How accurate is your watch?

[Jer_1974]

I have had a Rolex Sub for six months and it runs fast by 40 seconds a week. Just wondered what everyone else's did. I have got into the habit on a Sunday night of re-setting it.

[markomah]

IWC Portuguese - approx 7 seconds gain per day

Omega SMP Chrono - approx 5 seconds gain per day

Glycine Lagunare - accurate to within 1 second a day

Curiously, the cheapest watch is by far the most accurate

[Scalper]

my IWC Spitfire UTC looses approximately 1 second per day

[XJSJohn]

Speedy pro looses about a minute and a half a day!!!

Mind you it hasn't been serviced in getting on for 5 years and it goes through some serious temperature changes through the day from airconditioned at 18c to straight outside to 35c+ and doesn't get treated well.

35 year old VDO clock on dash of car never seems to loose a second though, so i just reset the speedie on that each morning in the traffic

[paddyhasneeds]

I have a Breitling SuperQuartz that's meant to be accurate so something silly like 4 seconds a year.

I've also a no date, non COSC Sub that seems to hover around 25-30 seconds a week.

[Holst]

My quartz Seiko is about 5 seconds fast after about 3 months.
Set against the internet attomic clock.

[Balmoral Green]

These watches that are supposed to be accurate to within a second in a million years, if they are so accurate, why do they need to update by radio to an atomic clock? And if they are updating regularly to an atomic clock, why the need to be accurate to within a second in a million years?

[deejuic]

IWC Portuguese Chronograph - gain 2 sec per day
Seiko Monster - gain 8 sec per day
Panerai Marina - gain 4 sec per day
vintage Glashutte - gain 47 sec per day (but it's over 100 years old, so I think that's pretty damn good)
Frederick Constant - gain 6 sec per day
vintage Longines - Gain 3 sec per day (damn good considering it's 75+ years old!)

[Dracoro]

Omega Seamaster pro quartz, bought about 18 months ago.

So far, never had to adjust it. Just change the hour at BST/GMT changeover time, that's it.

[Stu R]

3 or 4 secs gain a day on my IWC porkandcheese

[glazbagun]

Balmoral Green said:

These watches that are supposed to be accurate to within a second in a million years, if they are so accurate, why do they need to update by radio to an atomic clock? And if they are updating regularly to an atomic clock, why the need to be accurate to within a second in a million years?

The atomic watches arert that accurate at all (in quartz terms)- but because they're constantly resetting the time, they dont have to be. The thermo-compensated and very high frequency Swiss quartzes of yesteryear were very accurate indeed, as are some of the top quartz movements from Japan and the Swiss, but no watch is as accurate as an atomic clock yet. Funnily enough- my g/fs parents have a radio-synced clock on which the hands have slipped- making it three mins slow!

[ShadownINja]

As long as mine don't gain or lose more than 30 seconds a day, I don't mind. My job doesn't require me to be that accurate, time-wise.

[XJSJohn]

seems that i have the most abused watch here

Any secrets to ensuring that your watch does keep good time?

Mine is a Manual Wind Omega Speedmaster Pro.

Gets fully wound up every morning before i put it on.

Gets worn every day, no matter what i am doing (ok does get taken off when i am tinkering with engines / machinery but otherwise, thats it.)

It goes through (relatively speaking) wide temperature ranges from office aircon at 18c to outside temps of anything up to and beyond 35c.

I have had it for 5 years, was "serviced" after 2 years when the stop watch got stuck (back to Omega's for 3 months) so its probably been 3 1/2 years since service.

I appreciate that yes it should be serviced, but any other day to day tips or things that i am doing wrong?

[toasty]

Breitling Aerospace - 100% accurate.

It's all the other clocks that are wrong.

Seriously, it's always run a little bit fast, a minute a month or so.

[CommanderJameson]

XJSJohn said:

seems that i have the most abused watch here

Any secrets to ensuring that your watch does keep good time?

Mine is a Manual Wind Omega Speedmaster Pro.

Gets fully wound up every morning before i put it on.

Gets worn every day, no matter what i am doing (ok does get taken off when i am tinkering with engines / machinery but otherwise, thats it.)

It goes through (relatively speaking) wide temperature ranges from office aircon at 18c to outside temps of anything up to and beyond 35c.

I have had it for 5 years, was "serviced" after 2 years when the stop watch got stuck (back to Omega's for 3 months) so its probably been 3 1/2 years since service.

I appreciate that yes it should be serviced, but any other day to day tips or things that i am doing wrong?

Yeah. You've got the wrong watch.

You need this one:

[GingerWizard]

I've got an Omega Sea Master. Loses about 4 seconds a month.

[Photogirl]

Jer_1974 said:

I have had a Rolex Sub for six months and it runs fast by 40 seconds a week. Just wondered what everyone else's did. I have got into the habit on a Sunday night of re-setting it.

Jer, my newest Rolex (Datejust) runs the same as your Sub, around +7 per day. Rolex say that their standard is from -4 to +6 per day, but the rule is consistency. In that sense I won't quibble mine or send it to be re-calibrated. If it ran a little slow, then that would be a different matter. Rolex are not really the best time-keepers.

Congrats on your watch, by the way - great choice!

Edited to say - a mechanical watch should never be compared to a quartz watch on accuracy - even the cheapest quartz will keep near perfect time.

Forgot to say - Jer, lay it on its side at night, crown uppermost, this is said to reduce the gain somewhat. Laying it on its back can cause the movement to speed up.

Edited by Photogirl on Sunday 14th June 10:17

Edited by Photogirl on Sunday 14th June 10:19

Edited by Photogirl on Sunday 14th June 10:20

[ShadownINja]

Photogirl said:

Forgot to say - Jer, lay it on its side at night, crown uppermost, this is said to reduce the gain somewhat. Laying it on its back can cause the movement to speed up.

Really? Why's that?

PS nice Boxster!! I thought only Ruf (or some other performance specialist) produced such versions.

Edited by ShadownINja on Sunday 14th June 10:24

[Photogirl]

Hi ShadownInja,

Yes, orientation has a marked effect on the accuracy of a mechanical watch. Here is some good info:

http://www.horologist.com/rolexfaq.htm
http://www.chronocentric.com/watches/accuracy.shtm...
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=8478

Thank you very much for the compliment on my car, I believe she's one of 4 in the UK. It was practicality which made me do it - the visibility is so much better with the top section on (and the hatchback is handy), and I can go back to a normal cabriolet Boxster whenever I want.

[ShadownINja]

Thanks.

Ah, I thought it was a fixed roof. Still, it looks better than the standard hardtops.