15500 - shake to wake?

[ModestCollector]

I have a 15500 (blue dial) that was purchased directly from AP about 6 months ago.

When I wear the watch from a completely empty power reserve I manually wind the watch, but the second hand does not start to move until I give the watch a gentle shake, regardless of how much I wind the watch.

Is that normal? Should the watch power up with winding alone?

When running it keeps perfect time so I don't suspect any issues, but I wondered if this was quite normal?

Thanks.

[AshAP]

Doesn’t sound normal, maybe the battery is loose.


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[Benzsiam]

Yes, the watch should be running by winding alone without shaking, but it might takes up to 20 rounds or more of winding.

[ChrisMy]

Mine starts up after about 30-35 rounds of winding tho


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[Tools]

Originally Posted by ModestCollector

. . .

Is that normal? Should the watch power up with winding alone?

When running it keeps perfect time so I don't suspect any issues, but I wondered if this was quite normal?

Thanks.

Mechanical watches do not power-up. You wind the mainspring and that puts torque into the system.

All of the gears, pivots, and associated parts need to overcome friction and tolerance in order to start the action. Sometimes that takes a tap or wiggle to nudge them into movement.

[Burlington]

As per above, yes it’s quite normal.

Sometimes just needs a little something to get the whole chain working

[ap1]

I had to shake to wake my hulk

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by ChrisMy

Mine starts up after about 30-35 rounds of winding

Never waited that long... I wind the watch a few times but can’t help giving it a quick jiggle to get the movement going. If it’s a hand-wound watch, I’ll wind it at least 15 full turns.

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by Burlington

As per above, yes it’s quite normal.

Sometimes just needs a little something to get the whole chain working

True and so do I.

[ChrisMy]

Originally Posted by RolexZen

Never waited that long... I wind the watch a few times but can’t help giving it a quick jiggle to get the movement going. If it’s a hand-wound watch, I’ll wind it at least 15 full turns.

I see , will do that next time


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[Skyrider01]

Originally Posted by ChrisMy

Mine starts up after about 30-35 rounds of winding tho


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Same with mine. Around 25-30 turns of the crown. No need to shake it.

[8bc8]

The user manual says 40 winds is recommended. Also don't set the time between 6pm and 1am!

[Jgives]

I haven’t taken my 15500 off since I bought it, so never had to deal with a stopped watch. Try that.

[S2000_driver]

It takes a good 15 to 20 turns to get going from a dead stop. Very slow starter compared to hand wound movements like 321 or 1861.

[ModestCollector]

Update: I let the watch fully run out of power and then tried to get it going yesterday evening, without shaking. Low and behold, after about 25 turns (and no shake) the watch jumped into action.

Thanks a lot everyone. Turns out I was probably just being impatient.

[Fishrus]

Originally Posted by ModestCollector

Update: I let the watch fully run out of power and then tried to get it going yesterday evening, without shaking. Low and behold, after about 25 turns (and no shake) the watch jumped into action.

Thanks a lot everyone. Turns out I was probably just being impatient.

Yes for some reason mine takes many winds to actually start from zero power as compared to my other mechanical watches. No shaking is needed but sometimes if I'm lazy to wind it I'll just shake it to start it and wear it.