Precision for an automatic watch

imagwai
Posts
6,089
Likes
7,355
TonyStark TonyStark
I have been getting much lower accuracy with one of mine..... more than +20 secs per day. Is it worth trying to get it recalibrated?
This is what TAG's tolerances are:

Quartz movement: between -1 and +11 seconds per month
Standard automatic: between -5 and +20 seconds per day
Chronometer: between -4 and +6 seconds per day

If it's more than +20 secs per day and it's within warranty, then they should regulate it for you free of charge. Otherwise, you'll have to pay for it, and I suspect they'll recommend a service. Or take it to an independent.
 
TonyStark
Posts
620
Likes
949
imagwai imagwai
This is what TAG's tolerances are:

Quartz movement: between -1 and +11 seconds per month
Standard automatic: between -5 and +20 seconds per day
Chronometer: between -4 and +6 seconds per day

If it's more than +20 secs per day and it's within warranty, then they should regulate it for you free of charge. Otherwise, you'll have to pay for it, and I suspect they'll recommend a service. Or take it to an independent.
Cheers.
The guy in the AD have me the spiel about tolerances. Which I get from a legal point of view but I don’t think it’s acceptable from the price point of heuer 02. It’s also way worse than any other watch I’ve got. Including much cheaper movements.

Weirdly they put it on a machine on the tag ad and said it was running fine.... but I’m genuinely not convinced they knew what they were doing.

you’re right maybe a trip to an independent watch guy might be a good idea.
 
Mspeedster
Posts
8,753
Likes
17,764
TonyStark TonyStark
they said they had demagnetised it but it hasn’t improved the accuracy.
Have you tried giving it a good wind so that it's close to full capacity? I find that mine runs faster when I just leave it sitting overnight.

Still, +20secs does seem disappointing for a so called premium in-house movement.
 
TonyStark
Posts
620
Likes
949
Mspeedster Mspeedster
Have you tried giving it a good wind so that it's close to full capacity? I find that mine runs faster when I just leave it sitting overnight.

Still, +20secs does seem disappointing for a so called premium in-house movement.
Hey just to check in…… I have indeed found getting it very well wound before setting it seems to improve accuracy. I’ll measure it to check the difference but it’s noticeable improved
 
Monaco12
Posts
80
Likes
272
TonyStark TonyStark
Hey just to check in…… I have indeed found getting it very well wound before setting it seems to improve accuracy. I’ll measure it to check the difference but it’s noticeable improved

It’s true. If you haven’t worn your watch for a few days - even if it’s been on a winder, you need to give it a wee manual wind to keep up its accuracy.
 
Monaco12
Posts
80
Likes
272
Monaco12 Monaco12
It’s true. If you haven’t worn your watch for a few days - even if it’s been on a winder, you need to give it a wee manual wind to keep up its accuracy.

I still find it frustrating though, that a Premium Brand automatic watch costing 4 or 5 figures can be less accurate than my 30 year old battery operated £80 Sekonda, which sits in my sock drawer for months at a time and still keeps perfect time
 
RockBurner
Posts
580
Likes
490
Monaco12 Monaco12
I still find it frustrating though, that a Premium Brand automatic watch costing 4 or 5 figures can be less accurate than my 30 year old battery operated £80 Sekonda, which sits in my sock drawer for months at a time and still keeps perfect time
It's a case of differing technologies - the quartz-timed battery powered watch has a self-correcting system that compares itself to a known constant (the vibrational frequency of the quartz).
An 'automatic', or any other clockwork based watch doesn't have that self-correction ability.....

UNLESS it's specifically built in - I think someone DID make a 'quartz-automatic' at some point: iirc the clockwork spring drove a small generator to keep a tiny battery topped up, which in turn powered the mechanism and quartz-frequency measured self-correcting system. If that HASN'T happened yet, then I'd be rather surprised as it seems a pretty obvious option for some company or other who want to sell "The Ultimate in Accurate Automatic watches". - or even an 'Automatic Digital Watch'. (which seems redundant somehow)
 
neowatch
Posts
256
Likes
243
RockBurner RockBurner
It's a case of differing technologies - the quartz-timed battery powered watch has a self-correcting system that compares itself to a known constant (the vibrational frequency of the quartz).
An 'automatic', or any other clockwork based watch doesn't have that self-correction ability.....

UNLESS it's specifically built in - I think someone DID make a 'quartz-automatic' at some point: iirc the clockwork spring drove a small generator to keep a tiny battery topped up, which in turn powered the mechanism and quartz-frequency measured self-correcting system. If that HASN'T happened yet, then I'd be rather surprised as it seems a pretty obvious option for some company or other who want to sell "The Ultimate in Accurate Automatic watches". - or even an 'Automatic Digital Watch'. (which seems redundant somehow)
It’s called a seiko spring drive movement, and it’s very nice
 
Jim Dollares
Posts
10,337
Likes
13,552
neowatch neowatch
It’s called a seiko spring drive movement, and it’s very nice
I was also thinking about the spring drive but too little knowledge about that movement so I didn't dare say anything 😁
 
TonyStark
Posts
620
Likes
949
None of my other automatic mechanical watches are anything like +20secs per day.
 
RockBurner
Posts
580
Likes
490
neowatch neowatch
It’s called a seiko spring drive movement, and it’s very nice

I have a feeling we've discussed this before... 😁 (maybe about a year ago?)
 
S
Posts
1
Likes
0
I just bought a Carrera 02 a few days ago, and I noticed that it gained 5 minutes in time. Why? Only 4 days old!!
 
7FF5C3FE-47B8-4A76-A821-6274F9A0272B.jpeg
OttoWilliam
Posts
2,840
Likes
2,527
5 minutes per day ?That's a bit much.

Most common culprit will be magnetization. It could be in contact with magnetic source for long period of time.

few days ago means that your warranty still apply. I would suggest you take it back and have it check. They should have the timegrapher machine that can see objectively how much seconds per day the watch is gaining or losing.
 
Albert-AMG
Posts
5,967
Likes
16,165
^ Last two posts moved to this existing specific thread 👍
 
Jim Dollares
Posts
10,337
Likes
13,552
S swjr61
I just bought a Carrera 02 a few days ago, and I noticed that it gained 5 minutes in time. Why? Only 4 days old!!
Definitely not ok, go back to the authorised dealer and ask for a refund. Then buy another one.
 
Aquagraph
Posts
22,610
Likes
32,195
Monaco12 Monaco12
I still find it frustrating though, that a Premium Brand automatic watch costing 4 or 5 figures can be less accurate than my 30 year old battery operated £80 Sekonda, which sits in my sock drawer for months at a time and still keeps perfect time

And yet still people rag on quartz for some reason.... Biver got in their heads with his 'connected to eternity' nonsense.
 
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

heuerholic

Advice on an Automatic watch problem

heuerholic Vintage Heuer Discussion
MRC
MRC
Posts
7
Views
2K