Quick question for the "watch guys" on the Hide here...

Get one of these. https://a.co/d/6TUFWtI

Watch ya say, we cunt finger it out?

If they're not keeping time get them serviced. A cleaning and lubing, checking jewels, and springs.

There's a few good YouTube channels. But like everything else you need the tools. One of the areas I decided I didn't need $3k worth of tools to save $100 every few years.


Every movement is different. A decent watch guy will be able to tell you how often it needs wearing or winding when he has it apart.

Rolex recommends winding an automatic watch 30 seconds or so weekly. I have a Yachtmaster II and it runs consistently 3-4 seconds fast per day. Rolex acts like 2-3 seconds is “normal”. From my limited research others have reported similar. You can chase 1-2 seconds with frequent cleaning, lubing, etc but there’s no uniform consensus how long that accuracy will last. So ultimately it depends how OCD you want to be over it. Not sure about Hamiltons specifically.

Don't wear them if you're going to use the sawzall for an hour straight.

Expensive lesson, pretty obvious, but didn't even realize I was doing it.

There’s a whole thread on timepieces already. Plenty of smart post there and talk about them

No mechanical watch is ever going to be as accurate as a $4 dollar quartz watch, EVER. A Casio G-Shock will be tougher. But mechanical watches have a beauty all of their own and the mechanical watch movement made accurately navigating the planet possible and safer. +/- 8 seconds a day is not really all that bad. Over time, you should adjust the time and wind the watch a little and you will not have any problems.

Wearing a mechanical watch while using a Sawzall or sledgehammer is not the best idea, try and not do that.

My Seamaster runs about a minute or so slow per month. A watchmaker friend says that's good to go. He wears a Hamilton btw......

I have three Citizen Eco Drive watches. One of them is the atomic version that updates daily using a signal to an atomic clock. I've synced them all to see how the others compare. I'm amazed that after one year, the other two are only about three seconds faster than the atomic version. As stated above, an automatic will never be as accurate as a quartz watch. Quartz watches really hurt the classic watch business when they came available.

All the mechanical aspects of the watch movement come into play. A freshly serviced watch will run as well as it possibly can at that time. Balance wheels have adjustability, on decent quality movements. The seconds gain / loss per day can only be adjusted so far. 2-3 seconds +/- per day is not considered terrible. The "automatic" function of your watch has nothing to do with timekeeping.

Collectibles
Patek Philippe
Audemars Piguet
A. Lange & Söhne

Everyday
IWC
Rolex
Resco

I have found that watches with a longer reserve or run time tend to drift less. Rolex and omega both run in the 2-4 seconds per day with Rolex usually being better than the omegas. The newer sub movement has a longer reserve but I haven’t used one of those yet. The Blancpain has a 126 hour reserve and consistently runs 1-2 seconds per day.

Are you asking about regulating the H50 movement, or are you asking if you need regulation? Only you can answer the second question.

Start logging your accuracy in a google sheets file. Be consistent in your wearing habits, and start with a fully "charged" watch.

As a standard, use a Solar Atomic G-Shock synced at midnight each night, or your phone using tower time (not device time), or time.gov in that order.

If you want to be closer to zero, try different positional regulation techniques at night- crown down, crown up.

Do this for one month.

I regulate the 7S26 and NH35/6 to a high degree of accuracy doing this.

category_theory said:

Get one of these. https://a.co/d/6TUFWtI

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Skip that for this issue.

They're not vintage timepieces with unknown service history and use, so he's not worried about amplitude.

For the accuracy- Learn the art of patience.

Dudes who timegraph for 10 minutes and then adjust, timegraph for 10 minutes and then adjust, etc do not end up with as good a result as someone who measures and adjusts once a day at a convenient, quiet time.

chevy_man said:

One of the areas I decided I didn't need $3k worth of tools to save $100 every few years.

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It's definitely not $3K of tools for a basic hobbyist setup.

An Aliexpress Jaxa wrench and a holder is like $5, and a pack of wooden matches from a fine drinking establishment is free.

Staying on top of regulation can actually hide some issues where it might be more beneficial to overhaul, replace parts, and lubricate.

For an analogy that might be easier to relate to- think of your watch as a machine, let's say a rifle, that is in daily constant operation and because it is mechanical, it accumulates wear and tear.

Everyone will experience port erosion, and you might have an otherwise perfect barrel. Periodic regulation is like gassing it down using the set scew adjustable gas block you have installed, vs inspecting and guaging all part of the rifle and then replacing the barrel when port erosion first presents itself.

Eventually, the rifle will go to RESET and probably you will end up with a more extensive overhaul required... but you got better service out of it over the lifespan to that point, and you were paying (in time and money) almost the same to overhaul either way.

TL;DR: I'm an advocate of accurate mechanical timepieces- and regulation over the lifespan of the watch (not just when it comes out of the box, and certainly not "never"). Other "watch guys" have a relationship only with reading the dial, and think I'm crazy for opening up my watches and getting them closer-to-perfect... since you could send it to a "professional" every now and then and just pay.

db2000 said:

Rolex recommends winding an automatic watch 30 seconds or so weekly.
...Rolex acts like 2-3 seconds is “normal”.

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Rolex recommends 40 twists manual winding, minimum of 25. It's not "seconds," and it's not "weekly." If you are wearing the watch, you're going to be at 100% every night when you take it off and less than that in the morning when you put it on.

It depends on the movement:

-2/+2 is if it has "Superlative Official Swiss Chronometer" on the dial.
-4/+6 is if it has "Certified Official Swiss Chronometer" on the dial.

These are averages taken from all positions- so if you lay your Rolex face up every night and experience +8, they will inspect it face up down, and all sides. The sides will slow down and strip time off for "lifting" the second hand and not speed up for dropping the second hand.

They will hand it back to you and say "This watch is averaging +5, well within COSC specs. Have a nice day."