Accuracy

[brady]

I had read around about how new Rolexes can take a couple of weeks to get accurate. Mine was running about 3-5 seconds slow per day and my occasional OCD was raising its ugly head.

It took about 3 weeks but I'm happy to say that for the past 3 or so days, my SS/Pt YM has been dead on accurate with absolutely no gain or loss in time. Woot!

[Tools]

Good to hear........

It has also been my experience that they tend too speed up a bit after a while.. I believe this is because the oils initially have drag on all the tiny parts, and it takes a while for those oils to evenly disperse......

but it's just a theory........

[padi56]

Originally Posted by brady

I had read around about how new Rolexes can take a couple of weeks to get accurate. Mine was running about 3-5 seconds slow per day and my occasional OCD was raising its ugly head.

It took about 3 weeks but I'm happy to say that for the past 3 or so days, my SS/Pt YM has been dead on accurate with absolutely no gain or loss in time. Woot!

How more accurate do you want it to be its already 99.995% to 99.997% accurate.No purely mechanical watch made any price and any brand will be 100% perfect accurate.There will always be tiny daily deviations earth's gravity the main culprit,then you have metal expansion and contraction, temperature variations, subtle changes in lubrication and friction, shocks,etc.To get a watch thats self regulating by different resting positions when off wrist is one in a few thousand.Considering a day has 86,400 seconds and the escapement pushes the gears 432,000 times in 24 hours.To lose just 3-5 of those seconds shows incredible precision in any mechanical watch.

[brady]

Originally Posted by padi56

How more accurate do you want it to be its already 99.995% to 99.997% accurate.No purely mechanical watch made any price and any brand will be 100% perfect accurate.There will always be tiny daily deviations earth's gravity the main culprit,then you have metal expansion and contraction, temperature variations, subtle changes in lubrication and friction, shocks,etc.To get a watch thats self regulating by different resting positions when off wrist is one in a few thousand.Considering a day has 86,400 seconds and the escapement pushes the gears 432,000 times in 24 hours.To lose just 3-5 of those seconds shows incredible precision in any mechanical watch.

I couldn't agree more and completely understand. I own a few mechanical watches including a vintage Aquadive which has probably never been serviced, all keeping perfect time. It would have slightly (unjustly) bothered me to have my most expensive/prized one off a few seconds a day. I'm just happy to see that it's finely been "broken in".

[snow_rocks]

Accuracy seems to come up at least once a month on this forum.

At least we can count on that!

[Rikki]

I've been hearing alot of talk about accuracy from Rolex and the standard rate for late model Rolex's is 0 to plus 5 seconds a day not -4 to + 6 like I have heard. Hope that clears it up. Rik the watchmaker

[michael69]

My new DJ (about a month old) is about +4-5 secs a day, so I reset once a week (by which time it's about 30 secs fast).

Seems fine to me, and its just enough time to stop the second hand and get it bang on again ready for the next week!

I don't know whether it will become "more accurate" as time goes on, but I know that if it's starts to go way off then I can always get it regulated.

[kkchome]

My 14060M has been averaging +2.5 seconds per day for the past 18 days. When I go to bed I put it in the crown down position. If I leave it face up, it's a bit faster. I'm very pleased with this results.

[WatchSmith]

Fretting over a few seconds a day will surely suck the fun out of owing a mechanical watch. If 99.99% accuracy isn't close enough, then a quartz watch is the only thing that will satisfy.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Rikki

I've been hearing alot of talk about accuracy from Rolex and the standard rate for late model Rolex's is 0 to plus 5 seconds a day not -4 to + 6 like I have heard. Hope that clears it up. Rik the watchmaker

Sorry Rik cannot agree all Swiss brands including Rolex are tested to the same
COSC spec as any other Swiss chronometer.The first column is for movements
of Rolex size and once bare movement leaves COSC after test.All Rolex states
that movement has been COSC tested,of coarse any manufacturer will do its best to make sure watch performs close or inside test but not 100% guarantee on wrist.

[Rikki]

I understand your stats on cosc but they won't let them leave the shop unless they're 0 plus 5 Seconds. Got that straight from an Instructor yesterday. Rik

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Rikki

I understand your stats on cosc but they won't let them leave the shop unless they're 0 plus 5 Seconds. Got that straight from an Instructor yesterday. Rik

Can understand that Rolex would like say after a service or repair to have movement set to 0 + 5 spec.But with quite a few lately brand new watches this is not the case.But even if set on the machine to that 0+5 it don't necessarily mean it will perform same on wrist.Myself not anal about absolute
accuracy its mechanical after all.I just wish the rest of the TRF members would not be so anal about a few seconds.If any mechanical watch runs within a few seconds a day either way,myself would prefer slight gain, they should all be singing the watches praises.There cannot be many other purely mechanical, man, or robot made machines, that have the superb precision of a mechanical watch.

[Art 1]

Good news.

[SSD]

Great to hear of your Yachtmaster's accuracy!!!

[Rikki]

The testing is done in generally 5 positions dial up dial down crown up crown down crown left at full wind. then these numbers are added some will be negative some positive when all added and subtracted together then divided by 5 you get your average daily rate.If between 0 and 4.9 it goes if 5 and over it goes back for more fine tuning. Rik the watchmaker

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Rikki

The testing is done in generally 5 positions dial up dial down crown up crown down crown left at full wind. then these numbers are added some will be negative some positive when all added and subtracted together then divided by 5 you get your average daily rate.If between 0 and 4.9 it goes if 5 and over it goes back for more fine tuning. Rik the watchmaker

It's good to hear that Rolex insists that their product perform better than the basic COSC standard..

[haakon59]

We read these posts about accuracy quite often on this forum. In one sense, I completely understand, because we all want our watches to be accurate. In another sense, I think more people need to recognize that -4 to +6 seconds accuracy per day is more than 99.9% accurate and remember, these are mechanical watches, not digital. Instead, it might be beneficial to relax a bit about accuracy and mechanical watches. When was the last time when you lost your job for being 10 seconds late?

I have all kinds of different watches with all kinds of movements, most of them work pretty well. Sure, there will come a time when the watch needs servicing, etc. But I think it is remarkable how well they work most of the time. I even have a Croton brand watch (cheap) which someone gave me and it is now around 9 years old and it still hasn't been serviced and runs within roughly 20 seconds a day and was never COSC certified.

Another fact to keep in mind is that Automatic watches will vary in how accurate they are depending on any number of factors, like how much you move, etc. So it is better to check the time for accuracy once a week than every day to allow for daily variances. While it is true that generally, the variances will not swing widely, I think it is almost comical how some people expect a mechanical watch to be more accurate than it is engineered to be.

[Rikki]

This past weekend I took a 3 day lathe and timing course from the AWCI and we were using 18000 beat watches etas to work on now the specs for this watch is 15 seconds a day by the end of the weekend of tweaking , dynamic poising and pallet jewel manipulation I got my watch down to in 5 position average .2 seconds a day with a 300 amplitude and a 6 delta. The is way better than specs from the factory so it can be done if you take the time to do it. Now a 28800 is even easier to adjust and getting it under the 4.9 is what we do. Rik the watchmaker

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Rikki

This past weekend I took a 3 day lathe and timing course from the AWCI and we were using 18000 beat watches etas to work on now the specs for this watch is 15 seconds a day by the end of the weekend of tweaking , dynamic poising and pallet jewel manipulation I got my watch down to in 5 position average .2 seconds a day with a 300 amplitude and a 6 delta. The is way better than specs from the factory so it can be done if you take the time to do it. Now a 28800 is even easier to adjust and getting it under the 4.9 is what we do. Rik the watchmaker

Yes Rik 100% agree with you fine regulation that the main when it come to accuracy.And its surprising the results from what some would call humble movements with a bit patience and fine tuning.

[T5AUS]

Well if I could get my 5512 down to that accuracy I might be a little happier, it currently gains two minutes in 24 hours and before I had the back off and gave it a fine nudge on the adjuster it was a couple of minutes slow. I have done this adjustment a few times now but just cant seem to hit middle ground, maybe it needs a serious service. But hey, as has been said, it's a mechanical watch of 47 years, so I quite like it's almost human traits and of course with it's current gain it means I am never late for appointments

[Rikki]

2 minutes in 24 is a bit much even on that old of a watch it should be able to keep much better time send it on in I'll do what I can I know you are some distance but it wouldn't be the first time Rik the watchmaker

[T5AUS]

Thanks for the offer Rick, vey kind, but we have watchmakers here in Australia who can handle it, and besides, at this moment in time I could never sleep if this baby was let out just around the block let alone across the world.

[Rikki]

I hear ya brother hope you find someone to squeak it up for you Rik the watchmaker

[Rikki]

I was reading your post on your 5512 you said you were adjusting the lever on your movement I'm sorry but that lever is for putting the movement in beat not timing. The microstella screws on the balance wheel are for adjusting the time and you need the proper Rolex tool to adjust those. When you move the hairspring lever you're putting the watch out of beat which affects amplitude. The slower the amplitude the faster your watch will run because your putting the balance wheel off of center beat. Hope that helps Rikki

[T5AUS]

OOOOOOPS, guess I should leave it to the experts then
I thought it was to regulate speed as some watches do have the letters F & S ( Fast or Slow) on either side of the lever, see my attached photo of a Rolex made Hofex movement for this
Anyway, thanks for this, I shall leave it for the watchmaker to sort out.

[Rikki]

This particular movement has a time lever adjustment as many early Rolexes do but the 1530 uses microstella screws and the arm on the balance cock is used for beat adjustment. This movement has a fixed arm for the hairspring. beat adjusting for this model is achieved by moving the hairspring collet to center the roller jewel. Balance wheels of this vintage also used timing washers for the fine timing and poising. Comon keep um coming Rik the watchmaker

[T5AUS]

Very good Rik, thanks for the explanation

[pz93c]

I set mine to the work clock once a month, on the first. As long as it stays within the minute, I'm happy.