IWC Pilot’s Chronograph..question about the chrono minute hand position

Hello IWC experts, I am following up on my post in the Contemporary Timepieces
section.

Finally received my IW377725 150 Years Edition few days ago, but unfortunately
noticed an issue.

The Chronograph minute recorder hand is aligned to the marker only from 0-6
minutes, then becomes misaligned from 7-24 minutes (the hand consistently
lands short of the markers). From 25min onwards it lands nicely on the markers
again. I'm curious as to the cause of this.

The hand resets perfectly so it should not be a hand setting issue. Then I
thought there could be a dial misalignment or incorrect dial printing, but the
markers all seem to be in the correct positions (using a ruler to line the
markers up). In addition, as you can see in the photo below, the 15min marker
on the chrono minute recorder is perfectly vertical and under the main chrono
second hand. This means to me the chrono minute hand is landing short of the
markers. So it seems like dial printing or misalignment should not be the
problem.

Could this misalignment of the chrono minute hand be due to a problem with the
gear/wheel itself? I am undecided whether to send the watch in to get this
resolved now, or wait until the end of the warranty period. As this is a
limited edition, I'm worried that spare dials might no longer be available
after 2 years (assuming the dial printing is indeed the problem). If this is a
simple thing to resolve, I'd rather wait till the end of the warranty period.

In any case, I hope some of you experts can chime in and advise. Thank you!

Merry Xmas everyone! Any one able to help with my query please?

Personally I wouldnt be bothered about this issue. It is very unlikely that
this is an issue caused due to dial misalignment (it would have been visibily
misaligned).

I have the same watch and after reading this I didnt even bother to check if
mine has the same issue. My guess is this is because of the eta movement (as
you note stock photos has the same issue as well). I had IW3878 in the past
(with in house iwc movement) and the chronograph on that was supeb, far better
then the eta movement.

The key feature of this watch is the lacquered dial (along with usual iwc
attention to detail), I suggest ignoring any issue with the precision of the
chronogragh and enjoying the watch (it is a superb watch and jubliee
edition!).

Hi Salt, thanks for your input! I agree with you and that is what I am trying
to do now, enjoying the watch and not worrying about it until the end of the
warranty period.

I guess the disappointment comes from the fact that I was looking forward to
own this particular watch for many months, only to get a piece with an
'irregularity'. I am hoping this will be a quick fix in the future.

Nevertheless I am curious to know what could be the reason for this and
whether this is something to be expected with the 7750 based movement. The
7750 movement is widely used across many brands and I don't recall seeing this
misalignment to this extent before.

forums.watchuseek.com/f350/iwc-chronograph-hour-hand-not-
aligned-1019236.html

This may help seems like others have noticed similar issues with 7750 based
IWC movements as well (as you will see in the thread, one user comments on
seeing the same behaviour with omega moon watch). My guess is this is
something acceptable for the 7750 based movements. In any case, I think this
should clarify that this is not a dial issue.

Your experience with the Chronograph is unusual and certainly not common
place.

Neither my Pilot Chronograph 3717, GST 3707 Chronor my Omega Moonwatch display
this
behaviour.

I'm sorry that your pleasure with your Jubilee Pilot is incomplete.

Opener experience is not unusual, I have same "issue" but in the opposite way,
the seconds hand of the chronograph is a little bit misaligned at the
beginnig, then hit the mark perfectly after 10 minutes, see pictures below.

I can live with that since it is not a major flaw to my eyes, so much to else
to enjoy about the watch.

It could be just something to be expected from this ETA based movements or
maybe not, it's just lack of attention by manufacturer. Anyway I can
understand disappointed people and feel their pain.

I own multiple IWC chronographs and it would bother me immensely if the hand
would not be aligned with the dial.

You should have it corrected by an AD in my honest opinion. I'm sure if you
pay for perfection you should get it and not have to be reminded every time
you look at your watch and have that (WHAT IF) feeling.

So do not hesitate but have it checked and altered.

yours sincerely

I agree, it would bother me too. One of the attractions with a brand like IWC
is their meticulous attention to detail, so I'd have thought they'd address
this. I'd take it in to your AD. Good luck!

Thanks for all the responses so far. I appreciate it.

I think the emotional side of me wants to send it in to IWC for the issue to
be rectified immediately.

However the rational side of me says I should enjoy the watch for now and wait
till just before the end of the warranty period to send it in (and take
advantage of another 1 year of warranty).

The watch is only 1 week old and sending it in would mean being unable to use
it for 6-8 weeks. In addition it is keeping good time.

Besides, I'm also worried that opening the watch up will introduce other
issues..dust on the dial, scratched cases, etc etc ..I've had bad experiences
with another brand (non-Richemont though). Would be horrible to have to go
through a cycle of sending it back again to resolve new issues, especially on
a new watch.

I guess I can't help but feel kinda disappointed... especially since this is
such a special Jubilee edition and in my mind it should be perfect.

I'll be visiting my local IWC boutique soon (ordered a deployant clasp and the
Kevlar strap for this watch) and I'll show them the problem and see what they
say.

Anyway, does anyone know what could be the reason for this problem? Is it as
mentioned by some of you a problem with the movement, in this case the minute
recorder wheel which governs the position of the hand? I'm wondering if this
is a quick fix by simply swapping a new movement in or installing a new minute
recorder wheel.

share some pics with the kevlar strap if you can please. :)

I do not understand...

either your happy with the watch as is, or you're not.

In my opinion an IWC has to be perfect and I'd be happy (..) or not and you
should have it attended to.

waiting a year and sending it in in order to extend the warrenty does not make
sence to me. You'll get a (2?) years warranty on repairs/overhauls anyways.

I'm confused by your reaction.

but either way good luck.

I agree...

I hate this post because it triggered my OCD... I grabbed my loupe, my 377725
and hit my office to stare at my minute subdial for 25 minutes. I watched the
minute hand consistently land on the indicator every 60 seconds. So I can
safely say that my piece is not affected by this (atleast not after running
the chrono for 25 minutes straight).

My suggestion, bring it to your AD and have them look at it, more than likely
it only requires a minor tweak to get it aligned again.

I also want to say IWC is fanatical about your experience with the watch and
if its subpar they will do what they can to make it right. Their customer
support is top notch!

Thanks for all the replies! After a busy start to the year i finally managed
to bring it to a boutique to have it checked out by the in-house watchmaker.

He observed it under a loupe and discovered that the post where the minute
hand is installed on is slightly bent...apparently the hands are manually
installed at the factory so this could be a human error. He also said this is
not very common but it is easily rectified by changing out the wheel and
reinstalling the hands (correctly) :)

After some discussion I have decided to leave it as it is until close to the
end of the warranty period as this does not impact the watchkeeping or
movement. The watchmaker also recommended this.

Thanks to all who responded, and apologies to those whose OCD tendencies have
been triggered off by this :D

OCD is the bane to all watch collectors and I am trying hard to reduce mine!

Well done