Accuracy, Regulation, Break in? Myth or True?

[ttomczak]

Recently, I bought a BNIB Rolex with a 3131 movement... It lost 7 seconds a day (and yes, I know there is over 82000 seconds in a day), but I wondered about it... I then bought a GMT (used), and it currently is running at -1 second per 24 hour period.

I have seen threads on getting it regulated, some with -1 second every two weeks (really?), and that if it's new, there is a break in period...

Since all of the modern Rolex's have the COSC certifications, I have to assume ALL of our movements have been broken in, even when we buy them new... My GMT, as have most of my Rolex's, has or is very accurate, but the 3131 which was slow per my others at -7 a day seemed to be a little strange... And I get that different people make our movements, etc...

Just wondering what everyone's opinion is on this... Is there really a break in period? Is Regulation worth it? And what do most accept as "accurate"? I know we are a demanding bunch!!!

Just curious...

Thanks!

[dysondiver]

my view ,, its a clockwork machine in a little box that gets shaken about all day , i think watches are a mini engineering marvel ,,
but that said , like anything with moving parts , there is a settling in period , but its been done by the time it gets its cosc ticket and finds its way to the owner , i do believe there will be more wear going on over the time its used , but thats for service time. if it needs regulating etc.

[petenyc]

break in period is a myth

[Tools]

There is no real break-in, although a fresh watch may pick up a second or so after a month or two because the oils spread out more evenly.

COSC certification has little to do with your watches timing, only it's capability. Your watch may have been certified a year or more before being put into a watch and completely disassembled, cleaned, re-assembled and re-oiled if it has sat for some time in the "vaults".

Is regulation worth it ? Sure, why not. I would not want a watch that didn't keep the time as I thought it should. They are all capable of a couple of second a day accuracy and that is what I expect - I don't care what COSC testing parameters are. ..

[dkmajm]

Breaking in a myth I would normally agree. But new SubC bought last day of 2013 for first week was +5, then by end of first month, is +2. That is taken over the past week, was just under 14secs for the week. So I agree myth but I've had a differing experience...


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[dysondiver]

its a machine ,, parts rub against each other ,,, no matter weather its the size of an earth mover , or the size of a watch , the same rules apply ,,,
ye canna change the laws of physics ,,,, captain.
ok , the captain is optional ,,, the question should be ,,, has the breaking in period been fully allowed for before you buy a watch ,,, well , yes and no ,,, yes its worn in , and no ,, its not worn out ,,, every machine with parts that move , and touch other parts are somewhere between the two ,, just like the fact , its a machine , it will wear out and break , maybe not today , but one day it will let you down.
again , maybe its a divers thing , but once you accept the fact that anything mechanical will break , and you make allowances for that and take steps to ensure that when a machine breaks you dont die ,,,, life gets a lot easier.

[dysondiver]

There is no real break-in, although a fresh watch may pick up a second or so after a month or two because the oils spread out more evenly.

now thats fence sitting ,, lol ,,, no offence intended larry.

[brianrx74]

Originally Posted by Tools

There is no real break-in, although a fresh watch may pick up a second or so after a month or two because the oils spread out more evenly.

This has been my experience. My 14060M lost exactly 1 sec/day for the first month. It now runs perfectly over the last month or so...obviously very pleased.

[Dirt]

In my opinion.
From personal observations.
The break- in period is for real.

Let me explain why I believe in it.
I have bought 3 brand new Rolex watches over the last 10 years.
The break-in period has sort of always been regarded as about a 2 week period.

2 of the new watches ran 3-3.5 seconds per day fast from day 1.
After about 2 weeks, I noticed that they had settled down to virtually 0 seconds per forever.
Sometimes it's possible to catch them out running between .3-.5 seconds ahead of or behind 0. But they correct within a few days back to zero. (that's wearing them 24/7)
I can take these watches off and leave them to sit for weeks/months while I wear something else. Then when I restart them and begin wearing them again, they're running at exactly the same rate as when I took them off. (perfect)

My most recent purchase was running consistently at about 3-3.5 seconds slow per day from new. If my previous experience was anything to go by.
I was dreading the possibility of it slowing down the same as the other 2 watches. This potentially begged the question "What to do ?"
To my surprise, this last one changed by speeding up to be about .1-.2 seconds per day fast, and has remained so ever since.

Other watches I have bought second hand, do not change their rate after Rolex servicing.
So they're obviously run in to my way of thinking.
The 2 watches that I had bought from brand new years ago, have since been Rolex serviced. And they do not change rate from when I have picked them up after the service.
I will add that they both run very close to how they were before the Rolex service

I know it's anecdotal evidence.
But it's consistent, and accurately real world tested & observed.

In summary I have observed on 3 brand new watches. An initial period where the watch was either consistently fast or slow from day 1.
Sometime after the initial 2 week period they mysteriously alter their rate.
It has been my great fortune to have them move to within a hairs breadth of being consistently perfect.

That's all I know

[rebel_1]

Perhaps the "Break In Time" is for the owner to get used to it not being perfect! Just joking. I somewhat agree with the break in time concept. What I do think I know is that a watch accuracy is different if it's worn versus being just hand wound and sitting or sitting in a winder.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ttomczak

Recently, I bought a BNIB Rolex with a 3131 movement... It lost 7 seconds a day (and yes, I know there is over 82000 seconds in a day), but I wondered about it... I then bought a GMT (used), and it currently is running at -1 second per 24 hour period.

I have seen threads on getting it regulated, some with -1 second every two weeks (really?), and that if it's new, there is a break in period...

Since all of the modern Rolex's have the COSC certifications, I have to assume ALL of our movements have been broken in, even when we buy them new... My GMT, as have most of my Rolex's, has or is very accurate, but the 3131 which was slow per my others at -7 a day seemed to be a little strange... And I get that different people make our movements, etc...

Just wondering what everyone's opinion is on this... Is there really a break in period? Is Regulation worth it? And what do most accept as "accurate"? I know we are a demanding bunch!!!

Just curious...

Thanks!

The only difference with the cal 3131 over the 3130 is the in-house paraflex shock system.Now before you rush out to get the case back off do a test over 5 complete days.First manually wind the watch 40 full crown turns clockwise then sync watch with a reliable time source a quartz watch will do.After sync wear your watch as normal but for 8 plus hours a day,check time once only daily with same setting source write down loss or gain,do this for the 5 days then average out the loss or gain if its greater than a Average -4 to +6 then you may need simple regulation.But if its a new watch you have a two year warranty so don't be in a huge hurry to get the back off watch could settle in.Now although regulation is quite a simple task a 30 minute job but if sent to a RSC expect to be without your watch for around 2-4 weeks.

[xjeeunitx]

I would probably live with 7 seconds. When it goes past 10 is when I would take action.

[Aspirin]

Originally Posted by Dirt

In my opinion.
From personal observations.
The break- in period is for real.

Let me explain why I believe in it.
I have bought 3 brand new Rolex watches over the last 10 years.
The break-in period has sort of always been regarded as about a 2 week period.

2 of the new watches ran 3-3.5 seconds per day fast from day 1.
After about 2 weeks, I noticed that they had settled down to virtually 0 seconds per forever.
Sometimes it's possible to catch them out running between .3-.5 seconds ahead of or behind 0. But they correct within a few days back to zero. (that's wearing them 24/7)
I can take these watches off and leave them to sit for weeks/months while I wear something else. Then when I restart them and begin wearing them again, they're running at exactly the same rate as when I took them off. (perfect)

My most recent purchase was running consistently at about 3-3.5 seconds slow per day from new. If my previous experience was anything to go by.
I was dreading the possibility of it slowing down the same as the other 2 watches. This potentially begged the question "What to do ?"
To my surprise, this last one changed by speeding up to be about .1-.2 seconds per day fast, and has remained so ever since.

Other watches I have bought second hand, do not change their rate after Rolex servicing.
So they're obviously run in to my way of thinking.
The 2 watches that I had bought from brand new years ago, have since been Rolex serviced. And they do not change rate from when I have picked them up after the service.
I will add that they both run very close to how they were before the Rolex service

I know it's anecdotal evidence.
But it's consistent, and accurately real world tested & observed.

In summary I have observed on 3 brand new watches. An initial period where the watch was either consistently fast or slow from day 1.
Sometime after the initial 2 week period they mysteriously alter their rate.
It has been my great fortune to have them move to within a hairs breadth of being consistently perfect.

That's all I know

Totally agreed.

[Nexus5]

Originally Posted by ttomczak

Recently, I bought a BNIB Rolex with a 3131 movement... It lost 7 seconds a day (and yes, I know there is over 82000 seconds in a day), but I wondered about it... I then bought a GMT (used), and it currently is running at -1 second per 24 hour period.

I have seen threads on getting it regulated, some with -1 second every two weeks (really?), and that if it's new, there is a break in period...

Since all of the modern Rolex's have the COSC certifications, I have to assume ALL of our movements have been broken in, even when we buy them new... My GMT, as have most of my Rolex's, has or is very accurate, but the 3131 which was slow per my others at -7 a day seemed to be a little strange... And I get that different people make our movements, etc...

Just wondering what everyone's opinion is on this... Is there really a break in period? Is Regulation worth it? And what do most accept as "accurate"? I know we are a demanding bunch!!!

Just curious...

Thanks!

My Rolex oyster 116000 was running +32spd on wrist and +8spd crown-up for the first 4 days out of the box (average +25spd). By the 8th day it was +7 crown-up and +53 on wrist (avg +22spd). On the 10th day it was +10.5 CU and -0.2spd on wrist (avg +2.2spd). My $60 vostok Amphibia took 3 weeks to break-in out of the box going from averaging +18.5, +22, +13, +14, +10 to +4.5. It's at +4.5 for 5 days now. Such erratic fluctuations shows that the break-in period is not a myth at least in my experience with a Russian movement 2416b and a 3130 with free spring parachrom hairspring. One took 3 weeks and the other 10 days. The Rolex may not have fully settled after 10 days but +2.2spd is still decent. Maybe another week will fully settle. The measurement is against an atomic clock at www.time.gov using an Android app "watchcheck" available from https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ler.watchcheck



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