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Aqua Terra - stiff wind anyone?

Tzoid
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The other watch in my collection that has a very " Hard to Wind" feel is my Tudor Black Bay Chronograph. I realize it has a modified Breitling B01 movement and I did ask around and apparently it's normal for the B01 Caliber. But like others have mentioned I halfway feel like I'm going to damage the watch when I wind it.
 
scapa
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Annapolis Annapolis
I'm another AT41 (8900 movement) owner who has had the same experience. I've owned many mechanical watches, old and new, manual and automatic, and have never had another that was nearly as hard to wind as this one. To the point where I worry sometimes that I'm going to break something. The crown turns and the watch winds, but it requires some torque. I did not experience anything like this with the 2500-era AT I owned previously, or the SM300p ceramic I recently owned.

And as others have mentioned, this is a known thing about this watch. The watch works perfectly and keeps great time, and I have no concerns about any other aspect of it. I just deal with it, and figure it'll (maybe) get sorted when it's time for a service, though I may opt to do that service while it's still under warranty...

Mine is the same. AT 41mm with the blue dial and 8900 movement. I can hear it winding but it takes a fair bit of energy. Mine is only a few months old so I figured it might ease up.

Stiff crown aside, timekeeping is absolutely superb, it runs for around 64 hours on a full (stiff) wind and has exceeded my expectations in pretty much every way, so I'm not really bothered by the fact that a small powered winch is required to wind it.
 
Omega D
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Martin_F Martin_F
Did you ask to wind any of their ATs in the store?
That would have probably shown you if they feel about the same as your own.
Excellent suggestion
 
Omega D
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Impgreene Impgreene
My comparator Omega was a 2500 cal PO too (which is a very easy wind) plus a couple of other non-related brands.

I had assumed it was an issue, and after just having to send the same PO back for the 3rd time (once for the service, once to sort out something they missed and once again to sort out something that still isn't right) I was about to start getting a bit upset at my Omegas!

Would definitely be interested to know if anyone has a view as to the cause ……………..
Was the 2500 always smooth to wind?
 
Annapolis
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Omega D Omega D
Was the 2500 always smooth to wind?

I'm not the OP you're asking this question to, but for what it's worth, my former 2500 AT (which I bought here on the forum from a user who I'm pretty sure bought it from another forumgoer prior to that--it was one of those Omega Forum watches, though I broke that chain when I sold it to someone in Texas on eBay) was much easier to wind. You know, like a normal watch.

In fact, that helps to think of a good way to characterize this: these 8900s are so unusually hard to wind that if you had one as your first mechanical watch and then tried pretty much any other watch, you'd assume something was seriously wrong with the normal watch. It's not a casual difference, at least in my case.
 
4011021
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My AT 8500 is the stiffer watch I own but if anything it gives me a sensation of dealing with a strong high quality mechanism.
 
Yehoshua
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4011021 4011021
My AT 8500 is the stiffer watch I own but if anything it gives me a sensation of dealing with a strong high quality mechanism.
Original thought.
 
502 to right
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The 8500 and later co-axial movements definitely provide more resistance when winding that the 2500 or 1120 movements based on experience. I have a Peter Blake 2254.50 SMP with the 1120 movement that offers virtually no resistance when winding (as noted upthread, it feels like it isn't winding the mainspring at all). I have a no wave SMPc with the 2500D movement that has a little more resistance than the 1120. And I have an AT with the master co-axial 8500 that is a bit of a chore to wind by hand.It's pretty stiff. And my 8500 AT does not have the cupcake crown so that's not the issue.

My guess would be that it's harder to wind due to the twin mainspring barrels. Regardless of the cause, I'm certain it is not a flaw and is nothing to worry about. I don't very often need to wind it manually and it certainly is not a problem to wind when I do.
 
Annapolis
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Just motivates me to wear mine more often so I don’t have to wind it. 😀
 
Yehoshua
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Annapolis Annapolis
Just motivates me to wear mine more often so I don’t have to wind it. 😀
I understand that you barely have to wind it at all, as the twin barrels insure proper amptitude and the watch will be accurate even when minimally wound. If this is true, then there are no concerns about the winding.
Edited:
 
scapa
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Yehoshua Yehoshua
I understand that you barely have to wind it at all, as the twin barrels insure proper amptitude and the watch will be accurate even when minimally wound. If this is true, then there are no concerns about the winding.

True, but there is also the tactile pleasure in hand-winding a fine watch in order to kickstart the movement, etc.

I now find those tactile pleasures in my FOIS, vintage Longines and an IWC that has about the best winding action I've experienced on a modern watch.

My AT gets powered up either on my wrist or the winder, and the crown barely shifts except to cross time zones.
 
L
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I have both the Skyfall AT and current 38mm AT. Both are/were noticeably stiffer to wind as already mentioned. However, the current AT went to Omega as time keeping was out of spec and they did a full service on it. It came back with a much smoother crown mechanism which is far easier to wind now. Feels like there is less resistance.
 
nordwulf
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I have both the Aqua Terra and Planet Ocean with 8900 movements. The PO is very nice to wind and unscrew/screw in the crown. There is some resistance when winding but feels right.

The AT is much harder to wind and screwing in the crown is very difficult. I usually do this with my right hand but have to flip the watch upside down and screw in with my left hand to get better grip on the crown. The conical crown on the AT is my least favorite part of the AT.

Largest diameter of the crown on the AT measures 6.35mm and the PO is 7.4mm. I think it is just the shape of the AT crown that is to blame.
 
Scottie
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Had the same problem a couple of years ago, got my AD to send it back under warranty. Came back a dream, the AD said he had been told it was a lack of lubrication in the assembly process.
 
H
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I have the Green AT with the 8900.
I LOVE the watch and it gets plenty of wrist time alongside my Rolexs and Doxa and Zenith and Seikos to compare it to.
This is by far my least favorite watch to wind.
The cupcake shape of the crown as so.e have called it that actually tightens into the side of the watch makes grasping it with my arthritic hands difficult, and the twin barrel of the 8900 makes winding it tough. The large smooth knurls don't help either.
The jumping hour is great for travelling. But setting it sucks and I keep it on a winder because once the date is off....well....hell.
My wifes Planet Ocean 37.5 is a pleasure to wind.
I would never hive up my AT, but a winding tool might be in my future one day.
Between this and no micro adjust on band?
C'mon Omega...fix these two features and you will have the single greatest GADA watch ever made.....
 
D
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Great thread- I recently acquired an AT small seconds 8916 caliber and the wind was so stiff I've been worried the watch wasn't legit. Love the watch and it is keeping perfect time, winding is indeed a challenge though. As another poster said, just one more reason not to take it off.
 
nordwulf
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Can anyone recommend a crown winder tool for the AT? It is painful to wind the AT crown because of its shape and stiffness.
 
DaveK
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nordwulf nordwulf
Can anyone recommend a crown winder tool for the AT? It is painful to wind the AT crown because of its shape and stiffness.

What calibre movement do you have?

I have no idea about a crown winder
 
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