[time-nuts] How good are mechanical watches

[Chuck Harris]

John Pettitt wrote:
> Thomas A. Frank wrote:

> My Brietling Navitimer is good for about a second a day when it's clean 
> - it degrades over time (about 5 years) to about 20 seconds a day then I 
> pay $$$ to have it cleaned and lubed and it's back at at a second a day 
> for a couple of years before it starts to degrade again.    I still love 
> it and occasionally use the circular slide rules to the amazement of 
> anybody under 45 (my class in the UK was the last high school class to 
> use slide rules and I had to use a circular one for my pilots license).
> 
> John

My 1979 Heuer (Before TAG bought Heuer) dive watch typically would stay
within a couple of seconds per day.  I never felt the need to reset it
more than once a month... and that was only because I had to set the
31 day calendar for 28, 29, or 30 day months.

It worked that way for about 3 years, and then it started to degrade.

Does anyone make a good mechanical watch anymore?  Yes, but be prepared
to spend thousands of dollars for a new one.

Rolex, Omega, LaCoulter, TAG Heuer, Brietling...

Some of the older Rolex watches have the cleanest traces I have ever seen
on my watch timing machine.

These days I wear a 1956 Bulova self-winding watch... It needs cleaning
again, but when it is clean, it is within a couple of seconds per day.

One thing, for a mechanical watch to perform well, you need to have
your watchmaker regulate it for proper time in the dial down position,
and then you wear it normally for a couple of weeks without reseting...
Then back to the watchmaker, for re regulation.   By doing this,
he can compensate for your "personal error."   The watch may gain in
one position, and lose in another, but on average, it will be off by
some regular rate when you are wearing it.

-Chuck Harris