A is slowe?

R is faster?

Or other way around?

Googled and find a lot of information about how it works. But not which is what.

How much should you turn? Mine is +1min per day.

 

I don't wanna just try it out and mess it up totally.

 

A and R are abbreviations from French words: A(vance) means speed up and R(etard) means slow down

hope this helps

 

A = Avance or faster
R = Retard or Slower

However I'd not go messing at all

 

The regulator is supposed to be used for minute adjustments after the watch has been correctly adjusted/timed.

Depending on a number of factors, even a tiny "amateur" adjustment can have major impact on accurate timekeeping.

If your watch was recently serviced and your watchmaker set that position, it'd be best to leave it alone and try overnight resting positions to correct the variance.

 

Thanks!

Ok thanks. So one mark=1min?

 

NO!

As I said. Minute movements of the regulator by a skilled watchmaker produce slight variations in timekeeping.

Definition of Minute:

__________________________________________________________________
minute2
/mʌɪˈnjuːt/
adjective
adjective: minute; superlative adjective: minutest

1. extremely small.
   "minute particles"
   synonyms: tiny, minuscule, microscopic, nanoscopic, very small, little, micro, diminutive..............................................

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The regulator wasn't put there for owners to "tweek" their watches. That methodology went out with vintage pocket watches, but was still usually done by a watchmaker.

But it's your watch, go for it.

Give us a call when you want to find a watchmaker in your area.

 

Watches that need work often exhibit an unstable rate - sometimes it will speed up, and sometimes it will slow down. The regulator on your watch was not designed for the purpose of evening out such variations. Depending on how much “tuning” was done by the manufacturer when the watch was made, and depending on how fussy you are, it may not be possible to bring the watch to the rate you expect.

 

I don't want to leave it to a watchmaker. I'm interested in how it works and gonna try and make it better myself.

I've done a lot of things that you "need to go to a watchmaker to fix" and fixed it myself. Changing crown, glass etc. I'm the same way with everything, cars, plumbing, whatever.

It's my watch I can do whatever I want with it. Information on how to do things and tips are appreciated tough.

 

I'm sorry but you are doing the same mistake many made before. Watchmaking is not something that can be learned easily on the go.

 

I live in a free country and if my watch breaks I'm still going to have food on the table tomorrow. So don't be sorry, I'm dealing with worse problem than a watch in my life. I care about HOW to do things, not IF it goes wrong.

I asked a question and I got the answer.

This forum is weird. It's like if you ask what 1+1 is on this forum, people might answer "it might be 2 but please don't do to much with that information, hand in the question to a professional watch dealer, preferably my company"

 

Maybe not, but you can certainly learn a LOT with "DIY'ing repairs" and it is a lot of fun to do so. It's his watch, and assuming it is not one that is extremely valuable, I say go for it.

 

Exactly I would rather see something brake than to not try and give up. At least if I got the tools and money to do it. Might be stupid but so what? I learned a lot from trying in my life and I fixed more thing than not.

 

OK. I'm going to do the grumpy old man thing here, so if you don't like my comments, tough shit.

You obviously know nothing about how a mechanical watch works, and asking how to regulate a mechanical movement is one aspect of your questions that exhibit your level of knowledge.

The mechanism in a watch like yours is an extremely complicated piece of micro-miniature engineering with a number of factors involved in the correct operation. Tweek one little component and another symptom may develop. Touch something, or even slip with a tool and you can cause major damage.

If you want to be able to regulate a watch, I'd suggest you start with a basic "watchmaking" course. This will allow you to understand the whole aspect of a mechanical movement and the way you should approach "regulating".

if you develop an interest, you may even be able to proceed to doing basic servicing on some movements.

If you really want to learn, buy a Seiko 7S26 watch, or a movement, and start where I did some years ago.

http://clockmaker.com.au/diy_seiko_7s26/chapter1.html

This guy even sells the tools, and a movement, and if I can help purchase and ship them to you just let me know.

I won't even charge an "agent" commission.

 

Chip on shoulder? I guess! Ask for help, but when help is offered, you jump all over those who try to help. Adjusting the regulator on a watch to improve timekeeping is not as simple as adjusting the volume on a radio. When you f_ _k up your watch, I suggest you will be saving considerable humiliation by not coming back here to ask for suggestions as to what you did wrong, and how to fix it!

 

I wrote thanks to those who helped me. I'm tired that every time I ask a simple question here people change direction. Every time I ask something it's like "oh you can't change that yourself" And every time I changed it (or whatever it might be) myself. If I can't I learn.

I understand if people don't have time for things and need to leave things to a professional. But alot of times people are just lazy. If you have time, man up I say.

Knowledge is power and I appreciate when people learn me things. But every time on this forum it's "go to a watchmaker" and every time I took the knowledge I learnt and did it myself. Even if I did go to a watchmaker it would still be fun to know.

 

I agree that it's not likely to be helpful for the OP to mess with the regulator, but he does have a point when he says that it's his watch, and it's his choice if he wants to tinker with it. Obviously if would be best to do this with an inexpensive watch.

My suggestion to him is to do things in a very careful way to avoid any damage. We often see scratched balance cocks because something metallic was used to adjust the regulator; this looks ugly and is a clear signature that the watch has been tampered with. So maybe use a wooden toothpick or something like that, but not a delicate tip that will break off and enter the movement. Also, he might want to hold the watch in a case holder so that everything is very steady, because it's very easy for the tool to slip and seriously damage something delicate in the movement. Along the same lines, unless he is young with excellent eyesight, it can be helpful to wear a magnifying visor so one can really see where the tool is going. Finally, when you open the case, it's very easy for debris and dust to enter the movement, which can end up causing more problems than the regulation will solve. Watchmakers work in a very clean place and have ways to gently remove debris with gentle puffs of air, but not from their mouths obviously. Nothing in the movement should be touched with the fingers.

If the OP can avoid damaging the movement and he can keep it clean, then any changes he makes should be reversible.

 

OK, so you have a bee up your nose.

It's the internet.

If we were in our local pub together having a beer, and you happened to say, "hey mate, how do I regulate this little watch I have?".

I'd probably say "don't be stupid, do a little study about watchmaking and then do it, now buy me another beer!"

You seem to be a person who can adapt, improvise and overcome, but while engines and other big stuff are easy (even my local mechanic can do them), watches are totally different and require a new level of thinking, dexterity and skill.

Just stick with us, ask questions and we can help, but don't jack up when we respond with well founded feedback based on many many many years of experience (and in my case, a few fuckups because I didn't listen).

 

+1

 

It is not a question of “you can’t change it yourself”. You can. The question is can you “improve” the accuracy of a watch that likely shows varying rates at varying times. You may change it, but can you improve it?