'Wind up' watch question.

[bob1179]

Hi all, I'm new to this section of PH and just looking for a bit of advice on the care and maintenance of a watch I've just been given.

It is based on a Soviet watch made in the sixties and currently manufactured in Germany, I've always been a fan of all things Cold War and think it's quite cool.

Online piccie of said watch:

http://www.cccp-watch.com/en/catalogue_196313.htm

Anyway, I realise it isn't expensive but I would like to keep it in good condition and look after it.

So, how often should the mechanism be cleaned and serviced? Being a wind up watch I assume that it will require more care than your usual battery powered types?

I know this will sound daft, but how much should I wind it up each day? I don't want to over wind the mechanism and damage it, so I thought it's probably better to ask!

Sorry for the inaneness of my post, but you guys seem to be a wealth of information on such things.

[toohuge]

I am sure that i will be corrected if I am wrong, but most manual winds cannot be over wound there is a mechanism to stop it. I would say a good 15-20 winds in the morning and the same in the evening would be adequate for the watch to keep beating.
As for servicing, there are mixed opinions. I like to follow the idea that if the watch is keeping good time do not service it until it starts showing large discrepancies or stops all together. Some will say to service mechanical watches every 3-5 years but that can be expensive!

I hope this helps and please do correct me if i am wrong

[ShadownINja]

My 25 year old Seiko 5 has yet to be serviced. Maybe I should because it loses 10 seconds a day. Or perhaps, because it cost about £40, I should just bin it and buy a new one...

Edited by ShadownINja on Saturday 16th May 15:18

[Pesty]

bob1179 said:

So, how often should the mechanism be cleaned and serviced? Being a wind up watch I assume that it will require more care than your usual battery powered types?

I know this will sound daft, but how much should I wind it up each day? I don't want to over wind the mechanism and damage it, so I thought it's probably better to ask!

Sorry for the inaneness of my post, but you guys seem to be a wealth of information on such things.

I have 3 mechanical manual wind russian watches.

I keep winding (delicately) until I feel a little bit of resistance on the crown then stop.

If I am wearing it daily I do this in the morning when I put it on. Don;t know the reverve of your watch but that lasts enough for 24hrs on mine. I just do that and forget it until teh next morning.

I have not had them serviced yet some are 3-4 years ols and still run ok
Bear in mind that these watches are not the most accurate 10 secs +- a day is good

Edited by Pesty on Saturday 16th May 20:18

[glazbagun]

When you get up in the morning, wind it carefully until you cant wind it any more. You dont have to worry about breaking it- you'll know when to stop. Do this every morning at the same time. As for servicing, there's many a tale of £30 watches that have gone for 20 years without a service. But likewise theres many a car that's done 100K without servicing- doesnt mean it's a good idea if you plan on keeping something forever.

I'd get it serviced every five years or so- if it were a Swiss watch with plentiful supplies of spare parts, I'd be tempted to run it till it started losing/gaining, but if you've an uncommon mechanism in the watch, then it might be a better idea to stick to some kind of service interval. If your watch is cheap, this probably wont be cost effective, but that's for you to decide. Hopefully by then, you'll be bitten by the bug and be pouring all your money into even more watches

Edited by glazbagun on Saturday 16th May 22:20

[CommanderJameson]

ShadownINja said:

My 25 year old Seiko 5 has yet to be serviced. Maybe I should because it loses 10 seconds a day. Or perhaps, because it cost about £40, I should just bin it and buy a new one...

-10 secs a day is perfectly respectable for a non-chronometer mechanical watch.

[ShadownINja]

CommanderJameson said:

ShadownINja said:

My 25 year old Seiko 5 has yet to be serviced. Maybe I should because it loses 10 seconds a day. Or perhaps, because it cost about £40, I should just bin it and buy a new one...

-10 secs a day is perfectly respectable for a non-chronometer mechanical watch.

I was being cheeky. If a watch was a minute out a day it wouldn't bother me. TBH I never even set the Seiko that accurately anyway, always being slightly fast of my computer's time. Who really needs spot on accuracy from a watch? Maybe 1% of the population.

[deejuic]

ShadownINja said:

CommanderJameson said:

ShadownINja said:

My 25 year old Seiko 5 has yet to be serviced. Maybe I should because it loses 10 seconds a day. Or perhaps, because it cost about £40, I should just bin it and buy a new one...

-10 secs a day is perfectly respectable for a non-chronometer mechanical watch.

I was being cheeky. If a watch was a minute out a day it wouldn't bother me. TBH I never even set the Seiko that accurately anyway, always being slightly fast of my computer's time. Who really needs spot on accuracy from a watch? Maybe 1% of the population.

Agreed. I don't even think 1% of the population needs that kind of accuracy.

[deejuic]

as far as winding goes, just go slow. when you feel a change in the resistance (it's very easy to tell), STOP! if you go past that point, you'll end up jumping the spring and that's obviously not good.

[simonrockman]

And there was me thinking that "Wind up watch question" meant popintg into this forum and saying fakes were much better value than the real thing.

[ShadownINja]

simonrockman said:

And there was me thinking that "Wind up watch question" meant popintg into this forum and saying fakes were much better value than the real thing.