Omega Speedmaster 57 manual winding question

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sy0669

·Aug 2, 2023

Hi all - I recently bought a '57 (calibre 9906) from a grey market and had a question on the manual winding feature. When I wind it, the winder seems to turn back a bit after each wind. This is my first omega speedmaster and first of the manual kind so not really sure what the expect.

My question is - is the winder suppose to turn back a bit after each wind?

Thanks all.

 

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Evitzee

·Aug 2, 2023

Normal.

 

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Annapolis

·Aug 2, 2023

Yep. I’ve had manual-winders that tend to do this more and more noticeably as you approach the hard stop.

 

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Doc Olives

·Aug 2, 2023

I have the same watch; totally normal (and you get varying degrees of the “back wind” pressure across pretty much all manual wind watches).

 

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Modest_Proposal

·Aug 4, 2023

When winding a watch, you engage something called the ratchet wheel. If you're ever used a ratchet tool, you'll be familiar with the backward give.

As the spring barrel is wound tighter, it increases the tension, leading to what Annapolis mentioned.

 

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Aroxx

·Aug 5, 2023

I took a quick video showing the interaction between the click and the ratchet wheel. You can see the ratchet wheel (and by extension the crown) wind backwards a bit as the click springs back to engage the ratchet wheel preventing it from unwinding.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UMM7NO3wj7Y

Edit: Too bad the video isn't embedding right here on OF. I think because it's a "short". Don't know why it won't upload as a regular video.

 

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DougPhx

·Aug 6, 2023

S sy0669

Hi all - I recently bought a '57 (calibre 9906) from a grey market and had a question on the manual winding feature. When I wind it, the winder seems to turn back a bit after each wind. This is my first omega speedmaster and first of the manual kind so not really sure what the expect.

My question is - is the winder suppose to turn back a bit after each wind?

Thanks all.

I have the same reference, yes 100% normal.

 

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hook785

·Aug 18, 2025

I'm experiencing the same behavior on one of my Speedmaster Pro 3861s, but it only started after servicing. I sent it in for bezel damage repair, and they performed a complete service, including the movement.

What's puzzling is that only one of my three watches exhibits this ""issue":

• White Speedmaster and Snoopy: no backward movement when winding and very smooth like butter
• Moonwatch: exhibits the backward movement behavior and feels stiffer when winding (like if the movement is pushing against the winding action)

All three run/keep the time within spec.

Any thoughts on this? I've read that it's relatively common after servicing and should settle in over time, but I'm not entirely convinced...

Thanks!!

 

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Canuck

·Aug 18, 2025

In order for the crown to reverse a bit after each twist, the gasket inside the crown must be free to react on the case tube, by allowing the crown to back up a bit. As the crown loosens on the case tube over time, it should eventually back up a bit.