Sorry I posted this in the Vintage section as well but then I figured it's probably wrong (what's the cut off year for vintage?)

Hi all,

I finally got my hands on a Omega Dynamic Chronograph recently and have a question around it regarding setting the time. I noticed that if I set the time with the seconds exactly at 0 (or 60), and then push the crown in, after one full revolution (one minute), the minute marker is somehow "lagging" and will only be around 7/8th of the way to the marker. Subsequently it stops lagging but it'll remain 7/8th to the marker every time the seconds hand hits 60. I think they say this is due to gear slack or something?

I read that it can happen with certain watches/movements, and the solution is to set the time exactly on the hour, but with the seconds hand at 45 seconds or even 40 seconds. E.g. If I'm trying to set the time exactly to 12:30, I will set the seconds hand to 45 and then push the crown in when my timing device is at 12:29:45. This way there's a 15 seconds "lead" to make up for the lag. I tried this and it seems to be working fine now.

I've also tried the other method of adjusting past the time I actually want by a minute or two, and then winding it anti-clockwise to the actual time I want. Apparently this is supposed to counter the slack, but in my case this results in the minute hands not moving by almost an entire minute before it starts moving.

The question(s) are:
1. Is this normal?
2. Is this a sign to send it for servicing?

Thanks for the help !

An obligatory photo :

 

I think you are way overthinking setting the time.

 

Maybe I said it with too many words . Just concerned because if I were to set the time say to 12:00, after exactly 60 seconds, it won't actually show 12:01 and the minute hand will be somewhere between 12:00 and 12:01. Seems to run fine after the 60 seconds though.

More importantly I wanted to know if this was normal, if not I'll send it to the watchmaker and avoid damaging the movement further...

 

Yes, it's normal. I had one myself not too long ago and it behaved just like that - there is a certain amount of play due to the movements modular construction.

Regards
Undersköterskan

 

Ah ok. Thanks for the info! By the way is this something that can be fixed during servicing?

 

That was my wife's first watch. She wore it as a nurse for years (before I trusted her with a datejust). That is normal.

 

Ah ok, good to know. Thanks! That's a great first watch to have!

 

No, this is due to the Dubois Depraz chronograph module. This is just how the movement is, nothing is wrong and there is nothing to do about this during a maintenance service.

Regards
Undersköterskan