Watch Accuracy

Hey all. It's been about 6 months that I got an Omega Seamaster 300M to adorn my wrist. Since then it has almost become a part of me, the times I do forget to put it on or have it off for some reason I feel somehow incomplete.

During the first month I had this watch, it ran really fast, something like +10 sec a day (fast for cosc not really fast out of that context). I was a bit disappointed but decided that I would patiently wait for it to settle down some more. Through the months I have seen it become really accurate, somewhere to the tune of +/-3 seconds a day. I say +/- 3 seconds because it depends wholly on what I do with the watch during the night.

If it has been running fast during the day (which it does) then lay it face down for the night. If it is lagging (which happens when I overcompensate by having the watch face-down every night) then leave it face up. So 2 nights face down and 1 night face up seems to result in a pretty good balance. Currently I am +2.5 seconds for 7 days. Granted the watch is a living thing and the methods of keeping it accurate have to be monitored.

I'm sorry if this post comes off as pompous or arrogant, the truth is I really love my watch and hope that everyone else enjoy theirs whatever the make, size or accuracy.

I'd like to hear what your watches run in at and what you do to keep them running at least somewhat close to spec.

My SMP runs within 5 seconds a day. I leave it face up each night.

I've had it for about six years, never had it serviced. It is as accurate as when new, so I don't want to monkey with that.

I've got a Seiko Black Monster that used to run fast. I very gingerly regulated with the internal adjustment which did improve it, and now I regulate it the same way as CK does--face down, face up, etc. I just try to keep it close to the clock on my computer at work.

Sure, quartz watches are much more accurate than automatics like my Seiko or the OP's Omega, but the fact that I have a very complex little machine on my wrist appeals to me.

Cheers!

Just get more watches. I usually don't wear the same watch twice in a row, so I have to reset it each time. Sometimes that is annoying, but a lot of fun!!!

Marty

Hmmm.... interesting thread.
I have a Tag Heuer SEL Chronograph the wife "persuaded" me to buy 12 years ago. It currently gains 15 seconds per month.
I do not wear it in the house and I have always put it on my dresser face up. You are saying that if I lay it face down it may not gain as much time?
(Oh, and if I am to read things correctly, gaining .5 seconds per day is not bad?)

From what i have read your right in line with what one would expect from a mech watch. You should have seem my wifes jaw drop when the salesperson told her to expect +/- 6 sec on an 8k Rolex she brought me for our anniversary.

Chronometer certified watches (the expensive ones) must average within -4/+6 seconds a day.

Moondancer said:

Hmmm.... interesting thread.
I have a Tag Heuer SEL Chronograph the wife "persuaded" me to buy 12 years ago. It currently gains 15 seconds per month.
I do not wear it in the house and I have always put it on my dresser face up. You are saying that if I lay it face down it may not gain as much time?
(Oh, and if I am to read things correctly, gaining .5 seconds per day is not bad?)

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My watch runs faster with the face up, so YMMV.

If I were to keep the watch face up all day and night I would probably be looking at +3 seconds per day. Since leaving the watch face down slows it down a tad, to the tune of -2 seconds a day.

You can manipulate the speed the watch runs at by leaving it in certain positions for extended periods of time. Face-up, -down, crown-up, -down. Are the positions that you should try out, I have not yet experimented with leaving the watch crown-up/down because I have had good results by laying it face-up/down.

I have an Oris Classic that runs a bit fast, 12 secs. It's a machine, no battery, and I do not mind this slight gain at all. It means I notice my watch more. This gain really isn't bad, and I could lay it face down and slow it but I always forget. I just hold a the crown out and adjust that way. No big deal. Plus or minus 30 is within range on an automatic unless it is a chronometer. The thing is this: the lubricant will thicken ever so slightly over time, meaning the mechanism will also ever so slightly slow down over time...this means the accuracy of the timepiece will improve over time, then eventually lag ...marginally. This may take place over what, 18 years? I have had my watch for three years now and it has slowed about 2 seconds a day. Therefore (without servicing?) it will be deadly accurate in another six years.

It is all relative, and based on what you are prepared to accept, divided by how much you want to pay.

My two auto watches are an Omega and a Seiko. The Omega runs a little better than +- 5 secs a day, The Seiko runs a little better than +-10 secs a day. The Seiko wasn't half the price of the Omega, it was closer to 10% of the price.

There is a point of diminishing returns, and it is between the buyer and their wallet what they feel is reasonable to pay for these small improvements in quality.

I tried to love mechanical watches but I find them a big pain in the neck. I've owned 3 in my life and I've got rid of 2 of them- one to the charity shop, one on a park bench, in-box with all papers including receipt. Sure, it's very nice to see the pretty wheels moving, but the technology is inadequate. About half of my watches are around +5s, none worse than +10s, per month.

My Nomos Ludwig has averaged +11.6s / 24h since I bought it last April. That makes it somewhat out of spec — they’re supposed to stay within 0 to +8. However, the last few months it has hovered around +6, so perhaps it just needed a really long break-in period...

My Dunhill Bobby Finder runs about +6 to +7 seconds/day, so I can't complain.

My cheepo Swiss Legend, on the other hand, has days where it runs +30 or more.

My watch is set every night by the Atomic Clock wherever it is. Never worry about it being right or wrong.

My Speedmaster Date is running at about +3 a day now. The first two months I wore it was running more in the +5-6 range, so I guess it's breaking in. I've tried to remember which positions to set it down to regulate it some, but I tend to wear it 15+ hours a day, so it's tough to let it settle in.

It's within spec, so I'm fine with it. My first automatic watch was a Seiko diver - it loses about 30 seconds a day. It must be a lemon, as my Seiko 5 gains only about 6-8 seconds a day, assuming I wear it enough to keep it wound.

My Speedy Pro runs +/- 5 secs/day, depending on whether I leave it face up, crown up, or crown down. It's good enough for me.

With automatics, it's good to give them a manual wind if they are running too fast. This method has worked for me.

tchudson said:

My watch is set every night by the Atomic Clock wherever it is. Never worry about it being right or wrong.

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Ditto. My job requires such accuracy.
Before the technology was available, I would have to sync the computer with NIST every morning and then use the hacking movement to sync the watch if I was wearing an analog.
The quartz digital were generally pretty good... thankfully because they were more of a pain to set to the exact second.

Now, I just wear the Citizen Eco Drive or Casio G-Shock, both solar atomic.

I've got three automatics at the moment:
Omega SMP Ceramic, +0.5 sec/day
Seiko SARB065, +1.4 sec/day
Orient Bambino, -0.8 sec/day

The SMP is my daily driver, but the other two (both dress watches) reside on a winder (two bay Wolf), getting worn on average 3 or 4 times a month each.
I took the time to regulate both the Seiko and the Orient with them receiving 1000 turns per day on the winder to simulate "activity". Both were running approx -5 sec/day. The Seiko took a week to regulate and the Orient a few days. Both of these Japanese movements are much more difficult to regulate compared to a swiss watch as they use an arm rather than a screw, so its all about holding your tongue just the right way and being patient, but in the end it pays off. The Omega is a >$3000 watch, whereas the Seiko is approx $450 and the Orient a paltry $150. I know some guys have issues with winders, but for me, I have no idea how I survived without one.

scottish steve said:

I tried to love mechanical watches but I find them a big pain in the neck. I've owned 3 in my life and I've got rid of 2 of them- one to the charity shop, one on a park bench, in-box with all papers including receipt. Sure, it's very nice to see the pretty wheels moving, but the technology is inadequate. About half of my watches are around +5s, none worse than +10s, per month.

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I wouldn't say the technology is inadequate--it is perfectly suitable for those of us that do not need to have our life regulated to the last second. I have one automatic watch (Seiko Sumo) that I consider more jewelry than anything else. It runs about 5 seconds fast per day. Accurate enough for me.

But if you do need high accuracy, Quartz or Atomic are the way to go. Or network time, for that matter.