Measuring the Precision of Mechanical Watches with your iPhone

[GradyPhilpott]

iPhone fanboys who also happen to be WIS accuracy freaks may find this new app to be too much to resist.

A watchmaker’s job isn’t done once a watch is assembled and ticking. The much more abstract task of then getting that watch to keep time - in an almost infinite variety of positions, temperatures, and states of wind - takes place. It’s the most challenging part of our craft and the pursuit for perfection is ceaseless. If careful attention is paid to every detail, right from the get go, you can usually be pretty certain the timepiece will keep respectable time when you’re done with it. Getting to that perfect zero point, though, where the watch doesn’t lose or gain any time in any state, remains elusive. There are just too many variables at play. Literally hundreds.



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[TerryTibbs]

Just checked this out, very interesting concept. Not sure about the accuracy really. I don't know what time the watch I tested holds but the value seems to vary a fair bit before settling down..

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The App cost around £5. Hopefully development will continue to give a better average.

[Andad]

Good find Grady.

Now we can have an accuracy competition.

[GradyPhilpott]

As stated in the article, there are many variables in mechanical timekeeping and also in the development of an iPhone app to measure that accuracy.

I would expect that there would be a variance of values when the watch is moved or the position is changed.

I'm glad to hear that some have found this to be an interesting topic.

Thanks for the pix.

[TerryTibbs]

Surprised there isn't more interest really, I'm chuffed with it.