Hi guys, I hope everyone is having a good weekend! I need some of your expert opinion on something that's bothering me.

A couple of days ago, I got back from service my Omega T17 watch. My watchmaker told me that he replaced the mainspring (standard procedure of course) and had to replace one bushing. Yesterday, I tried setting the time for the first time after it stopped and discovered that turning the crown is very stiff. It feels like I'm doing "clicks" to advance the minute hand and I can't set the time precisely. Before service, like any other watch I have, I was able to turn the crown smoothly without any issues. Unfortunately, I didn't think of testing the time setting when I went to get the watch from him. Do you think this is normal after service and that it will get better/smoother the more I use it? To be honest, it doesn't feel like it's behaving correctly and I'm worried that setting the time might cause damage given how stiff it feels.

Btw, when I gave the watch to him, I told him that the T17 movement is rated for 60h power reserve and he said he'll take a look. When I went back to get it I asked him if he measured the power reserve and he said that it's about 36 hours. He didn't believe that the movement could have a power reserve of 60 hours because it would need an extra gear (or something along these lines) to make it last longer. I showed him some of the info from the forum and he was still hesitant to believe it and that I should do a bit more research but he assured me that he installed the correct mainspring for the movement. I did my own measurement at home and the watch stopped working after 55 hours which is pretty close to specs. I would expect a recently serviced watch with a new mainspring to have at least exactly the rated power reserve but maybe I should lower my expectations for such an old watch.

Thanks in advance

 

I love had stiff winding on a couple of occasions on a newly serviced watch.
A couple of times it’s been down to a new crown that had new seals. Another, much stiffer winding example was an incorrect mainspring being used. I genuinely felt I was damaging something winding it. Sent it back and had it changed and it was fine.

 

In my case, he didn't replace the crown or install new seals (this watch is very old and doesn't have weather sealing). Also when I'm winding the watch is fine in terms of stiffness. It's when I'm pulling the crown and trying to set the time when rotating the crown feels very stiff and clicky.

 

What was the reason for taking it in?

 

It would stop working after a minute or two and only start again when I was gently shaking it. Everything is original in the watch (according to the seller but also my watchmaker told me the same). I got the watch from an eBay auction without any service history.

 

To further add on this, the watch is keeping good time now and doesn't stop. From my empirical measurement, it's gaining about 10-12s a day but I think that's acceptable, especially given the age of the watch.

 

Your hand setting issue sounds like the cannon pinion could be too tight.

 

Thank you! I should take the watch back to my watchmaker to give it a second look then. As far as I can tell from googling, this is something that can be corrected without too much trouble. But I can't find online when the cannon pinion is too tight if it can cause damage to movement. Since I tried setting the time a few times already I'm worried this put excessive wear to the gears. From your experience, do you think that's a valid concern?

 

If it were my watch I'd take it back to the watchmaker, if he tells you there isn't a problem, I'd find a new watchmaker, what you are describing just doesn't sound right especially for a freshly serviced watch. You know what it felt like before taking it in.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. I appreciate your help!

 

Cannon pinion too tight, or perhaps no lubrication - this can cause damage to the teeth of various setting wheels if it's not addressed. It's not meant to be really hard to turn the crown to set the hands.

I would refrain from setting the time until you can get it looked at.

BTW, the power reserve will be affected by the amount of friction in the movement. You mentioned that the watchmaker replaced a bushing, but if there are other worn parts that are still in the watch for some reason (parts unavailable for example) then that can add to the friction and lower the power reserve.

 

Thank you @Archer for sharing your expert opinion. I ended up taking the watch back to my watchmaker and he decided to loosen the cannon pinion slightly. Setting the time now is very smooth and the watch keeps good time.

 

The thing that would concern me is that he returned the watch to you seemingly with the setting issue in the first place. Whenever you have a watch apart you always check these things and even if not,, you have to set the time at some point anyway?

 

If it's clicky, it could be an upside down setting wheel as well, smooth side incorrectly placed upwards, makes the watch click - creates a more uneven resistance

Second cause is maybe not lubricating keyless wheels enough, sometimes a movement is perfect on the bench, but the case/stem sitting a bit off angle turns a perfect movement to a weird setter

All amateur experiences