Submariner playing up

[drfrank]

I have a sub that is now 3 yrs old. In the last 2 weeks it has stopped a couple of times (which it has never done before). I don't keep it in a winder and rarely wind it up manually. It's not been serviced yet but is probably approaching the need for one. It is my daily wearer and I only take it off to sleep.
Am I being stupid and just need to wind it up/get a winder or is there a problem ?
Thanks

[hilly10]

I would expect a sub being only three years old would not need a service, on average people say 5 or 6 years. Mine is an old watch rebuilt by Rolex in 2008 so now 6 years old and still keeps perfect time. I just think at 3 years old I would not be expecting to service so early.

[Riff Raff]

hilly10 said:

I would expect a sub being only three years old would not need a service, on average people say 5 or 6 years. Mine is an old watch rebuilt by Rolex in 2008 so now 6 years old and still keeps perfect time. I just think at 3 years old I would not be expecting to service so early.

But, if he's wearing it every day, taking it off only at night and it's stopping, it needs looking at. Whatever is wrong with it won't fix itself.

[Variomatic]

Stopping a couple of times may indicate the start of a problem, or may simply be a small change in your pattern of use - possibly one that you haven't even noticed.

Thanks to modern lifestyles, quite a lot of auto watches only just keep up with the power they use each day. A watch on your left wrist, as you sit at a keyboard all day, then drive home and sit in front of the TV, isn't getting a lot of "spare" movement so skipping that walk to your favourite cafe for lunch for a few days because you've got a deadline to meet can leave them running low. It tends not to be a huge problem, but it does happen.

3 years is a bit early to need servicing, but bear in mind that 3 years from sale can quite easily be 4 - 5 years from manufacture (less likely with Rolex than with more mass-market brands, but still possible). If it was sitting in stock for a while then it'll also have been doing the one thing that watches like least of all - not running.

There are a few ways you can "test" your own watch to give a better idea of whether or not they need service. The simplest, if you can not wear t for a couple of days, is to fully wind it (give it a good 30 - 40 turns of manual wind to be sure) then leave it unworn to run until it stops. You should find it runs for about 50 hours - much less than 48 and the oils are starting to dry and rob it of power.

You can also check for consistency of timekeeping - the actual rate doesn't matter much in this regard - it's how consistent it is from one day to the next). Time it carefully over a week or so, noting how much it gains or loses against a reliable benchmark (any quartz timepiece will do for that) at the same time each day. A variation in rate of more than about 4 - 5 seconds each day suggests it's not performing as well as it could.

If you try either of those and tey show a potential issue then either find a local indie and ask them to check it out on their timing machine, or splash out about £150 on a Chinese timegrapher and learn how to read the trace yourself - be warned that can become addictive though

[Hoofy]

Mmm. Are you moving enough? A recent Harvard study found that the increase in automatic watches stopping was a direct correlation to the number of obese people wearing automatic watches*.
















* - I may have made that up.

[Variomatic]

Hoofy said:

* - I may have made that up.

Pretty sure I read about that study somewhere too, Hoofy. Oh, hang on, it was in the rest of your post :P

Seriously, though, it can be a problem. Not so much obesity as people leading less active lives and often removing their watch when they do get active in the gym etc.

Used to be a problem with old fogies who'd find that they didn't move enough any more to keep their watch wound, but sitting at a desk all day working a keyboard is asking quite a lot for a self-winder to keep up!

[drfrank]

Should I wind it up everyday ?
I should add that I do take it off whilst operating !

[Variomatic]

See what the power reserve is like first. If it runs for over 48 hours or so on its own then a little manual wind (half a dozen turns or so) will probably keep it reliable. If it stops far short of the quoted reserve then winding may provide a temporary "cure" but it'll need looking at sooner rather than later.

Have you had any particularly long operating sessions in the time-frame this has happened in? Obviously, any time off your wrist is time that it's eating into its reserves and won't help.

[Hoofy]

I give my wrist a shake every now and then. Partly because I wear the watch loosely and sometimes it sits in an uncomfortable position.

[Zingari]

Hoofy said:

I give my wrist a shake every now and then. Partly because I wear the watch loosely and sometimes it sits in an uncomfortable position.

Wearing boxing gloves in bed at night normally solves that problem

Very true what Variomatic says in most cases an automatic just gets enough energy to see it through the day and unworn overnight with a sedentary lifestyle

[RobinBanks]

Zingari said:

Wearing boxing gloves in bed at night normally solves that problem

Very true what Variomatic says in most cases an automatic just gets enough energy to see it through the day and unworn overnight with a sedentary lifestyle

[Hoofy]

Sod.

[drfrank]

It had stopped again by this morning despite a good wind yesterday.
I think I need to get it looked at. I called at the local Rolex dealer but they don't do in house service/repair and send everything off, said it could be away for upto 3 mths !!!
Any recommendations for in house Rolex repairs/service in Home Counties or Central London ???

Thanks

[audidoody]

Take it to Rolex in St James

Green Park Tube

Walk-in

No appointment necessary

[964RS.]

Had the exact same issue on a Submariner. Simple fix is to take it to a watch specialist. They can remove the back and give it a VERY light blow with compressed air. Worked for me.

My current ceramic Sub date has fallen for the same issue after 3 years but I'm likely to get it serviced as I've had to wind it up every few weeks.

[bobbybee]

I thought Subs (all variants) & Daytona models had to go back to RSC?
If your local watch specialist just blew it out how did they re-seal it and pressure test it? Unless of course they are R accredited

[Variomatic]

bobbybee said:

I thought Subs (all variants) & Daytona models had to go back to RSC?
If your local watch specialist just blew it out how did they re-seal it and pressure test it? Unless of course they are R accredited

Interesting article about Rolex pressure testing here:

http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/under-pressure-a-look...

Note that this is a Rolex dealer, with Rolex certified watchmakers, and Rolex approved equipment. Now note the process:

(1) A deflection test (air pressure) at 100m rating

(2) A wet test at 100 - 1000m, with the movement removed for safety. Think about that for a minute: Once they've carried out their very high pressure testing they have to open the case again to put it back together!!!. the same appies for any deeper testing.

(3) In the event of a fail, a vacuum wet test with a 1 bar maximum differential to pin-point the leaks.


Now think of the implications of that process:

(a) The 100m test is straightforward. If the watch passes, it passes. All good, but any watch repairer should have kit suitable for this level of testing.

(b) The high depth tests require the watch to be opened again after completion, so can never be the "final" tested depth of the complete watch. So (apart from at the design stage to prove the watch won't implode)they're actually pretty meaningless because, if it passes, the test much be immediately invalidated anyway.

(c) If the watch does have a leak, Rolex' own procedures acknowledge that it will show up under a 1 bar (10m) pressure difference. Again, the high pressure testing is not only invalidated but is actually redundant in the first place because a simple 10m wet test will show any leaks anyway.

No doubt the usual Dealer fanboy/s will be along to deny this, but for owners with their own minds its worth pondering on. Especially point B that, having passed one of their signature "only we can do it" pressure tests, the very first thing they do is open it up again