Tudor ETA Winding Issue

[Kevin of Larchmont]

A previous thread on this subject was inexplicably closed. Here is an update to an issue I was having with a recently purchased pre-owned Black Bay Blue.

When I wound the watch the rotor spun with the rotation of the crown, “helicoptering” is what the watchmaker called it, to the extent that I could feel the watch shake in my hand as I wound against great resistance. The automatic winding mechanism worked fine and it kept great time. Research online lead me to a thread here from 2017 which I resurrected by posting on but was subsequently closed. Others had this same issue and had their watches repaired by Tudor under warranty. My watch, long out of warranty was nonetheless warranted by the selling AD who also has a Rolex and ETA trained watchmaker on staff. When I contacted him about the symptoms he said it sounds like the reversers were binding or failed. I took it to him today and he replaced them from his inventory while I waited; apparently it’s a common enough issue with ETA movements for him to keep some on the shelf. The watch is now performing normally.

So that’s my feel-good story about a problem solved by a kind watchmaker at an AD. No questions about value, no requests for investment advice, no complaints about greys, just information about a watch.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[carwash66]

Wow. Problem identified, taken to watchmaker and repaired while you wait.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

[douglasf13]

Glad you got it fixed. It’s a pretty common issue with the ETA 2824. Some would say that minimizing hand winding is a good idea with that movement, and, when you need to start it from rest, only give it about 10 slow winds and then let the auto-mechanism charge it the rest of the way. That could help avoid dealing with the reversing wheel before service time, when they’re often replaced.

[OrangeSport]

Good news!

Yep, the 2824 doesn’t like being hand wound. Not heard of similar issues with the Powermatic 80 though

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Originally Posted by OrangeSport

Good news!

Yep, the 2824 doesn’t like being hand wound. Not heard of similar issues with the Powermatic 80 though

I’m picking up on that vibe. I’ve haunted this place for a number of years and haven’t heard that before, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.