Sticky link on bracelet. Normal?

[Superavengerlyons]

Hey all,

I own a 3 month old bluesy 116613. I had my links adjusted by a local AD 3 weeks ago. They told me they added loctite when they adjusted the links.

This morning when I went to put on my watch I noticed one of the links was sticky and tough to move freely like the others. I washed the watch for the 2nd time last night before bed to rid of the oils and anything else from wearing it outside and sweating yesterday. I used soap and water and dried it off with a soft micro fiber. After noticing this, I rewashed it using warm water to hopefully loosen it up. It didn't help. Any suggestions? Would the AD tighten it too much - but why 3 weeks later?

Check the video!


http://youtu.be/HR6gLydhHHY


Justin

[dysondiver]

wear it for a few days , if its a bit of wandering loctite it will wear away , it sets roughly like a bic biro pen that sort of texture ,,, thats at the worst ,, it will sort its self out , dont go undoing the screw , you will then need to loctite it again , hth

[Superavengerlyons]

Thanks for the reply! You think this is happening 3 weeks after though?

[dysondiver]

depends how much your wearing it ,,, it should go quickly enough ,,, thats just from an engineering background , im not a watchmaker ,,, but watches are really only small clockwork machines

[MovieGuy]

They probably put Loc-Tite on the screw instead of on the threads inside the link. Common mistake by someone who thinks they know what they're doing.

[Superavengerlyons]

Originally Posted by MovieGuy

They probably put Loc-Tite on the screw instead of on the threads inside the link. Common mistake by someone who thinks they know what they're doing.

I don't think that's the case. This was 3 weeks ago and was perfect until this morning.

[dysondiver]

probably a bit of loctite floating about , it will wear away ,,, ignore it for a few days
just keep an eye on the screw ,,, dont play with it , just keep an eye on it

[Superavengerlyons]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

probably a bit of loctite floating about , it will wear away ,,, ignore it for a few days
just keep an eye on the screw ,,, dont play with it , just keep an eye on it

Sounds good, thanks!

[watchwatcher]

Yes, it's a locktite issue...same thing happened to me. Just take it in and tell whoever did it to fix it.

[skprd13]

It will wear in. Don't worry, wear it and enjoy!

[GradyPhilpott]

That's better than losing a screw and it will resolve eventually.

I had a screw back out of my DJ the day I bought it and I noticed it as I had my arm hanging out the window of my car at at a stop light.

I happened to glance at the driver's side mirror and saw an unusual flash of light in the mirror. It was a protruding screw.

I was less than a mile from the AD and I went back immediately.

The watchmaker was embarrassed, but no harm, no foul.

[Superavengerlyons]

Good to know! Thanks guys!

[viper9669]

Happened to me once, a DJII. Removed the screw, rinsed it in warm water, ditto for the affected link. Dried them both, put them back together and the kink in the link was gone for good. Moves freely like it should now.

[kilyung]

What everyone else said, however the AD used too much Loctite or put it in the wrong place. IMO, I'd find another watchmaker in the future.

[77T]

First off - great choice!

As others have deduced, and I'd agree, it could have been a slight over-flow of loctite that was still connected to the screw shank 3 weeks ago. This can happen even if properly applied, but if a bit too much is used. The over-flow rides up out of the hole onto the screw's shank.

Now, after 3 weeks, this bit of over-flow is worked loose and finds its way to a pivot point in the clasp-to-link connection and causes a slight bind. So if you choose to leave it alone, then some extra pivoting on your part will let it wear down faster - maybe give it 2 more weeks.

When on your wrist you shouldn't notice it unless you like to wear the watch loosely - and then the "kink" will be evident when the clasp rides to the edge of your wrist.

There are two things you can do:

1) if your AD is close by, just go back in and show them the symptom and ask to remove and re-set the screw after diagnosing the loctite over-flow.

2) heat the clasp and bracelet link up over 200º and see how that helps. Easy way is to suspend the watch above the top of a 1 qt. saucepan using 2 chopsticks or skewers so head is balanced between them, and let the clasp droop into just the right amount boiling water for 10 minutes or so.

But really, I've had the same symptom with an Omega just after installing a new bracelet and the stiff links relaxed within a month.