Sub went from 5 sec fast/day to 12 sec fast overnight

[bscepter]

I bought it new a year ago from an AD. For most of that time, it has run 5 seconds fast, which is within COSC norms. Now, all of a sudden, it's double that. Any ideas? I called my AD, and they said that it would take up to six weeks to send it in to get it checked. Can I just take it to my local watch guy and have him regulate it? He's not rolex certified, but he used to work for them in Geneva.

[Tools]

Any watchmaker can check and regulate your watch... you do not need to send it in to Rolex..

It's likely that your AD does not have a watchmaker themselves and they are required to send any warranty adjustment in to the Service Center..

However, since it is still under warranty, I would look for another AD that does have a watchmaker on staff that can give you some better answers..

[Boothroyd]

bscepter, if you can live without your Rolex for six weeks, that's fine. Otherwise I would call the Des Moines and KC Rolex AD's to see if they have a tech onsite who can regulate. I would rather drive for a few hours than give up my watch for 6 weeks, IMHO.

[Le Chef]

Any good watchmaker can put it on the machine and demagnetize it.

[bscepter]

thanks for the input, guys - it seems as if the watch in question is back to its normal +5-6 this morning. not sure why it freaked out for a day. i do notice that it varies by a second or so if i use a NATO strap vs its bracelet.

who knows.

either way, if i need it regulated, i think i'll just take it to my local guy. as i said, he used to work for rolex, plus he's worked for patek, and he now works on breguets, JLCs, and other higher end watches. and he usually wears a vintage day-date himself.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by bscepter

I bought it new a year ago from an AD. For most of that time, it has run 5 seconds fast, which is within COSC norms. Now, all of a sudden, it's double that. Any ideas? I called my AD, and they said that it would take up to six weeks to send it in to get it checked. Can I just take it to my local watch guy and have him regulate it? He's not rolex certified, but he used to work for them in Geneva.

Gravity affects mechanical watches the most thats why they are tested in 5 different positions.And in those different positions there will be slight deviations in the timekeeping.But don't worry over a few seconds overnight and its very very doubtful your watch is magnetised.The signs of a watch becoming magnetised in general they well run very very erratic.Speed up but not by just a few seconds or completely stop and refuse to re-start.Remember this the escapement of a mechanical watch in 24 hours pushes the gears 432,000 times. Since a day has 86,400 seconds,even at 12 seconds its still 99.988% accurate This is very high precision, given the fact that the movement is constantly affected by the earth's gravity, metal expansion and contraction, temperature variations, subtle changes in lubrication and friction, shocks, and so on.The fact is that no mechanical watch made will keep perfect time, very close yes but perfect no.The COSC spec is a average of -4 to +6 over 24 hours..Have you ever given your watch a full manual wind say 40 full crown turn clock wise.Because when wearing with low activity you are not winding your watch enough that could have a effect on over all timekeeping if power reserve was low overnight dont be in a hurry to get the back off for a few seconds..

[HERITAGE82]

Originally Posted by padi56

dont be in a hurry to get the back off for a few seconds..

Wise Words.....

[bscepter]

Originally Posted by padi56

Gravity affects mechanical watches the most thats why they are tested in 5 different positions.And in those different positions there will be slight deviations in the timekeeping.But don't worry over a few seconds overnight and its very very doubtful your watch is magnetised.The signs of a watch becoming magnetised in general they well run very very erratic.Speed up but not by just a few seconds or completely stop and refuse to re-start.Remember this the escapement of a mechanical watch in 24 hours pushes the gears 432,000 times. Since a day has 86,400 seconds,even at 12 seconds its still 99.988% accurate This is very high precision, given the fact that the movement is constantly affected by the earth's gravity, metal expansion and contraction, temperature variations, subtle changes in lubrication and friction, shocks, and so on.The fact is that no mechanical watch made will keep perfect time, very close yes but perfect no.The COSC spec is a average of -4 to +6 over 24 hours..Have you ever given your watch a full manual wind say 40 full crown turn clock wise.Because when wearing with low activity you are not winding your watch enough that could have a effect on over all timekeeping if power reserve was low overnight dont be in a hurry to get the back off for a few seconds..

thanks for the info - and, yes, i realize a mechanical watch will never be as accurate as a quartz one. i was just surprised to see a doubling of its time gain in one day. i just had a 10-year-old baume & mercier regulated and demagnetized last week. i was just wondering if whatever magnetized it could've magnetized my rolex. but i'm thinking that it's fine now.

[LightOnAHill]

Did you go play golf?

[bscepter]

Originally Posted by LightOnAHill

Did you go play golf?

lol. nope. but i do wear it when i work out.

[LightOnAHill]

Originally Posted by bscepter

lol. nope. but i do wear it when i work out.

I don't think that'd affect it (I don't think golf would either in most cases).


Keep us posted on how it goes.

And to people answering in this thread, and back on topic, I'm interested in knowing bout how long it takes time-wise to regulate by the watchmaker?

thanks for the thread good info in here

[bscepter]

Originally Posted by LightOnAHill

I don't think that'd affect it (I don't think golf would either in most cases).


Keep us posted on how it goes.

And to people answering in this thread, and back on topic, I'm interested in knowing bout how long it takes time-wise to regulate by the watchmaker?

thanks for the thread good info in here

my guy did my B&M in about 45 mins while i waited, and it's spot-on now. not sure what the procedure is, though.

[azguy]

Just cont' to monitor it; to jump from 5-12 seconds is kind of wierd....