Accuracy - How do you know? How much do you care?

[Davidt]

For me, even a vintage watch is a watch and although I don’t expect chronometer standard, it should be able to perform to a reasonable degree. In the same way a vintage Mini Cooper needn’t be able to perform the school run in the middle of winter, but it should be able to go for a spin when called upon without breaking down (too often!).

Generally for vintage I like to see within 20 secs per day, even though I rarely wear the same watch for more than 2/3 days in a row.

 

[Vercingetorix]

When you drive as fast as I do, all of my watches run slow. Thank you Einstein.

 

[SkunkPrince]

Davidt

Generally for vintage I like to see within 20 secs per day, even though I rarely wear the same watch for more than 2/3 days in a row.

Somehow I've been blessed with consistent habits such that I can usually get much closer than that even if the delta is pretty wide. My watchmaker eventually started to believe me when I said a certain vintage watch was running better than five seconds a day. My newly-acquired KO 14363 Seamaster has a delta of about 20 seconds but runs easily within three seconds a day on my wrist... and fortunately still had oil in the movement, so no need for a service right now.

 

[Canuck]

Anybody notice the absence of the type of wearer who isn’t even happy with his new chronometer that is within the factory specs, but yet demands that it be closer? How refreshing,

 

[tyrantlizardrex]

Canuck

Anybody notice the absence of the type of wearer who isn’t even happy with his new chronometer that is within the factory specs, but yet demands that it be closer? How refreshing,

I have a theory about those folks… that they’ve spent much more money on a watch than they were comfortable with and as a result live in constant fear that it was a mistake or for an opportunity to take it back for a refund. 🤔

 

[ghce]

After they have been serviced I expect them to be within 30 secs a day however they generally are much tighter than that most being +- 5 to 10 seconds per day with only the odd one at 20 seconds a day.
I have been amazed by some of my vintage watches that consistently are closer to +- 1 or 2 seconds a day, this seems to be regardless of how far up the price scale they would have been at purchase.

But as I say +- 30 secs is ok however if they are consistently slow or consistently fast that can be be ironed out with re regulating them and I generally end up with a much better result than the 30 sec rule.

Having said all that my WM is very good at tracking down why some are inconsistent going into great detail in diagnosing and remedying the problem, I have had a few balance wheel changes or adjustments in some cases and other more subtle adjustments to get them sorted.

Edited: Mar 8, 2022

 

[Canuck]

Does that mean showing within 30 seconds per day in any position, on a timing machine? Or within 30-seconds per day on the wrist? I’m wearing a 70-year old calibre 355 (date at 6) bumper automatic which I service, myself. It runs within 30-seconds per day on the wrist, but on the timing machine? Not so much. Regardless of how much I fuss with it. So, I just wear it, and enjoy it.

 

[ghce]

On the wrist, as you say timing machines don't reflect everyday wear but are great for diagnosing different positions or other problems.

 

[SmithSJ]

Similar to others here I don't track closely and as I change watch every couple of days then it doesn't really matter. I do check out a new to me watch to see if it needs servicing, and if a watch suddenly runs fast (usually seems to be magnetism issue).

Ask anyone who knows me and I'm not good at arriving on time anyway!

 

[Dgercp]

As above, I change watches every day so accuracy mostly a non-issue for me. I recently got a timer but really use it to help decide on service.
But, I do demand that my iphone is spot on accurate 😀

 

[Taddyangle]

I actually do use my watches to tell the time, so I need them to be fairly accurate. But I typically only wear a watch for 12-24 hours, so a time loss of 30 seconds is no big deal. However, I do keep up on maintenance, and periodically check timing (only if it seems off).

My Aqua Terra is 7+ years old, so I might check the time keeping using an app to determine if it needs service.

 

[STANDY]

Speedmaster
Put watch on.
Set it to phone or Quartz luminox time.
Wear it for a week.

Weekend watch.
Put watch on.
Set it to phone or Quartz luminox time.
Wear it for a weekend.

Quartz luminox
Throw it on for volleyball Monday and Wednesday

Never cared about seconds and never looked at a timing app

 

[kkt]

For vintage, I'd rather they didn't go off more than about a minute per day... if they do I'd probably demote them to evening wear only.

I had a quartz watch for a while that I wore as a daily wear watch, that at the end of the week might be anywhere from -5 minutes to +5. Multiple attempts at service did not improve it. I no longer have that watch. There's no excuse for that with quartz especially when it could be either gaining or losing.

 

[Pun]

Dgercp

But, I do demand that my iphone is spot on accurate 😀

And iPhone also doesn't need service, unless you damage it!

 

[kkt]

Oh, and I tried a Citizen thermocompensated quartz briefly. I bought it used. Wasn't working right and I reset it a few times but it didn't help. Not only did I not keep that one, but it pretty much cured me of my desire for thermocompensated hyperaccuracy.

 

[kkt]

Pun

And iPhone also doesn't need service, unless you damage it!

In other words, if it's not working right, there's nothing anybody can do about it.

 

[ghce]

kkt

For vintage, I'd rather they didn't go off more than about a minute per day... if they do I'd probably demote them to evening wear only.

I had a quartz watch for a while that I wore as a daily wear watch, that at the end of the week might be anywhere from -5 minutes to +5. Multiple attempts at service did not improve it. I no longer have that watch. There's no excuse for that with quartz especially when it could be either gaining or losing.

I have quite a few quartz peices in my collection and I am surprised at how much they vary accuracy wise, my most accurate is a Seiko Kinetic which I have to set the time on every 6 months with daylight saving, it's never more than 2 seconds out! Usually only a second. I consequently use this watch to set all my mechanical watches, the other Seiko's are usually pretty consistent also, other brands do drift off more.

 

[Dan S]

Like some others have said, I typically check the accuracy of a new arrival against my computer or radio-controlled clock for a day or two, just to get a rough idea. If it's within +/-30s per day, then I might wear it occasionally. If it's running crazy fast (minutes per day), I will demagnetize it, and occasionally that's successful (maybe I should just demagnetize every watch when I receive it, since it's easy enough). If it's still extremely fast, or extremely slow, I put it aside and admire it from time to time. Sometimes my watchmaker comes to town and we meet for lunch, so I pull a couple of watches from that pile and bring them with me for him to service.

In the rare case that I buy a watch I really want to wear regularly, I just bring it right to my watchmaker.

Edited: Mar 8, 2022

 

[mcemeren]

In the early days of the enthusiasm, "the accuracy" meant a challenge, I was a bit obsessed then. It has been evolved to a "know your watch" thing. I now know almost all of my watches' attitude and I can easily spot if there is a change in that. I still daily check my watch if I am to wear that more than a day 😀, usually using Watchville application. To be honest, I still can't tolerate well a watch loosing time, though gaining is okay.

 

[krogerfoot]

A (The?) big part of my day is selecting a watch in the morning and then standing stock still, as my wife and children bustle around me, waiting for that magic moment when the second hand on my phone matches that of the watch, and then springing into action to sync the two so I can set the time. I sometimes have to go down to the kitchen or to the kids’ bedroom to perform this ritual for maximum effect—Hush, daughters, your father is doing his watch bullshit. Sometimes (often) I screw up and have start over, but I am a supremely patient man who will likely be murdered by his family (whether acting singly or in concert). I have absolutely no idea how accurate my watches are.