3035 winding behaviour

[goonhoon]

I recently purchased a Rolex 16014 that was serviced prior to being sent to me.

Yesterday I decided to test its power reserve. I manually wound it, noticing a slightly coarse feel to it, set it in a watch case, and noticed that after about 35 hours it stopped.

Thinking that maybe I haven't wound it enough, I decided to try once again today. I most likely wound it for far more than what is necessary, but had to make sure. Nonetheless, I realized that the first few revolutions (about five) are clicky and quite smooth, and then the crown starts being coarse/gritty (while still producing that clicky noise). Is this common? Should I be able to do 20-30 revolutions without feeling any resistance or coarse feeling?

I read enough and conducted that this could either go away on its own, or that this is normal, or that the movement is somehow broken. Hence, any input to calm my mind for the next 2 days is appreciated.

I will add to this post in 2 days whether the power reserve was met this time.

Thanks!

[Tools]

It takes around 40 turns to fully wind a 3035, and if it is optimum, it should be closer to 50 hours or power.

There are a couple of spring options, and the indents inside the mainspring barrel can, and do, wear so that they will not hold the spring as tightly when it starts to wind up.

Do you feel like you need more than 35-40hours? Is the watch keeping good time?

The watch may very well have been serviced, but not all service calls replace expensive worn parts, they just clean and oil.

[springer]

When mine starts feeling gritty, it is time for a service.

[goonhoon]

Originally Posted by Tools

It takes around 40 turns to fully wind a 3035, and if it is optimum, it should be closer to 50 hours or power.

There are a couple of spring options, and the indents inside the mainspring barrel can, and do, wear so that they will not hold the spring as tightly when it starts to wind up.

Do you feel like you need more than 35-40hours? Is the watch keeping good time?

The watch may very well have been serviced, but not all service calls replace expensive worn parts, they just clean and oil.

Thank you for the reply.

I do not need more than that 35-40 hours of power, except maybe having to set the time when the watch isn't worn for a day or more. This I do not mind at all, but worry that I will put more pressure on the crown by unscrewing it often.

That being said, I assume the parts were cleaned and oiled, but not replaced. This was about a month or so ago. Am I fine with another 2-3 years of usage before servicing? It keeps time rather well, it is just the slight coarse feeling after few revolutions of the crown and the limited power reserve.

I will try to observe whether this changes or not in the next few days.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by goonhoon

. . .
I do not need more than that 35-40 hours of power, except maybe having to set the time when the watch isn't worn for a day or more. This I do not mind at all, but worry that I will put more pressure on the crown by unscrewing it often.

That being said, I assume the parts were cleaned and oiled, but not replaced. This was about a month or so ago. Am I fine with another 2-3 years of usage before servicing? It keeps time rather well, it is just the slight coarse feeling after few revolutions of the crown and the limited power reserve.
. . . .

Every manual wind Rolex made is unscrewed and wound daily, but you shouldn't need to wind it often if it is worn consistently. All watches prior to the 3035, current mid-size models have a 35-40 hour power reserve.

Many here will say that you don't need to have your watch overhauled unless it stops or breaks. You are likely far from that.

[Dan S]

In my experience, rough winding is often an obvious sign that a watch is in need of service.

BTW, when a seller claims that a watch was serviced, I generally take it with a grain of salt unless there is extremely convincing documentation. And the rough hand-winding suggests that the claim is total BS in this case. At the very least, I would have my watchmaker take a look in the movement. I expect the cap jewels will be totally dry.

[R.W.T.]

Okay....here's the deal...IF you let the watch set for more than 24-36 hours...you need to wind it fully by hand ANYWAY because the autowind isn't gonna catch you up to full wind even with regular wear after that for quite some time. So your accuracy will suffer some. ( all of this is more and more minimal with the later movements ) 35 hours is not insanely low power reserve. If it's keeping good time with regular wear, I'm not seeing the real issue. Power reserve from full wind is determined by the length of the spring. It's rather fixed. Barrel wear and lubrication can come into play. If the spring slips too easily you might see slightly less reserve. The automatic portion winds very subtly. Hand winding is generally a bit more forceful and you may be setting on the slipped portion...if the barrel has wear the indentations inside won't hold the bridle as securely and it may slip easily. You see this a great deal in older 15xx calibres with lots of wear. The barrel is almost smooth inside and they won't develop the same amplitude that a fresh barrel will.

The gritty feeling is a worn post on the intermediate winding wheel on the barrel bridge. It is the common wear point on the 3035. The only way to fix it is to send it to ROLEX for service pretty much because it is next to impossible to obtain a new one in the wild and they are getting VERY picky who they will send that part to even exchange. It's not harming anything as long as it is fresh...but it will be annoying and eventually it will go completely south. I have sent my own watches to Rolex for service to get that part replaced when I could do the work myself.

[goonhoon]

Originally Posted by Tools

Many here will say that you don't need to have your watch overhauled unless it stops or breaks. You are likely far from that.

Originally Posted by R.W.T.

It's not harming anything as long as it is fresh...but it will be annoying and eventually it will go completely south.

Thanks for putting my mind at peace . In the past 24 hours, the watch came +1s ahead, which I consider to be well within the norm. I remember servicing my 562 Omega from the 60s after the deviation was around 1 minute a day. I will most likely send it to get serviced locally by the end of this year, where they usually tell me, free of charge, what exactly should and can/cannot be done. I will ask about the availability of the part you mentioned.