Chronograph Usage & 24/7 Watch Accuracy

[BristolCavendish]

I ran this query past Adam/OEP and he suggested posting it for further insights/experiences from TRFers who own chronographs of various types (i.e. mechanical/quartz/meca-quartz etc.)

An acquaintance noticed that the day-to-day accuracy of his Rolex Daytona and Seiko/quartz chronographs tends to fluctuate (albeit minimally) when he uses the stop watch functions on a regular basis compared to the watch running sans any usage of this feature. This topic has apparently been discussed on other watch forums but the answer is still somewhat inconclusive as some respondents have noted that regular chronograph operation can affect the watch's overall daily accuracy while others haven't noticed any deviations.

So the question is: Depending on the watch design, can the power reserve (whether mainspring or battery), type of movement (mechanical or quartz/step motor), along with the type of chronograph linkage/switching (hammer & lever vs servo) actually create a slight deviance in the watch's 24/7 accuracy?

It should be noted that the Daytona in question incorporates a Valjoux 72 movement (manual wind) so it might be conceivable that the lessening of the mainspring during the course of the day has an effect. On the other hand, a perpetual movement (if fully wound) should in theory provide a more consistent source of continual power. Compounding this puzzle is that on his Seiko chronograph (battery-powered with three step motors) his continual daily fidgeting with the chronograph functions also seems to affect the watch's day-to-day accuracy (more noticeable over a period of non-date changing months). Would an increase in battery drain during chronograph usage (or a weakening battery) be a key factor in this instance?

While investigating the topic, I came across this 2014 thread on WatchUSeek and the responses were somewhat varied as well.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f2/chro...cy-969379.html

Curious. For those of you who own chronographs, have you noticed any 24/7 accuracy deviations when using the chronograph feature frequently?