Settle in period....

[DoxaDavid]

After doing a little research on several other watch forums I have come to the conclusion that for some reason, many watches..NOT ALL, but many watches tend to become more accurate after a certain period. There is no rule or time specs but it seems to fall around 2-3 months after initial wearing.

I would say this phenomenon has been experienced by too many watch affectionado's to simply write it off as a "myth" even though there isn't a lot of manufacture feedback on the subject.

My personal observation in the dozens of mechanical watches I have owned is that SOME of them have in fact improved their accuracy after a short period of wearing them. There could be many reasons for this but the most likely is the movements individual components,i.e. cogs, springs gears etc.. free up a microscopic bit allowing them to run a tiny bit "looser" as well as letting the oils work their way into the tightest spots for increased lubrication.

Controversial as this topic may be, I do think there is enough evidence to call it plausible given the real world observations of so many watch owners who have witnessed this first hand.

Other opinions will vary..

Cheers!

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by Hookie

Just wondering how long does it take for a new Rolex to settle in? Since ive set the time last week its lost about 30 secs. Is this normal?

Cheerzz

There is no settle in period.

[patsee]

I have a "Z" series Datejust I purchased new. I checked it every day against Time.gov for a period of approximately eight months (10/30/06-6/24/07) at the same time every day. It went from an average of +3.7 seconds gain a day to +5.6 seconds a day. I have seen some of my other Rolex watches speed up also as they "wear in".

[JPP]

Originally Posted by patsee

I have a "Z" series Datejust I purchased new. I checked it every day against Time.gov for a period of approximately eight months (10/30/06-6/24/07) at the same time every day. It went from an average of +3.7 seconds gain a day to +5.6 seconds a day. I have seen some of my other Rolex watches speed up also as they "wear in".

An eight month "wear in" period...?

Come on guys - doesn't matter how experienced some members are here or not. Every watchmaker I have ever met in person or read on the net says the same thing: "the so called 'settle in' period is a fallacy".

That's not to say that the watch will not be affected by other factors however.

Why do people so want there to be a settle in period? I don't understand.

If someone can point me in the direction of a watchmaker who says that in his or her experience there is indeed a settle or wear in period then do send me a link or telephone number or post them here as would be intrigued to hear...

[Hamilton Carvalho]

JP, the manager of the RSC in New York once told me that a watch needs at least 3 months to settle in. He told me that because I was not happy that my watch was loosing 3 to 4 seconds a day. Anyway, he just repeated what I've heard before, but, I just wanted my watch to be perfect. Like Bo once told me "nothing is perfect in this world but, Rolex is pretty close to that".

Originally Posted by JPP

An eight month "wear in" period...?

Come on guys - doesn't matter how experienced some members are here or not. Every watchmaker I have ever met in person or read on the net says the same thing: "the so called 'settle in' period is a fallacy".

That's not to say that the watch will not be affected by other factors however.

Why do people so want there to be a settle in period? I don't understand.

If someone can point me in the direction of a watchmaker who says that in his or her experience there is indeed a settle or wear in period then do send me a link or telephone number or post them here as would be intrigued to hear...

[JPP]

Originally Posted by Hamilton Carvalho

JP, the manager of the RSC in New York once told me that a watch needs at least 3 months to settle in. He told me that because I was not happy that my watch was loosing 3 to 4 seconds a day. Anyway, he just repeated what I've heard before, but, I just wanted my watch to be perfect. Like Bo once told me "nothing is perfect in this world but, Rolex is pretty close to that".

Hey Hamilton

Of course Rolex say that - some Rolex service centre guy told me that it would take 2 years to settle in. It is in Rolex interest not to be regulating every watch they sell for obvious reasons - hence the fact that they will tell you various times. And the Rolex service man who told me 2 years is extremely bad as at 2 years that's when the warranty ends and you have to pay to have your watch regulated...

JP

[diamondgirl]

Originally Posted by Art 1

There is no settle in period.

+1!

If it is bothering you, get it regulated.

[unclesallie]

Hamilton: it's under warranty; take it over to the NY RSC and get it regulated...have lunch, come back and your watch will run 'spot on' thereafter. If not, ask them to re-regulate it, until they get it right. No reason to be unhappy with your rolex...
best,
dan