Hello everyone, I’m new to the Speedmaster professional moonwatch and it’s actually my first chronograph. I bought the new speedy moonwatch sapphire sandwich today and I was curious if this movement’s chronograph can be left running at all times without complications or extra wearing of the movement? I’ve read some movements can and some cannot? Thanks in advance!
Hard to say really. I imagine only Omega knows at this stage due to durability testing. The 1861 can run continually with the Chrono function activated but it suffers through accelerated wear. It's not really intended to run continually. If that part of the new movement shares a common design, i should imagine the same outcome will result.
The 3861 uses the same kind of coupling yoke engagement as the 1861 from the photos I’ve seen, which means you’ve got sharp saw-tooth shaped teeth engaged when the chronograph is running and they do wear over time. The watches that people tend to be talking about when they say a chronograph can be run all the time have vertical clutch type engagement system, like the Omega 9300 and its descendants and the Rolex 4130 / 4160 Daytona movement. It’s the type of question @Archer could answer better but aside from the escapement the 3861 seems to be very similar to the 1861 it was based on.
If it makes you happy, run the chrono to your heart's content. Not as though it's going to suddenly fly apart. All mechanical watches need service at regular intervals.
Not really designed to run like this, but if there’s any additional wear, it’s not going to be anything significant to replace when it comes time to service the watch. It may affect accuracy slightly, but other than that, it won’t be a big issue.