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Post by Titan7 on Oct 22, 2004 3:17:00 GMT -5
My new 16610 is -1 second in 28 hrs. Is there any difference in the accuracy and how the watch is stored?
I wear it from 8am to 7pm, then it sits on the dresser the rest of the time, on it's side, crown up.
thanks
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Post by JBHII on Oct 22, 2004 6:52:32 GMT -5
My new 16610 is -1 second in 28 hrs. Is there any difference in the accuracy and how the watch is stored? I wear it from 8am to 7pm, then it sits on the dresser the rest of the time, on it's side, crown up. thanks In theory, a watches position will effect their accuracy (I know our resident super-genius watch guy will probably follow up with a much more technical explaination). In practice, I've found my Rolex watches to be FAR less affected by positional variance than my other watches. My Omegas will run differently on a winder vs. on the wrist, as well as varying a bit by position stored. My Rolexes seem to plug along at the same level of accuracy no matter what. John
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Post by clepsydra on Oct 22, 2004 11:05:36 GMT -5
You're correct, John, in that the position of a stored watch will have an effect on its timing rate but, on a well built and adjusted watch, the effect will be minimal (on the order of a second or two per day).
If a watch exhibits, say, an 8 or 10 second per day rate fluctuation in any one position as opposed to another, there's likely something going on with the escapement that needs to be addressed.
And the reason that your Rolex presents with very little rate variance in the different positions is because of Rolex's employment of the overcoil balance spring. The overcoil termination helps to keep the balance spring concentric in the vertical positions, minimizing a drop in balance amplitude.
General Rule/Theory: Dial-up and dial-down = a slightly slower rate (max balance oscillation in these positions).
Crown-up, down, left, right = a slightly faster rate (balance amplitude can drop by 20 to 30°).<br> Keeping in mind that ALL watches will behave in a slightly different manner (most watches don't give a **** about theory I'm afraid)
P.S. I'd like to meet your "resident super-genius watch guy".....bet we could burn up the bandwidth with a few good technical 'arguments'.
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Post by JBHII on Oct 22, 2004 11:37:21 GMT -5
You're correct, John, in that the position of a stored watch will have an effect on its timing rate but, on a well built and adjusted watch, the effect will be minimal (on the order of a second or two per day). If a watch exhibits, say, an 8 or 10 second per day rate fluctuation in any one position as opposed to another, there's likely something going on with the escapement that needs to be addressed. And the reason that your Rolex presents with very little rate variance in the different positions is because of Rolex's employment of the overcoil balance spring. The overcoil termination helps to keep the balance spring concentric in the vertical positions, minimizing a drop in balance amplitude. General Rule/Theory: Dial-up and dial-down = a slightly slower rate (max balance oscillation in these positions). Crown-up, down, left, right = a slightly faster rate (balance amplitude can drop by 20 to 30°).<br> Keeping in mind that ALL watches will behave in a slightly different manner (most watches don't give a **** about theory I'm afraid) P.S. I'd like to meet your "resident super-genius watch guy".....bet we could burn up the bandwidth with a few good technical 'arguments'. Thanks Clep! I knew you'd come through for us! John
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Post by johnnycanuck on Oct 22, 2004 11:38:03 GMT -5
So Clep, i've been told that sitting your watch face down at night helps keep the oil distributed evening as usually the watch sits on the wrist face-up (some wear it face-down to protect their crystal, lol).
And truth to that?
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Post by clepsydra on Oct 22, 2004 12:08:08 GMT -5
No, not true.
The lubricants aren't supposed to see any 'distribution' around the movement....they're supposed to say put, stay where they're applied.
Fact is, excessive lubrication can have a dramatic, negative effect on a movement, particularly if it finds its way to the balance spring.....oil on the balance spring will cause the coils to stick together and the watch will run at a very accelerated rate.....on the order of minutes fast per hour.
Usually see two or three types of oil used on a movement (heavier for slow moving parts [barrel pivots] and lighter for faster moving parts [escape wheel, balance wheel]), and two types of grease (for the keyless works and MS barrel interior).
So no, if there's oil 'distribution' going on, that usually means that the tech did a poor job of lubricating the watch in the first place.
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Post by johnnycanuck on Oct 22, 2004 13:44:55 GMT -5
OUTSTANDING info!
So Clep, can we send you our watches for service? ;D
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Post by MikeS on Oct 22, 2004 17:15:52 GMT -5
Clep is a watch maker encylopedia!
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BH
innocent
Posts: 24
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Post by BH on Oct 22, 2004 19:18:07 GMT -5
clepsydra, you da man!
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