New Sub - 7 Seconds Slow

[XplorerII]

Hello gang!

First post on TRF, and first "new" rolex purchase I've made from a local grey market dealer.. shop has been in business for a few decades, nice part of town (not a shady flea market).

It's been less than a week of ownership with daily/nightly wear, and I'm already noticing it's running about 6 seconds slow (as I am checking today). Is this normal/is there a break in period? Warranty card dated a few months ago. Was pretty OCD while inspecting the piece prior to purchase to ensure its authentic.. e.g examining the laser etching under magnification, etc.

Would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions, would like to avoid taking it to an AD or having it get popped open by another third party watchmaker if possible to verify authenticity of the movement and/or make any adjustments to regulations... I understand I may not be able to have it both ways, but do want to see if you have any input before I take any further action.

Thank you!

[dnuggett]

6 seconds slow per week? Or per day?

[tramplejericho]

How have you measured?


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[Wahlberg]

Try this

[doboy007]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

Try this

Can't believe they use the term winding button, haha.

[XplorerII]

Thank you all for your responses so far!

dnuggett - As of today it is running ~6 seconds slow. It has been running perpetually since I'd purchased it (have only wound it once in earnest). First few days it was running +2/4 seconds slow.

tramplejericho - I have been using the time is (can't link site) and eyeballing it.

[KathleenL]

Originally Posted by XplorerII

Hello gang!

First post on TRF, and first "new" rolex purchase I've made from a local grey market dealer.. shop has been in business for a few decades, nice part of town (not a shady flea market).

It's been less than a week of ownership with daily/nightly wear, and I'm already noticing it's running about 6 seconds slow (as I am checking today). Is this normal/is there a break in period? Warranty card dated a few months ago. Was pretty OCD while inspecting the piece prior to purchase to ensure its authentic.. e.g examining the laser etching under magnification, etc.

Would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions, would like to avoid taking it to an AD or having it get popped open by another third party watchmaker if possible to verify authenticity of the movement and/or make any adjustments to regulations... I understand I may not be able to have it both ways, but do want to see if you have any input before I take any further action.

Thank you!

I have only one Rolex - a brand new Lady Datejust that my husband bought for me earlier this year for our anniversary. It was purchased from an AD, and we went together to the store to pick it up. Even though the AD set the time while we were in the store, I reset it when we got home because I like to set my watch to be "on the nose" as far as the second hand is concerned.

A few days later I checked it and found that it was a few seconds slow. So, I started keeping track of how many seconds slow it was, as well as what time the date changed -- because my watch does not change the date precisely at midnight. Well, actually, I was more concerned with what time the date changed than how many seconds slow it was, because I knew that it was still within the parameters of being an officially certified chronometer. But then it got to the point where it was 47 seconds slow 36 days after I'd set it to be exact (but it was still within official parameters!). Again, I reset the watch so that the second hand was exact. Sixteen (16) days later, the watch was 26 seconds slow! Yes, that's still within official parameters.

I'd also read articles about how to lay your watch overnight to gain or lose a few seconds, similar to the image that Wahlberg posted. So, I then reset the time so that it was spot on, and that night rather than wearing the watch to bed as I normally do (I normally wear it 24/7), I took it off and set it on my nightstand so that the dial was "facing up." The next morning, the time was perfect. That night, I again took the watch off and put it on my nightstand with the dial up. The next morning, it was 2 seconds fast.

Since then, my "normal routine" is to wear the watch overnight for two nights, then leave it on the nightstand dial up overnight for one night, then wear it overnight for two nights, then on the nightstand for one night, etc. As of right now, it's 4 seconds fast, so I'll wear it overnight tonight.

So, my suggestion to you would be to reset your watch so that you know it's exact (or at least get it as close as you can and note how many seconds fast or slow it is), and then leave it off overnight with it laying flat with the dial up. Then check it in the morning.

[bp1000]

Losing 1 or 2 seconds a day is excellent. I’m not sure exactly how long you’ve had it but you said less than a week.

Give it 50 full winds of the crown. Wear it normally and see how you go.

Personally I find modern Rolexes much less sensitive to position compared to say omega speedmasters but if it truly is running slow try putting it crown up overnight.

Check it after a week. Use time.is website or HODINKEE app if you have it.

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by doboy007

Can't believe they use the term winding button, haha.

Perhaps they wanted to avoid confusion of people thinking the instructions were in reference to the coronet on the dial?

[albmich]

Sounds like the watch is fine. 6 seconds slow in one week is like 1 second slow per day. Pretty damn accurate.

[Daytona88]

In what year was your sub produced? COSC is anything between -4/+6 seconds per day...think up to -2 minutes to +3 minutes in one month. Even if it newer and +/-2 seconds per day, could be up to a minute off per month and meet spec.

[amanbra]

Hey, give it a good run and make sure you're tracking against something reliable. If it's definitely -7 per day after a month or so then take it in. The recent 32XX have been having a good run but we're not 100% sure the issue is fully fixed. I have two rolexes at +6 but i'm fine with that and won't get it looked at but -7 would bug me.

[VegasBaby]

Return it immediately and request a full refund.....with that money, buy a G-Shock!!!

[XplorerII]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.


Daytona88 - this was a 2021, no-date.

[shaunylw]

My 2 week old 126610 is running +1 on the timegrapher.I would give it some time. 3 min slow a month, no way I’m bringing it in. My BB58 ran slow initially, and after 12 months it’s running at +/- 0. It’s the best running watch i own.


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[Watchgeek5000]

Sounds like your really enjoying your purchase! If it’s running + or - 7 seconds in a week your a second off a day. My advice stop the OCD or sell the Rolex and buy a Cheap quartz watch. You’ll enjoy it more

[Leicaman]

So your watch is running about 1 second per day slow? That’s within Rolex’s tolerance. Not sure why you would want to take it in, and what you would say if you did.

[SeeDweller]

So EVERYONE is reassuring you that this is excellent timekeeping for a mechanical watch. The numbers of the -4/+6 are still the industry standard for all the fine watches, and these new movements from Rolex are incredible at the 1-2 secs/day accuracy we’re seeing.
Yours is running even better than that, so you can rest assured that you’ve got a great specimen of a beautiful watch!!!

Now, … enjoy it, wear the hell out of it, don’t worry too much when you get scratches on it, swap out the bracelet for some fun straps when you want a new look, marvel at how you can wear it virtually anywhere you can go,…. And accept that you’ll reset the time once every couple months!!

It’s all good, amigo! Welcome to the world of fine horology!!


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[padi56]

Originally Posted by doboy007

Can't believe they use the term winding button, haha.

Cannot see why not some today dont know what the winding crown/button is for.

[1William]

Nice watch. Timing is good and within specifications.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by SeeDweller

So EVERYONE is reassuring you that this is excellent timekeeping for a mechanical watch. The numbers of the -4/+6 are still the industry standard for all the fine watches, and these new movements from Rolex are incredible at the 1-2 secs/day accuracy we’re seeing.
Yours is running even better than that, so you can rest assured that you’ve got a great specimen of a beautiful watch!!!

Now, … enjoy it, wear the hell out of it, don’t worry too much when you get scratches on it, swap out the bracelet for some fun straps when you want a new look, marvel at how you can wear it virtually anywhere you can go,…. And accept that you’ll reset the time once every couple months!!

It’s all good, amigo! Welcome to the world of fine horology!!


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Lets not forget they are still tested at the Swiss COSC to a AVERAGE -4+6 seconds to get the Swiss chronometer certification, so they can put the words chronometer on the dial. And in the first 10 days of testing at COSC the movement could by 10 seconds on any single day and still pass the COSC test. Its not like they have put any magic dust in the movements to make them perform to this new -2+2 average precision spec. Truth be told all the Rolex movements from the 15 series on could match this spec if regulated correctly that matched the owners wearing habits. And the main reason to change spec was down to brands like Omega they done it first, so Rolex had to follow.

[Gab27]

If it is 7 seconds a slow a day, I would not be happy and potentially even curious about the authenticity of the watch is it was sold as a brand new Rolex. If 7 seconds a week, that far, far, far exceeds COSC standards and you can self regulate the watch. I am assuming it is likely 7 seconds a week as a new Rolex is generally extremely accurate.

[Rafeeq]

XplorerII, you really spooked me with this "7 Seconds Slow" title, but like everybody said, if you mean 7 seconds after a full week...well, that indeed is great accuracy for a mechanical. Set 'er face-up on your nightstand at night, and most likely it will creep back up to the correct time. Rinse and repeat as needed.

[GradyPhilpott]

1. Make sure your reference is unassailable. I use time.is.

2. Set the watch and check it after one week and again at a month.

That will give you a better picture of the precision than checking it every day.

3. You can have your watch regulated under warranty, if the watch is not performing to specifications.

[2loaded]

7SECONDS is fast, old school punk rock.
https://youtu.be/gViVWPfdTSc

[HideMyWalletPlease]

You would think that if someone has enough technical ability to measure 6 seconds slow in on week, then they also know that it’s not a freakin atomic clock, or that maybe they would Google it first. Also, look at the post count. Is this a troll post? If you’re going to troll us at least be funny. We can use a good laugh not the same lame my watch is a second slow stuff.

[XplorerII]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses, and your warm welcome to TRF! This post was not intended to be a troll by any means.. I was under the impression the +2/-2 variance was over a 24 hour basis on a given day, and your input was far more detailed/useful than what I could find online.