Watchrepair.net

How often does a mechanical watch need to be serviced?
A watch is one of the rare mechanical objects that operates non-stop, round-the-clock. Therefore, to ensure optimal reliability and long life for your timepiece, we advise you to have carried out a complete service every 3 to 5 years.

How often does a watch's water resistance need to be checked?
Because the gaskets are subjected to many aggressions (dust, cosmetics, perspiration, temperature changes), the water-resistance of a watch has a limited duration. For this reason, we advise you to have the water-resistance checked every 12 months, particularly before the swimming season.

After a swim in sea-water or chlorinated water (swimming pools), we recommend that you rinse your watch in fresh water.

For watches with a screw-down crown, ensure that the crown is perfectly screwed down before entering the water.

For chronograph watches, do not set the chronograph working under water, as water may leak in though the push-buttons causing damage to the movement.

WATER RESISTANCE LEVELS
Look for resistance levels on the dial or case back of the watch. An absence of any indication indicates extra caution should be exercised when wearing the watch to avoid any contact with moisture. This is true in expensive dress watches.

Refer to the warranty sheet for further restrictions. If no such sheet is available the chart below is fairly standard.

Alternate depth designations other than meters (M) will likely be indicated as Feet, ATM's or Bars.

• 1 Bar =1Atmosphere.
• 1 Atmosphere=14.696 1lbs/sq. in.
• 1 Atmosphere=33.899 feet or 1.33 Meters below surface of water.

Please Note *In general terms 1 ATM is NOT signifying a "diving depth", it refers to the rate of the pressure test.

NO INDICATION:
Not resistant to splashing or other accidental contact with moisture of any kind.

WATER RESISTANT:
Will resist moisture from accidental splashing, rain, sweat, etc.

WATER RESISTANT (50M)
Will resist moisture from accidental splashing, rain, and shallow swimming.

WATER RESISTANT (100M)
Watch may be worn during snorkel or skin diving, if properly sealed.

WATER RESISTANT (200M)
Watch may be worn during standard scuba diving.

Do you need to wind a mechanical watch every day?
The watch will perform better if you do, however, A watch fitted with an automatic (self-winding) movement is rewound by the movements of your wrist. If worn by a reasonably active person 12 hours daily, it will remain fully wound.

When not worn, your watch has a power-reserve of approximately 36 hours

If you have not worn it for over 36 hours, rewind it manually by turning the crown in order to ensure it has the necessary power-reserve

It is important that the bracelet or strap of your watch is adjusted to match the size of your wrist. A loose fitting bracelet or strap can result in a loss of autonomy (the watch loses its capacity to wind automatically)

Will heat and cold affect a watch's accuracy?
Heat and cold will affect the time-keeping ability of a quartz watch. Quartz crystals, whose extremely steady vibrations are responsible for the unrivaled accuracy of quartz watches, are cut so they perform optimally at room temperature.

A temperature of 32 C will throw the timing off by about 1 second a day. Extreme temperature will also affect the accuracy of a mechanical watch, but not as much as other factors (see below). One reason is that hot and cold cause the metal parts of a watch movement to expand and contract (though advances in metallurgy have made this less of a problem than in the past). Another reason is that heat and cold affect the viscosity of the oil that lubricates the movement, and thereby affects the movements' accuracy.

What other factors affect the accuracy of a watch?
Wearing habits such as how long it's worn each day , the level of activity (sleeping or watching TV all day will not maintain a full wind!) and when the watch is wound play a critical role in how consistently a mechanical automatic watch performs. A typical mechanical automatic watch, while maintaining a full wind, will gain or lose about 2 minutes a month, (+ -4 seconds per day * 30 days=120 seconds, or 2 minutes).

None of these factors make any difference with a quartz watch. Temperature and battery voltage are the only variables that affect the accuracy of the quartz movement.

Can a mechanical watch be worn playing sports?
In general yes. All or nearly all mechanical watches manufactured today are equipped with anti-shock devices that protect the watch's balance-staff pivots - the part of the watch movement most vulnerable to damage from impact. These devices are usually effective enough to protect the watch from the shock it encounters when you hit a tennis or golf ball, for instance. Nonetheless, there is a chance that an especially hard knock could damage not only the balance but the rotor axle, which in automatic movements serves to secure the rotor to the watch movement. So deciding whether or not to wear your mechanical watch while playing sports is a matter of risk assessment.

Will anything damage a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal?
Don't be misled by the term "scratch resistant". It doesn't mean "scratch proof". The most scratch-resistant crystals are made of synthetic sapphire, an extremely hard mineral that measures 9 on the Mohs hardness scale (diamond, the hardest natural substance known to man, measures 10). Despite its high rating, sapphire can be abraded by some materials. Brushing against a synthetic stone surface, like those found on some furniture or walls for example, could cause a scratch. Also keep in mind that the more scratch-resistant a material, the more brittle it is, so scratch-resistant crystals are more likely to chip or crack than non-scratch-resistant ones.

How long will a quartz-watch battery last?
A silver oxide battery will last two to three years. Lithium batteries will last up to 3 years or more, However, over time, all batteries leak a corrosive salt crystal which becomes visible between the case and lid of the cell. Subsequently, we recommend replacing within two years even though the voltage level is still sufficiently high as preventative maintenance to protect the circuit.

Can I preserve the battery by pulling out the stem of a quartz watch?
Pulling out the stem may save some energy because the gears and hands aren't turning. However, the savings is marginal when you consider that a silver oxide battery will lose 5% to 8% of its power a year sitting unused, and will eventually leak. Another argument against trying to save battery power this way is that if the gear train remains stationary for a long period of time, the lubricants congeal.