Jump to content

Automatic watch with date stopping around 11pm


Recommended Posts

Hello all, apologies if this question has been asked previously - I did search the forum and couldn't find what I was looking for, but maybe I'm not using the right keywords. I have a 1960's Zodiac Olypmos with a 70-72 movement that was recently serviced by a local repairer and all seems fine with the running, except that I have noticed on several occasions that late at night, the second hand (and the rest of them) will freeze at around 11pm, maybe earlier, but will restart again with even a light tap on the glass. The date complication snaps over at about 12:03am no problem, and although i wondered if this was being caused by a lack of movement in the evening running down the spring, the watch seems to hold it's wind for eight hours overnight, so there's no way it's wound down at the point it's stopping. I'm quite keen to know what the likely cause of this issue would be, so any suggestions would be very appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Repairer should fix it.

If it stops at 23 hr only, the fault is with date change mech. In case it stops at hr 11 as well, the fault can also be of causes elsewhere.

Yeah fair enough. I'll give him a bell. It's only at night right before the date changeover so it's most likely that I would assume, but I wanted to see what someone with more (see: any) knowledge thought :) cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, UnHommeQuiDort said:

I did consider this, but surely that would be happening more often than once a day?

so, date jumper and date ring(plate)   plus its groove should be checked, further a possibilty of date ring rubbing on dia plate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AdamC said:

I’m sure I had this happen once when the canon pinion was slipping slightly. Just a thought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Adam, Note that seconds hand stops too, which is not driven through canon pinion. 

 In this case,  movement stops altogether. Multiple fault is not yet rulled out.

Regards

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I took it to the repairer, the second hand was running but neither hour or minute hand were moving, which I seem to remember being told was a canon pinion issue - so maybe it's just not been ironed out 100%. I assume he wouldn't try to charge me for another look at it since it's not been functioning correctly since i got it back, but who knows.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

UnHommeQuiDort, I would hope he doesn’t charge you again if the original fault hasn’t been fixed! It’s likely no replacement part would be required as it is just a matter of tightening the existing canon pinion if this is still indeed the issue. Surely there is some kind of guarantee for the work carried out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, AdamC said:

Surely there is some kind of guarantee for the work carried out?

For an honest watch repairer it's not a matter of formal warranty, but personal achievement and reputation. Unless criminal damage can had been inflited to the watch, repairers should be given a chance to fix what they didn't do right first.. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hey, just to close this off with the results - after a month at the repairer, it's working again. Apparently the glass was coming into contact with the minute hand at some point in the rotation, and I guess as the power built up to turn the date wheels over instantly, this was enough to cause the mechanism to stick? Which would also probably explain why it would start again with a tap on the glass, since it wasn't a mechanical fault within the movement. I've got a new glass in there now and apparently all is well.

However, annoyingly - I noticed to my horror that there's an extremely fine white fibre (like a synthetic one off a jumper or whatever) around 2cm long caught between the glass and the edge of the main body of the watch, on the inside! I was only able to see it because it was midday when I collected the watch, and in full sunlight there was a shadow being cast by the damned thing onto the gold dial. From what I can tell, the second hand brushes it slightly as it goes round, but the thing has been running fine for a week at the watch repairers with this trapped in there - and I'm so burned out on the whole fiasco that I just can't face going back to request another fiddle. There's almost no way to see it in normal light conditions, it's much finer than a human hair - so I'm not surprised it wasn't visible, although I'm still a little annoyed that it's there. Maybe I'll take it for a service somewhere else next time. Though I should mention he didn't charge me for the additional work, or the new glass.

Edited by UnHommeQuiDort
adding something i forgot
Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • VWatchie, I remember you saying you have picked up a few bargains on that site.  
    • Understood OH , i just thought i would ask.
    • Your original balance can be poised by adjusting the balance screws. The replacement can't and it is cheaper to make.    
    • OK, let me try and expand on why I think this is right (but maybe misleading at the same time). Wikipedia has a good explanation of surface tension, which is where I got most of the ideas below. The cohesion of the liquid molecules binds them together into the most compact form possible. If there are no external forces acting, this is a sphere. Surface tension is the combined effect of the cohesion between molecules on the surface with others on the surface, as well as the cohesion to molecules just under the surface, causing contraction and the formation of a denser "skin". The way a droplet of a liquid forms on a solid surface is determined by the strength of this cohesive force relative to the adhesive force between the liquid molecules and the surface material. If cohesion >> adhesion, you get a droplet. If cohesion is similar to adhesion, the liquid tends to spread out on the surface and creep away from its original location. Oil doesn't have the same high surface tension that water does, so it is not going to form a really rounded droplet on any surface in the way that water will "bead" on wax. This is where my earlier statement is misleading, but it is still exactly the same principles at work. Drops of oil on an epilamed surface are not going to run off in all directions at the lightest provocation. What the epilame does, I think, is reduce the adhesive force to the surface somewhat, making the weak cohesive force of the oil molecules more effective. The result is less tendency of the oil to spread out and creep, and more tendency to stick together as a cohesive mass. I don't think epilame has any effect on surface tension. That is a property of the liquid and is determined solely by the cohesive forces between the liquid molecules. I also don't think the epilame makes the liquid "stick" to where it is applied. The oil adheres ("sticks") more strongly to a non-treated surface than to a surface treated with epilame. This is why the epilame needs to be removed from the contact surfaces by running dry for a short period. The oil then sticks more readily to the local contact surfaces, where the epilame layer is worn away, than to the surrounding area. The oil sticks together, and is thereby anchored in place as a single body. Interestingly, reducing the adhesion of the oil to the solid surfaces will also reduce capillary action, which is what we rely on if we don't use epilame. Another reason to make sure the epilame is worn away from the spot you want the oil to stay put.    
    • Look up index vs free sprung balances.  The screws are for timing. 
×
×
  • Create New...