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Regulation preference: 1 SPD slow or 3 SPD fast?


BrianB

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I built a watch using a Sellita SW220-1 top grade movement. As I understand it the "top" grade movement is identical to the "chronometer" grade, except it wasn't submitted for certification by COSC.

Anyway, after casing the movement the timegrapher was reading about +8 SPD in the dial-up position. I regulated it and got it at around +1 SPD in dial-up. I don't remember the reading in the other positions as I didn't photograph them. I generally prioritize dial-up and 6-up as those are the two positions my watches spend the most time in.

I have a very precise time source (accurate to within 100 microseconds) and use the photo method to do precise time sync checks of new watches just to see how they are doing. The first day it gained exactly 0.0 seconds. The second, third, and 4th days it lost approximately one second each day. This is spending about 12 hours on wrist and 12 hours dial-up on the dresser.

Well, I can't handle a watch that loses time. At all. It's too big of a pain in the butt to correct as you have to hack the watch at the top of the minute, set the time forward a minute, and then wait for the next minute to arrive, and start it again. Yeah, I know, "first world problems".

If the watch is a little fast it's a lot easier to correct - pull the crown with the seconds hand at virtually any position, wait for the time source to read that time, and push the crown. Even if the watch is fast 10 seconds it only takes 10 seconds to do. If the watch is fast 3 seconds it's a 3 second fix.

So after 3 days of observing it consistently losing 1 second per day (which I realize is VERY good accuracy by the way) I decide to re-regulate it and speed it up just a little. After adjusting the regulation I've started a new time sync run. In the first two hours it has gained about 0.25 of a second. If that rate holds over 24 hours that will be a gain of about 3 seconds in a day.

This brings me to the title of this thread. I would rather have a watch that is 3 SPD fast than a watch that is 1 SPD slow even though the latter is of course better accuracy.

What are your preferences?

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I would prefer the 1 second slow. For me it's not about how long it takes to set a watch, but the frequency at which you have to set it. If say your tolerance is 1 minute if it's 1 second slow you're resetting it about once every month. 3 seconds fast you're setting it about once every 2 weeks. I also like to get the minute hand to hit minute markers dead on center when second hand hits zero, and pulling the crown out more often than not throws off the sync, so I always set it by hacking it at the top of minute anyway.

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I too am very picky about the hands pointing where they should and I can see your point about how often one needs to sync up being a factor. My tolerance is about 6 seconds, though the closer to spot-on the better as being off by 30 seconds would actually cause me problems with the way I use my watch.

It may be an obvious notion, but I have a trick I do to make an intolerable watch tolerable. Say the watch consistently gains 10 seconds a day. Normally this would be intolerable for me. But if I know it is a +10 SPD watch then when I sync it I will deliberately set it 5 seconds slow. In this way the watch can make it through the day without being intolerably wrong. It would start the 24 hour period 5 seconds behind and finish the 24 hour period 5 seconds ahead - never being wrong by more than 5 seconds. I'd still have to sync it every day but at least I wouldn't have to do a mid-day sync (which I will not do) to be satisfied.

I just finished the 24 hour timing run on the new watch. After 24 hours, about 16 of which were "on wrist", the watch has gained 1.81 seconds. I will take a 1.81 second gain over a 1 second loss any day. If I really want to be insane I can set the watch to be 3 seconds behind when I sync it, and then after 3 days it would be getting close to 3 seconds ahead and I could re-sync it to be 3 seconds slow again.

But knowing me I'll probably just pull/push the crown every morning to "true it up".

I have a couple nice HAQ watches that of course avoids all of this, but I generally prefer automatics over the comparatively "soulless" quartz.

Then again my favorite watches on Earth are my Grand Seiko Spring Drives, but I don't wear those as my daily drivers.

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