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JJ Irani · 30 December 2005, 06:34 AM

Hi Padi,

Is it okay to keep the second hand on a chronograph constantly running or should it be stopped and used only when timing a race or whatever?

If it's kept constantly on the move, would that in any way "harm" the movement?

Thanks - JJ

30 December 2005, 06:57 AM

Well, I'm not Padi, but there would be two issues with having it run continuously in my view:

1/ Extra wear and tear - they weren't really designed to run all the time, so you would be putting extra wear on the movement, but with modern lubricants I don't see that as being a big deal. You will flip it long before it wears out JJ......

2/ It will most likely affect the power reserve in the watch, so depending on how much you are tossing it may not say wound as much as it would otherwise, which *may" affect the timekeeping.

In either case, no big deal in my book, but why would you want to leave it running all the time?

30 December 2005, 07:00 AM

I agree with Al. Finwhiz did an experiment with his Speedy (not sure if he still has it) and while the power reserve was affected, it was only by about an hour or so.

I've seen similar comparisions with the Daytona movement... the PR loss is minimal, assuming also that you're letting it 'run down' to zero.

Let it run JJ. If anything happens, it's under warranty and as Al said, it'll be gone long before the warranty runs out or any noticible wear or degradation of accuracty is noticible.

Rockrolex · 30 December 2005, 07:08 AM

There are two sides to this one. If you keep it running, yes, you will minimally affect the power reserve, but you will keep the parts lubricated.

On the other side, you suffer more wear and tear on the parts, so you will need to have it serviced more often.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

JJ Irani · 30 December 2005, 10:20 AM

Yes, many thanks for the feed back...so really no big deal in letting it run 'cause the only thing that seems to be affected is the PR.

Also, the thought did come to mind that it would be a good idea to let the two other totalisers - the minute one and the hour one go round and round so they aren't stationary in one place for too long.

However, and this is to answer Al's question, the real reason for letting it run is because when the long second hand is stationary at '12' it gets a bit confusing in reading the time quickly. You must remember that this is my very FIRST chronograph ever and I'm not used to seeing a stationary second hand sitting on '12' doing bugger all. On at least two occasions I read the wrong time thinking the second hand to be the minute hand!!

Gues I can do one thing: Leave it running during the day whilst the watch is on my hand and stop it at night when I take the watch off!!

It gives me greater pleasure in seeing a moving second hand!!

Cheers - JJ

mamas · 30 December 2005, 08:43 PM

JJ.. it is very bad practice to keep the chrono running as you will end up damaging your mechanism.. i used to run it aswell until i found out this!.
Jean michel has explained this very eloquently in one of his threads on wwf in omega forum with photos, but the gist is that if you look at the 'cogwheels' of the chrono function, these are not designed to be in continous use and will cause premature wear and then need to replace them .. i suppos3e it very much depends on whether you intend to keep this in the long haul.
mamas

JJ Irani · 30 December 2005, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamas

JJ.. it is very bad practice to keep the chrono running as you will end up damaging your mechanism.. i used to run it aswell until i found out this!.
Jean michel has explained this very eloquently in one of his threads on wwf in omega forum with photos, but the gist is that if you look at the 'cogwheels' of the chrono function, these are not designed to be in continous use and will cause premature wear and then need to replace them .. i suppos3e it very much depends on whether you intend to keep this in the long haul.
mamas

Thanks, Mamas....but as I've explained above, it becomes a bit tough for me to tell the time because of the stationary second hand (which can be sometimes misleading).

I guess it would be okay to STOP it at night when I never wear my watches anyway, and re-start it whenever I decide to put it on again!! Would that be okay?

mamas · 30 December 2005, 08:58 PM

JJ.. why not ask Jean Michel on the other fourm? he is an amateur watchmaker and his knowledge concerning speedmaster and breitling chronograph mechanisms and their workings is second to none..i think he would be the best source of advice.. rather than me guessing at answers! i think you got a good deal on this watch and it is something you will enjoy.. if you flip it you wont lose much.
mamas

JJ Irani · 30 December 2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamas

JJ.. why not ask Jean Michel on the other fourm? he is an amateur watchmaker and his knowledge concerning speedmaster and breitling chronograph mechanisms and their workings is second to none..i think he would be the best source of advice.. rather than me guessing at answers! i think you got a good deal on this watch and it is something you will enjoy.. if you flip it you wont lose much.
mamas

I have (hopefully) no intentions of flipping it....I'm enjoying a true Chronograph for the first time in my life, but I'm sure that if I flip it now I might even make a small profit on the deal!!

padi56 · 30 December 2005, 09:38 PM

Well JJ On most mechanical chronographs, yes it is OK. Some people prefer to do this in order to have the large second hand running. There is no evidence this causes any additional wear of any significance to the watch. It also makes little difference in the power reserve, with mechanical automatic watches. Omega quote, report that their watches should lose less than 2% of their power reserve having the chronograph running continuously.But I would be on the side of caution,myself would use the Chrono when needed.A few hours or a few days, IMO will do no harm, to any chrono movement.As long as the proper service intervals have been carried out.But as your watch is new it would be better to break it in first,IMHO with only occasional chrono functions,stopped and reset every time,instead of just stopping.

31 December 2005, 01:52 AM

The answer from Jean Michel, over at our friend's house...

http://watchtalkforums.proboards26.c...ead=1135940842

JJ Irani · 31 December 2005, 04:30 AM

Thanks Padi and thanks Johnny for the link. I'll be going to WWF later to read it more thoroughly and thank JM for his efforts.

JJ

baseballduck · 31 December 2005, 06:48 AM

Hey JJ, I think that's a no.

Tyler

30 December 2005, 06:34 AM	#1
JJ Irani Fondly Remembered Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: JJ Location: Auckland, NZ Watch: ALL SOLD!! Posts: 74,320	Question for Padi... Hi Padi, Is it okay to keep the second hand on a chronograph constantly running or should it be stopped and used only when timing a race or whatever? If it's kept constantly on the move, would that in any way "harm" the movement? Thanks - JJ __________________ Words fail me in expressing my utmost thanks to ALL of you for this wonderful support during my hour of need!! I firmly believe that my time on planet earth is NOT yet up!! I shall fight this to the very end.......and WIN!!

30 December 2005, 07:08 AM	#4
Rockrolex TRF Moderator & 2024 DATE-JUST41 Patron Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: God Location: Washington, D.C. Watch: What do you think? Posts: 37,507	There are two sides to this one. If you keep it running, yes, you will minimally affect the power reserve, but you will keep the parts lubricated. On the other side, you suffer more wear and tear on the parts, so you will need to have it serviced more often. You pays your money and takes your choice. __________________ Despite the high cost of living, it's still very popular. *Tosser Cabinet Member* Official Member: 'Perpetual 30' Vegas International GTG 2016 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2017 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2018 Official Member "WIS-CON" Las Vegas International GTG 2019

30 December 2005, 10:20 AM	#5
JJ Irani Fondly Remembered Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: JJ Location: Auckland, NZ Watch: ALL SOLD!! Posts: 74,320	Good advice all around...thanks, guys!! Yes, many thanks for the feed back...so really no big deal in letting it run 'cause the only thing that seems to be affected is the PR. Also, the thought did come to mind that it would be a good idea to let the two other totalisers - the minute one and the hour one go round and round so they aren't stationary in one place for too long. However, and this is to answer Al's question, the real reason for letting it run is because when the long second hand is stationary at '12' it gets a bit confusing in reading the time quickly. You must remember that this is my very FIRST chronograph ever and I'm not used to seeing a stationary second hand sitting on '12' doing bugger all. On at least two occasions I read the wrong time thinking the second hand to be the minute hand!! Gues I can do one thing: Leave it running during the day whilst the watch is on my hand and stop it at night when I take the watch off!! It gives me greater pleasure in seeing a moving second hand!! Cheers - JJ __________________ Words fail me in expressing my utmost thanks to ALL of you for this wonderful support during my hour of need!! I firmly believe that my time on planet earth is NOT yet up!! I shall fight this to the very end.......and WIN!! Last edited by JJ Irani; 30 December 2005 at 10:22 AM..

30 December 2005, 09:38 PM	#10
padi56 "TRF" Life Patron Join Date: Jun 2005 Real Name: Peter Location: Llanfairpwllgwyng Watch: ing you. Posts: 52,260	Well JJ On most mechanical chronographs, yes it is OK. Some people prefer to do this in order to have the large second hand running. There is no evidence this causes any additional wear of any significance to the watch. It also makes little difference in the power reserve, with mechanical automatic watches. Omega quote, report that their watches should lose less than 2% of their power reserve having the chronograph running continuously.But I would be on the side of caution,myself would use the Chrono when needed.A few hours or a few days, IMO will do no harm, to any chrono movement.As long as the proper service intervals have been carried out.But as your watch is new it would be better to break it in first,IMHO with only occasional chrono functions,stopped and reset every time,instead of just stopping. __________________ ICom Pro3 All posts are my own opinion and my opinion only. "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop. Now is the only time you actually own the time, Place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still for ever." Good Judgement comes from experience,experience comes from Bad Judgement,.Buy quality, cry once; buy cheap, cry again and again. www.mc0yad.club Second in command CEO and left handed watch winder

31 December 2005, 04:30 AM	#12
JJ Irani Fondly Remembered Join Date: May 2005 Real Name: JJ Location: Auckland, NZ Watch: ALL SOLD!! Posts: 74,320	Thanks Padi and thanks Johnny for the link. I'll be going to WWF later to read it more thoroughly and thank JM for his efforts. JJ __________________ Words fail me in expressing my utmost thanks to ALL of you for this wonderful support during my hour of need!! I firmly believe that my time on planet earth is NOT yet up!! I shall fight this to the very end.......and WIN!!

30 December 2005, 06:57 AM	#2
---- Guest Posts: n/a	Well, I'm not Padi, but there would be two issues with having it run continuously in my view: 1/ Extra wear and tear - they weren't really designed to run all the time, so you would be putting extra wear on the movement, but with modern lubricants I don't see that as being a big deal. You will flip it long before it wears out JJ...... 2/ It will most likely affect the power reserve in the watch, so depending on how much you are tossing it may not say wound as much as it would otherwise, which *may" affect the timekeeping. In either case, no big deal in my book, but why would you want to leave it running all the time?

30 December 2005, 07:00 AM	#3
Atomic Guest Posts: n/a	I agree with Al. Finwhiz did an experiment with his Speedy (not sure if he still has it) and while the power reserve was affected, it was only by about an hour or so. I've seen similar comparisions with the Daytona movement... the PR loss is minimal, assuming also that you're letting it 'run down' to zero. Let it run JJ. If anything happens, it's under warranty and as Al said, it'll be gone long before the warranty runs out or any noticible wear or degradation of accuracty is noticible.

30 December 2005, 08:43 PM	#6
mamas "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 792	JJ.. it is very bad practice to keep the chrono running as you will end up damaging your mechanism.. i used to run it aswell until i found out this!. Jean michel has explained this very eloquently in one of his threads on wwf in omega forum with photos, but the gist is that if you look at the 'cogwheels' of the chrono function, these are not designed to be in continous use and will cause premature wear and then need to replace them .. i suppos3e it very much depends on whether you intend to keep this in the long haul. mamas

30 December 2005, 08:58 PM	#8
mamas "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 792	JJ.. why not ask Jean Michel on the other fourm? he is an amateur watchmaker and his knowledge concerning speedmaster and breitling chronograph mechanisms and their workings is second to none..i think he would be the best source of advice.. rather than me guessing at answers! i think you got a good deal on this watch and it is something you will enjoy.. if you flip it you wont lose much. mamas

31 December 2005, 01:52 AM	#11
Atomic Guest Posts: n/a	The answer from Jean Michel, over at our friend's house... http://watchtalkforums.proboards26.c...ead=1135940842

31 December 2005, 06:48 AM	#13
baseballduck "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Real Name: Tyler Location: Pinehurst NC Watch: Explorer 214270 Posts: 1,018	Hey JJ, I think that's a no. Tyler __________________ Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet. Member #84

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