Community Stories

Winding Speedmaster Pro

Arnie68
Posts
6
Likes
4
Hello to all of you. I am new to this forum, I am from The Netherlands and since last Saturday the proud owner of a new Speedmaster Moonwatch with hesalite and 1861 movement.
Maybe this question is asked before but as I said I am a noob to both this forum and the Speedmaster, so my apologies for that.
Of course I know it is a manual winding movement, but I can't really figure out how to wind it properly. At a certain point I feel more resistance when winding, and it feels like the crown wants to wind back. Should I wind even further then through the resistance or just stop winding like I did, because I don't want to break it.
Yesterday my watch stopped running after just 14 hours.


Thank you in advance for your response.
 
rootbeer7
Posts
595
Likes
1,279
Keep going until you feel it won’t go further. You’ll know when it’s fully wound. They are buggers to wind up (as discussed many times), but all is forgiven once on the wrist.
 
Dor_42
Posts
439
Likes
935
Hello and welcome!
Congrats on your new watch! I see that you posted both in Modern Omega Watches and in Open Discussion, please try to avoid doing that in the future - the mods will appreciate it.

Regarding your problem-
Nothing about a watch should be done with applied force! If it's not winding smooth something might be causing it not to.
Did you buy it brand new? Where did you buy it from? If it's new go back to where you purchased it and ask them to take a look.
If you bought it online try locating an Omega AD and go see them.
If the watch is pre owned maybe it's time for a service.

Also, make it a habit to remove it from your wrist while winding.
It will put less stress on the mechanism and will lengthen the life of the movement.
 
Arnie68
Posts
6
Likes
4
Dor_42 Dor_42
Hello and welcome!
Congrats on your new watch! I see that you posted both in Modern Omega Watches and in Open Discussion, please try to avoid doing that in the future - the mods will appreciate it.

Regarding your problem-
Nothing about a watch should be done with applied force! If it's not winding smooth something might be causing it not to.
Did you buy it brand new? Where did you buy it from? If it's new go back to where you purchased it and ask them to take a look.
If you bought it online try locating an Omega AD and go see them.
If the watch is pre owned maybe it's time for a service.

Also, make it a habit to remove it from your wrist while winding.
It will put less stress on the mechanism and will lengthen the life of the movement.

Thank you for your advise.
Regarding the issue; the watch is winding smoothly, and also keeping good time. I only feel resistance at a certain point and I am not sure if it is okay to wind it any further. That is the issue.
Yes I bought it brand new from an AD.
 
vbrad26
Posts
4,714
Likes
23,832
Yeah from totally dead to fully wound should be about 40-50 turns depending on how big your turns are.
 
Pun
Posts
1,933
Likes
8,481
Arnie68 Arnie68
Thank you for your advise.
Regarding the issue; the watch is winding smoothly, and also keeping good time. I only feel resistance at a certain point and I am not sure if it is okay to wind it any further. That is the issue.
Yes I bought it brand new from an AD.

I faced similar dilemma many years back with my first new Speedmaster Moonwatch.

Please keep winding till you can't do any further. It'll be okay. Initially you will feel some resistance and that's okay with a new watch. I faced similar situation and got advice to wind it till it stopped turning at all. After few weeks it'll be much smoother and effortless exercise.

Wear your modern classic in good health.
 
Dan S
Posts
24,246
Likes
53,989
Use a pair of these to get a good grip on the crown, and keep winding until something falls off.

73d7b602-28b5-437d-9822-daaf4f879956_1.667a86dcdc6afb75b0bbbbe8c46ff9a4.jpeg
 
D
Posts
922
Likes
493
Pun Pun
I faced similar dilemma many years back with my first new Speedmaster Moonwatch.

Please keep winding till you can't do any further. It'll be okay. Initially you will feel some resistance and that's okay with a new watch. I faced similar situation and got advice to wind it till it stopped turning at all. After few weeks it'll be much smoother and effortless exercise.

Wear your modern classic in good health.

Precisely👍
There will be a period where the mechanism is breaking in.
In my personal experience the most noticeable changes on any watch I have ever owned was the manual winding feel of my brand new Speedy Pro.
If I recall correctly, it took a few weeks(winding every day) before it totally smoothed out to become rather sublime😀
 
83n
Posts
120
Likes
96
Dor_42 Dor_42
Regarding your problem-
Nothing about a watch should be done with applied force! If it's not winding smooth something might be causing it not to.

While this is absolutely true winding the Moonwatch can feel off when compared to other watches.


What OP describes sounds normal to me. The crown does start to turn back a bit after some turns.


Well, you have to earn yourself the right to wear it each morning by pain and sweat while winding it - but for me it is worth it 😉
 
Pun
Posts
1,933
Likes
8,481
Dan S Dan S
Use a pair of these to get a good grip on the crown, and keep winding until something falls off.

73d7b602-28b5-437d-9822-daaf4f879956_1.667a86dcdc6afb75b0bbbbe8c46ff9a4.jpeg
A demo video on your Speedy would be of great help to OP...
 
STANDY
Posts
16,863
Likes
47,901
Dor_42 Dor_42
Also, make it a habit to remove it from your wrist while winding.
It will put less stress on the mechanism and will lengthen the life of the movement.

Myth
That’s been written many times on the internet so people begin to believe it.


Just wind it until you can’t anymore. ( it will turn back for a few months from new )
 
rainking
Posts
368
Likes
452
How many threads about the same topic can be on one forum LOL
 
Dor_42
Posts
439
Likes
935
STANDY STANDY
Myth
That’s been written many times on the internet so people begin to believe it.


Just wind it until you can’t anymore. ( it will turn back for a few months from new )
Well, the first time I heard about this was here in OF...
Did anyone ever try to actually measure the pressure difference between winding on the wrist and off of it?
Edited:
 
dennisthemenace
Posts
2,828
Likes
4,722
Dor_42 Dor_42
Did anyone ever try to actually measure the pressure difference between winding on the wrist and off of it?
Did anyone ever say there was a difference to measure?
If the speedmaster had a screw in crown I would tend to agree with you, but as I'm sure you know, it doesn't.
 
STANDY
Posts
16,863
Likes
47,901
Dor_42 Dor_42
Well, the first time I heard about this was here in OF...
Did anyone ever try to actually measure the pressure difference between winding on the wrist and off of it?

If you can’t bend your wrist you can see there is no pressure on the stem.

Quoted Jim from this thread as my quote has a touch more colourful comment.


JimInOz JimInOz
I wind my manual watches on my wrist. Have been doing so for many years.

I have never broken a stem, or exerted undue force leading to metal fatigue that would cause a stem to fracture.

This is how to do it.

Put your left hand on your chest, just below your right clavicle (collar bone).

Take your right hand and find your watch on your chest, with the forefinger and thumb, turn the little knob that falls naturally to your grip.

It's not rocket surgery, and there's no huge "twisting force" or "lateral stress".

I agree with @STANDY, the Hodinkee article is bullshit.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/winding-on-wrist-harmful.114292/#post-1518510
 
Arnie68
Posts
6
Likes
4
Guys, problem solved; after a winding my Speedy a couple of weeks with the "spring back crown" feeling, I do now hit "the wall". It will simply not go any further when winding, it just stops.
Thank you for all your replies and advices.
 
3 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

donut-chrono

Calibre 3220 winding - Speedmaster Automatic (Reduced)

donut-chrono Modern Omega Watches
Johnny_C
Johnny_C
Posts
5
Views
737
Joao_BRA

1120 Tests results (automatic and manual winding)

Joao_BRA Modern Omega Watches
akong71
akong71
Posts
1
Views
148
moondweller

Why Speedmaster Crown Doesn't Pull Out after Winding

moondweller Modern Omega Watches
Archer
Archer
Posts
3
Views
528
lcy

Omega Speedmaster Pro Cal 3861 Snoopy Winding question

lcy Modern Omega Watches
Fickle
Fickle
Posts
19
Views
3K
Station Grey

1960s manual Seamaster winding

Station Grey Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Dan S
Dan S
Posts
10
Views
251
Kmmdad57

Automatic winding question for the Seamaster 8800

Kmmdad57 Modern Omega Watches
Kmmdad57
Kmmdad57
Posts
8
Views
1K