Hello peeps, I had my -69 Speedy serviced by a local watchmaker recently even though it was performing well. The guy has always done a good job for me. I only had it serviced since I had the watch for three years now and have no known service history. His feedback was that the movement was working well and no parts had wear justifying replacement. He did service it and it came back looking nicely. However soon after I noticed a clicking sound when winding I had not noticed before... The last couple of days I felt like it wasn't holding power as long as it used to (about 12 hours, with the chrono running for 30mins) after 40 winding turns. I kinda have the feeling some gear is slipping and I'm afraid to wind it completely because I don't want to overwind it. Maybe it's all BS and the watch is fine and I just never noticed the sound before. Here is a video with the sound of the "clicking" very apparent. Maybe someone can chime in... @Archer Thanks a lot!
I have speedmasters with a louder winding "click" than others - all perform perfectly well and none are more than 2 years past their last service - don't worry about it. However, (and this is hard for me to hear on your video) the slipping might be a broken barrel spring. Springs break. They're not an expensive part but they do need the movement disassembling to replace. Call your watch maker and let him know that it seems the spring is slipping - I've no doubt that he will ask you to take the watch back in to him and he'll check it out. 99.99% of watch makers are utterly professional and stand by their work . He's sure to check out the watch and replace a defective spring if that is the issue.
Thanks for the quick reply. Would you know if the broken barrel spring would have an effect on the main spring not fully winding? The watch keeps excellent time btw. Problem is, I'm not local to the watchmaker anymore. Returning would involve courier shipping again..
It shouldn't sound like that as you hear towards the end a sound like a sudden release of power. As noted above, the mainspring (in the barrel) would be the likely culprit and would also explain the lack of reserve. Unfortunately, it will have to go back for your watchmaker to properly diagnose and resolve the issue. It's usually easier to replace the mainspring in a service as it is a pain to go back in and (basically) strip everything down if it later has an issue - did he replace it? Even after extensive testing, sometimes things happen although that should be a rare occurrence. It's unfortunate but I'm sure he'll stand by his work and resolve it. Regards, Chris
Thanks for your input Chris. Damn though. I hate shipping my watches. Maybe I can find a new watchmaker here, which may be cheaper. Main springs are not that expensive I hope...
It's annoying to have to send it back but that's the safest way. From what you can hear on the video, it may be the mainspring or could be a worn barrel, for example. Mainsprings are in the region of $50 but the major cost is in the strip down and re-assembly so, for me it would be better to go back to your first Watchmaker - if not, you're paying for another service.... Cheers, Chris
What's been said above. I had a watch service last year which included a replacement main (barrel) spring. Last month, that spring broke. It happens. Vintage watches are like vintage cars. The watchmaker in that case checked and repaired the watch under their warranty. That's all you can ask for or, frankly, should expect. It's a pain but it happens.
I've just been on the phone with him. His reply: "Oh damn it! Sounds like the mainspring is broken! What a hassle... Please send me the watch and I'll fix it." So all good. Thanks for your input guys. You are an asset to this forum.
To me it sounds like the teeth of the winding pinion are slipping on the crown wheel, but it could be the mainspring as well. Hard to tell for sure but the sound of the mainspring slipping when broken is usually not very loud, but in that clip even the winding sounds loud, so not sure. Winding pinion teeth are often damaged, and I replace a lot of these... When these teeth slip it will allow a slight unwinding of the mainspring. Are you able to wind the watch up fully, so that the crown will no longer turn? If it keeps winding forever, then it's the mainspring. If you can eventually get it to fully wind, then it's likely the winding pinion...
Hi Archer Thanks for chiming in. I'm remembering that before the "clicking" the watch would be fully wound with around 40 crown turns. Might my mind playing me tricks though. Yesterday I wound it 40 turn and a couple of minutes later another 10 turns. It lasted for about 12 hours. I could try winding it again, but I feel like there is no chance to fully wind it.
Naw, if it's broken then it's already broken. Obviously don't continue to wind once you feel the normal resistance that you'd get from a fully wound watch.
I just gave the running watch an additional 100 turns and no resistance. But the watch "clicks" pretty much every 5 crown turns. It's really a "click-clack" sound every time.
Pretty much confirms it's a broken mainspring then...did they replace it when they serviced the watch?
I'll be interested to see exactly where the spring broke...they typically break either at the tang end or the hole end. The hole end is where the springs inner most coil hooks onto the barrel arbor, and if it breaks there, the watch usually stops. The fact that it runs for as long as it does tells me it's likely broken at or near the tang end - this is the part of the spring that attaches it to the inside of the barrel wall. The tang is spot welded to the rest of the spring, and sometimes that will fail, or the spring breaks right near this spot. Unfortunately a visual inspection doesn't always tell you the true condition of the spring - you can see gross defects like a spring that is set, out of flat, or is wavy from wear, but it won't tell you how fatigued the spring is in the locations where it has the most stress. That's why brands (and many watchmakers like me) always replace the spring, even if it looks good. For me it's simple economics - first the time/labour required to thoroughly clean, inspect, and properly oil a used mainspring far exceeds the cost of a new one that I can press into the barrel in a few seconds. And as noted if it breaks the movement pretty much has to be stripped right down again to get at the mainspring, and if you are working to an acceptable standard you won't just try to slip one in as oils on pivots get smeared all over as soon as you remove bridges that have already been oiled - it really requires doing the service over again including cleaning all the wheels, plates, and bridges. For the cost of a new mainspring, it really doesn't make sense to use it again. New springs can certainly fail, but the likelihood of that is small compared to when you use an old spring over again. Cheers, Al