Watch Notes

Your automatic watch is gaining time, maybe a few seconds a day or several minutes. Before you send it for service, it helps to know what is normal and what is not. In most cases the cause is simple, and in one very common case you can fix it yourself in seconds. An automatic watch's rate depends on its balance wheel and hairspring, the parts most affected by magnetism and shock. Photo: Francis Flinch , CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. In this guide How accurate should it be? How to measure the error Cause 1: Magnetization Cause 2: Resting position Cause 3: Power reserve Causes 4–6: Shock, temperature, service Quick troubleshooting table FAQ First: how accurate should your watch be? Mechanical watches are never as accurate as quartz. Each manufacturer publishes an accuracy tolerance per day: Movement Official tolerance (per day) Seiko NH35 / NH36, 4R35 / 4R36 -20 to +40 seconds Seiko 7S26 -20 to +40 seconds Seiko 6R35 (Prospex, Presage) -15 to +25 seconds Miyota 82...

An automatic watch winds itself while you wear it, so why does it stop on your nightstand, and should you ever wind it by hand? This guide covers exactly how to wind an automatic watch, how many turns it needs, whether you can overwind it, and the small mistakes that cause most problems. The crown is used to hand-wind, set the date and set the time. Photo: Pittigrilli , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons. In this guide Quick answer How an automatic watch winds itself How to hand-wind, step by step Can you overwind it? Watches that can't be hand-wound Setting the time and date safely How often to wind FAQ Quick answer If your automatic watch has stopped, unscrew the crown (if it is a screw-down crown), leave it in the first position, and turn it clockwise about 30–40 times . Then set the time. If your watch cannot be hand-wound (for example the Seiko 7S26 in older Seiko 5 and SKX models), gently swing or shake it side to side for about a minute instead. You cann...