When To SERVICE an Automatic Watch & when NOT TO
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2023
- New to owning a watch. This is everything you need to know about when to service your automatic watch.
****************************************************************************
✨✨ Get Your Copy of my eBook, The Secrets for Adjusting Watch Rates ✨✨
➡➡PDF DOWNLOAD watchrepairtutorials.com/ebook/ ⬅⬅
➡➡Available on Kindle & Soft Cover @ geni.us/4x8C (Amazon)
✨✨Watchmaking Courses and Training ✨✨
➡➡ watchrepairtutorials.com/watc... ⬅⬅
**************************************************************************************************
🚀 Don't Miss Out: Sign up for the "It's About Time" Monthly Newsletter
watchrepairtutorials.com/news...
Become a Watch Repair Tutorial Patreon to access advanced workshops, ad free video and bonus trainings: / watchrepairtutorials
DISCLOSURE: I often review or link to products & services I regularly use and think you might find helpful. Wherever possible I use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase we may receive a small commission or other compensation.
I am a big fan of Amazon, and many of my links to products/gear are links to those products on Amazon. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and related sites.
** FULL LIST OF TOOLS & SUPPLIES I USE **
watchrepairtutorials.com/tool... 
Хобби
Man didnt fluff around and came straight to the point, love it and thanks
Should have seen this video before I had my Seiko 5 serviced.
Thanks. This is why I like your channel, straight and clear information without too much, unneeded talk.
Yeah, I’m not really into a bunch of fluff that’s for sure although I am working on a video right now on the Hamilton 4992 that I’m gonna be servicing which is a historical WWII watch that was used by the Navy and flight navigators. I’ve done an extensive amount of research on it which I’ll be talking about during the video but it should be pretty freaking interesting.
Clear and concise. Thanks. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
Happy holidays my brother
Patreon supporter here: Excellent common sense advice. Some Swiss manufacturers suggest periodic servicing for their automatics. I have a Baume & Mercier auto which says to service at least every 10 years. I rarely wear it & 25 years later it runs as good as new-and I’ve never opened it up.
Well said Chuck. Thanks for being part of the community.
Excellent practical advice!!
Unfortunately, a lot of new, watch owners, freak out if their watch settles in and changes 5 seconds a day. The first instinct to send it back to the manufacture. Somebody’s got a tell them.
Thanks Alex, as Alsace’s great advice! You always give us loads of great info in all your videos!
My pleasure Boyd. Good to see you man.
Thank you very much, i now got crystal clear answer beyond my own doubts...
You're most welcome
Thank you Alex. A set of gems of information about running fast or slow.
Hi Ross, let me ask you a question. As a long time viewer, what do you think about this short format video? I have a lot of thoughts in my head that can be explained in 2-3 minutes adult justify a full-blown longform video.
@@watchrepairtutorials Alex. Thank you for asking. Short or long? As a novice I have benefited emensley from your videos. I actually have kept the titles but given each a sequential number of issue.
I do refer to many of then for information that you have given the titles are my reference. I do search in them for the specific content I need. There is no fast forward, just the bar seek. I am personally happy with this system. If the video were shorter, the search would be easier, but the titles would need to be precise to allow a succinct seach.
The last short was excellent as it dealt only with a precise few related issues. As a pupil, which I am, moving through grouped videos, as the last one, makes progression easier. As a teaching platform for a learner, this would be preferable. Mark Lovick's course does it that way. I began with him. Your explanation and demonstration are as good. Your verbally content is grpping. If your content matched his sequential method, you have a winning way forward.
Small, but block units would be good for me.
It's the knowledge inside you that you freely give. That I personally like.
Hope my comment have given you some helpful information.
Ross
Thank you so much... Being new to automatic watch World, i have learnt many important points regarding watches from you.... respect from India ❤
Thank you my friend I hope to see you again here
Excellent guidance Alex! I love the vintage watch tumbler you had running in the background. Have to make sure every shock mount is secure before returning the timepiece to the customer! 👀
Lol that was from an old Timex commercial. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
@@watchrepairtutorials One of the most memorable tag lines from my childhood! It's also one of my favorite tag lines to apply to completely different, sometimes inappropriate, situations! 😂😂😂
Hey Alex! Great video!
What about water resistance concerns? If you're living a more aquatic life with your timepiece, do you recommend altering these recommendations? How necessary is pressure testing in real life?
Thanks for all you do!
If you’re just doing an occasional swim in a pool I wouldn’t worry too much about that but if you’re swimming a lot then yeah you should probably take it in for a pressure check.
Your advice makes sense. At one point in the video you stated that if the crown is harder to turn than normal you should have it serviced before more (costly repairs) become needed.
My question is: with regard to lubrication specifically , is it true that over time these oils dry up causing increased wear and tear on the internal parts - potentially causing more costly repairs?
Yes that’s true. It was more of a problem back before synthetic lubricants were used, but today they tend to last longer so the expected service interval is longer.
Pleased. I was the one who stumbled upon the 3,141-th view, aside from the 👌 answer to the old bromide yet important FAQ of when to repair.
Thank you my friend.
Hi - what is the watch on your thumbnail for the video ? The one with the Omega Seamaster hands ? Thanks !
Stock photo.
It looks like the Seamaster with the logo removed.
Very interesting, i keep hearing about oils breaking down or at least not doing their job after 10+ years. My oris is 15 years old with no service but runs fine, should i still not worry about service?
Not really. The synthetic oils they have been using last much longer than the older organic lubricants that were used.
Great advice, I recently took an unserviced 15 year old speedmaster pro into a watchmaker, expected him to say it definitely needs a service. He operated the watch functions, and explained that it all "felt" good and that it didn't definitely need a service yet, but he would if I wanted one. I think that feel of the watch is so important, exactly as you said, manufacturer service schedules are there for revenue income rather than for consumer benefit.
Well, I would say that watchmaker is probably one that you want to go back to when it is time. Sounds like he wasn’t trying to sell you on something you didn’t need. Good watch makers don’t need to drum up business because there’s plenty out there that actually need the work done.
@@watchrepairtutorials bang on, I was there as another watch had a broken main spring, he had quite a waiting list.
Alex, what if you're lucky and stumble upon a 50 year old Seiko 5 that looks like it was never used. Should it be serviced or wait until it tells you?
Same. If it keeps time, let it go until it starts dropping off.
Thanks to yours viedio clips how to identity wactch maker is sincere in his job. Please advise. Can i hand over my watch for service. Can i identifie from his cleanes of his shop and tools 👍
Yes, you can. Messy unorganized work shops are not a good sign. It’s not the only consideration, but not a good indicator of their attention to detail.
@@watchrepairtutorials THANKS VERY MUCH 🙏
👍🏻
Another really good video
Thanks again!
He coulda said that the watches grow wings and fly out the window and I woulda believed him.
That's Redbull.🤣
Hello. Quick question, would you advise against regulating a watch only when something is wrong with it or always?
My new watch (with a NH36) is running +30 secs per day. The specs say +45/-35 secs per day, but I would like it to be more accurate. Would you recommend against regulating it?
The short answer that it may be possible to improve the rate.
If you want to know for sure, then take the watch up to a full wind, test each position, crown up, crown down, dial up dial down and dial left and send it to me and I will tell you whether it’s possible or not.
@@watchrepairtutorials thank you the offer, I really appreciate it. Sadly, I still dont have a timegrapher so I cant measure those positions (it is a new hobby for me).
On the topic of taking the watch up to full wind, I have heard many people say that given the two options, it is always better to avoid winding the watch manually (using the crown). Do you agree? It's a bit weird having the option but not using it...
@@McMaxW if your watch is completely stopped all you really need to do is wind it up five or six times and then let it run. If you wear it every day, you shouldn’t have to wind it manually at all.
How bout the gaskets? Around how many years do they last? Water resistance is my concern that makes me want to have it checked every 5 or so years
Well they can last well beyond five years depending on what you expose them to. If you are concerned having it pressure tested is an in and out procedure at a watch shop.
Thanks Alex, spot on advice as ever.😊
There are many people who have bought their first watch, and really don’t know anything about watches like so many of us do.
This video is not so much for the watchrepair crowd, but for people who have bought their first watch. Like I said, it’s the question I’ve been asked the most so I thought I would address it.
I would like to see a Dom style video.
I don't know what that is.
I was wondering what your opinion is on mechanical or automatic watches being sold online and shipped.
Say I scroll around and find a listing for a Seiko 5. Popular watch, lots of people ordering them from this seller, lots of reviews.
Scroll down a bit. [Frequently returned item.]
Reading the reviews you find "It stopped working after 9 months." "It stopped working after the first day." Plenty of positive reviews, but also some people who feel the quality is lacking.
Is it the quality though? Or could it be that the automatic movement got jostled around during shipping? Or the watch arrived okay, but it was just damaged from normal wear and they need to bring it in?
What are your thoughts on this?
This is a very open ended questions. I will answer it the best I can.
I assume you are referring to Amazon because you mention "[Frequently returned item.]
There are two issues. The overall quality of the watch in general and some peoples unrealistic expectations or ignorance.
Watches at this price point are machine lubricated which means that it's not very good in most cases, unlike higher end movements which are done by hand. The watch will run in most cases but you will start seeing a loss of performance sooner than higher end watches. It could be six months of 6 years. It's really the luck of the draw.
Then you have people that expect a 300 dollar watch to have the same accuracy as a chronometer grade movement. Even though the manufacture lays out the specifications to -10 to 20 seconds per day, some have unrealistic expectations.
And lastly watches typically don't just stop running for no reason. Performance will start tailing off, but when it just stops working, thats user error 99.9 % of the time.
@@watchrepairtutorials
I'm always skeptical of anything sold online. I feel like high end watches are something you really want to show up in person to receive.
I was watching 'Horology Biology Watches' video where he took the cheapest watch from AliExpress and services it to try and make it better. Not high end, but better than how it was to improve performance.
Would this be a good way for me to get into practicing repair?
@@johnbentley364 absolutely. Before you can start learning how to troubleshoot and make repairs, you first have to know what is correct. I.e endshake, power, etc.
You also have to know how to properly service a movement first before you can repair. How well you clean the movement and lubricate it will affect how the watch runs. This is what I tell everyone. When you service a watch, and it does not perform as well or better than when you received it and know that you’re not doing something right. Period. You have to be able to do that before you can even begin to start repairing faults in a watch movement.
Thanks again Alex, simple and straightforward as always. Even us watch nuts need to know this sort of thing.
Well, like I said to someone earlier, I’ve been asked that question zillion times. A lot of people don’t know jack about watches they bought one and you’re here you need to have it serviced every three years every five years or every 10 years everybody’s got an opinion. The watch will tell you.
I bring my King turtle seiko dive watch to the Service Center yesterday because its running slow 3-5mins late every month, i wear it 10-12hrs a day and its almost 2years from purchase. And the service center said that the Balance Wheel is damage..but i never drop my watch ever since. I dont know if he is telling me the truth
What exactly is wrong with it? You need a better explanation right?
Thanks Alex. Words of wisdom from a true craftsman.
I appreciate that Steve.
I completely agree when it comes to modern watches, where parts are readily available and 100% interchangeable.
Do you think there should be an exception for vintage watches? If parts wear, it can become much more costly very quickly.
Your average consumer is probably not going to notice if the amplitude drops from 330 to 270. Hell, it might even keep better time because (in this admittedly specific scenario) 270 degrees of amplitude effectively cancels out most positional errors. On a modern watch, who cares? If you wear a groove in a pivot, you just order a new wheel and are done with it. On a vintage piece, you are look at either donor movements, repivoting, etc. Just a thought for those with older watches in the theme of "an ounce of prevention...".
Well, I think obviously there would be exceptions to any role, and in the case of a vintage watch, the big factor would be its overall value, whether that be monetarily are sentimental.
I agree that not only the average consumer would not notice a drop in amplitude, but no one would notice a drop in at amplitude. What you do notice is the time keeping ability of the watch so in that respect, I don’t think it matters whether it’s a modern watch or vintage watch. Wear to parts would come long after the rate changed.
To your statement about 270° canceling out positional errors I think what you’re referring to is 220° canceling out poise errors which does. The reason 270° is an important amplitude is that that when the watch is vertical drop of amplitude of 40 to 50° puts the vertical amplitude at around 220 which is ideal.
@@watchrepairtutorials Yes, I meant 220 degrees. This is why you are the watchmaking GOAT. :) Thank you for your feedback.
I'm asking questions with a few years of experience versus your 30. So I hope you understand I am (attempting) to ask informed questions, not challenge you.
I think this is an excellent example of where your experience is much more valuable than "technical knowledge".
Thanks Alex!
@@austin73 it’s all good man I didn’t take it as a challenge. I was simply correcting the typo.😜
Hey got your book in the mail. As with all your vids, simple yet comprehensive and easy to understand. Holee hanna I remember that old Timex paint shaker commercial! Takes a lickin but keeps on tickin! Wow!
Leave me a review if you can. Thanks mate.
@@watchrepairtutorialsI did in the comment above. Some can have it on the computer in some format like pdf etc etc. I'm old school and like to have the book on a shelf to refer to. Let us know how your sales are doing.
@@machinistmikethetinkerer4827 thanks my friend
Good video👍
Thanks for the visit.
Where are you located? I would like my Navitimer serviced. Thanks
I'm in NC but retired 3 years ago.
@@watchrepairtutorials ok thanks! I get the feeling if I take my watch to a local jeweler in the mall, I'm going to get hosed.
@@bishidas Check with Awci for a list of certified watchmakers in your area.
@@watchrepairtutorials thank you, will do!
I like your channel, some of the best content on the subject; you don’t need goofy looking thumbnails to get people to click. Respectfully
I hear ya. Just trying out some different things to try to increase my exposure.
…..or if it got wet!
That's what she said.