending on the position of the movement --the balance and escapement. There can be timing differences depending on position. As such, very fine watches have an "adjusted" movement, with additonal fine-tuning so that any variance in accuracy between orientations is minimized.
Watches are typically adjusted to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 positions. Traditionally, they are ordered as follows:
Dial Up
Crown Down
Dial Down
Crown Left
Crown Up
Crown Right
Watches can also be adjusted for isochronism (differences varying states of wind) and temperature. Those factors, too, affect "accuracy".
One good article discussing adjustments is linked below.
Regards,
Michael
I have a couple of different watch winders....
I find that if I put my 5001 in the less angled winder it is much less accurate after a few weeks than with the other winder. Just that small difference in position makes a difference with that particular watch. So it is worth it to experiment with a watch in various positions before jumping to any conclusions.
Thanks, very helpful. (nt)