In Omega official video manual, it mentioned one tricky operation about the new speedmaster co-axial(calibre 9300). It says "You start the chronograph exactly at midnight or noon for that second timezone, and the hour and minute hands for the chrono will double as the time for that other time zone." Yes, because the new Speedmaster(also Seamaster planet ocean 600M ) just have two subdial and the minute hand and hour hand of the chronograph are located together in the right subdial, so theoretically, it can be done like that.

However, what I concern is that , from a mechanical perspective, would it put a lot more strain on the watch to have the chrono running constantly in this manner? Will this manner make the maintenance interval much more shorter than usual? Will this manner run out the reserved power more quickly?

 

By the way ,today is Chinese new year. Wish everyone happy new year.!

 

No, it does not affect reserved power. It does require more torque IN the mainspring. So it will stop working slightly earlier, but if you stop the chrono it will keep going to the full reserve time. As for service intervals, I cannot comment, but I would assume it has little affect. You can do this with any chrono actually.

 

Running the chrono will not put a lot more strain on the movement, depending on the design, some functions of the chrono actually unload the timekeeping train slightly. Consider that any change in the load (increase or decrease) on the timekeeping train changes the power available at the balance wheel, and any changes in power affect the amplitude of the balance, which in turn effects the timekeeping. So although there is a slight increase in load when the chrono is activated, the design is such as to try and keep the increase to a minimum so as to not effect the timekeeping.

Maintenance intervals don't change if the watch or chrono are used, after 5 years or so the oils have all dried up and lost their effectiveness and need to be removed and replenished.

As already mentioned, run time, power reserve, is a fixed quantity, it's not like fuel in a car where if the load increases you burn fuel at a quicker rate, this scenario doesn't apply to a watch. The available torque from the mainspring is not variable, meaning that it can't increase to compensate for a higher load. If you let the chrono run till the watch fully unwinds, when it stops running if you disengage the chrono the train will most times start up again and run for a short while, not enough to be concerned about.

I run my chrono's all the time, day in and day out, unless I am actually timing something like say the soft boiled egg I had just now for breakfast...

Rob

 

Really appreciate !!