Whether or not to regulate new Sub?

[ptf]

Hi everybody,

I received a new SS Sub 16610 as a gift about 3 weeks ago. At first it was running maybe 6 seconds fast or so. Within the past few days, it's sped up dramatically, to around 20 seconds/day... I'm not sure if it's been magnetized, I did put it about a foot away from a Palm Pre Touchstone charger overnight once. On the other hand, it seems fairly consistent in its speed, and not at all erratic (after the initial jump in speed).

I know some say on the forum that you should let it break in over a month or two, but is it likely to come back down to ~COSC specs? Is it common for a new watch to dramatically change in precision (as opposed to gradually gaining or losing over some period of time?) I really don't want to send the watch away just yet, since i really love wearing it :).

I haven't tested to see if the watch is magnetized. But if it is, can it be demagnetized without opening the case? I went to a few independent watch repair places to see whether or not they could do it, but they didn't want to touch the watch while it's under warranty (also, much skepticism that it is magnetized in the first place given the description)

Thanks in advance...

[mikefrmnj]

I have 4 Rolexs. 3 of which I bought new. They tighten up a little bit but 20 sec is way out of line. usually +/- 6 sec max IMHO. Bring it back, should take no time at all.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ptf

Hi everybody,

I received a new SS Sub 16610 as a gift about 3 weeks ago. At first it was running maybe 6 seconds fast or so. Within the past few days, it's sped up dramatically, to around 20 seconds/day... I'm not sure if it's been magnetized, I did put it about a foot away from a Palm Pre Touchstone charger overnight once. On the other hand, it seems fairly consistent in its speed, and not at all erratic (after the initial jump in speed).

I know some say on the forum that you should let it break in over a month or two, but is it likely to come back down to ~COSC specs? Is it common for a new watch to dramatically change in precision (as opposed to gradually gaining or losing over some period of time?) I really don't want to send the watch away just yet, since i really love wearing it :).

I haven't tested to see if the watch is magnetized. But if it is, can it be demagnetized without opening the case? I went to a few independent watch repair places to see whether or not they could do it, but they didn't want to touch the watch while it's under warranty (also, much skepticism that it is magnetized in the first place given the description)

Thanks in advance...

I would doubt if its magnetised it would run erratic,myself cannot wait for the next cop out with a watch being magnetised with a parachrom hairspring.Now you cannot test any watch like you are doing.First give it a full manual wind 40 full crown turns clockwise,you cannot over-wind it.Then set watch with a reliable time source,wear as normal.Check time daily with same setting time source then average out loss or gain over 5 days for accurate result.If watch is then out of COSC spec a average of -4 to + 6 seconds a day have it regulated.

[PanosI]

Regulate it and keep peace in your mind

[ptf]

So, I popped by the RSC in NY today. They took a quick look at the watch, decided that it was magnetized, and that was that. The whole process took maybe 10 minutes. I'll have to keep an eye on how accurate it is, but honestly anything is better than what it was doing.

How it got magnetized so soon is a mystery to me. I think my Palm Pre Touchstone charger is to blame. It may have come close a few times when i placed the phone on the charger. Since the whole point of the device is to induce a magnetic field --> electric field in the phone, it may be especially prone to magnetize watches.

It's interesting though, several respected members of this board say that modern Rolexes are very difficult to magnetize. I'm no expert, but unless the RSC folks were not telling the truth, it seems like it might not be so hard, seeing how it took a grand total of 3 weeks for me to do...

[Lol-x]

Did you leave your watch next to the phone charger all night?

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by PanosI

Regulate it and keep peace in your mind

I agree 100%.

It's no big deal really.

If you have any doubt at all, take it in.

The watchmaker can tell in about ten minutes or less whether it's running fast or slow. He might need a few days to regulate it.

[ptf]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Did you leave your watch next to the phone charger all night?

As I remember, about a foot away or so... don't know if that's enough? In any case, I'm going to keep the two things as far away as possible as I can...