Time check

[captp]

No, I don't want to know what time it is wherever you are.
How good time is your watch keeping? Let's limit this to mechanical watches (manual or auto). We all know a mediocre quartz watch can do better than a second per day, so skip them.
My new Ball Fireman Nightbreaker after 4 days seems to be holding just over 3 seconds per day. It's not listed a a chronometer, but I think that falls within COSC specs. Surprised me.
My Seiko 5 is lucky to hold 18+ seconds per day.
My 1972 Speedmaster was so consistent at 7 seconds/day (just shy of COSC specs) that, if I set it today, I could predict how fast it would be 2 months from now, within about a second.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I’m using the Movement App, not sure how reliable it is but it’s linked to an atomic clock and the usage is very intuitive.

My various Rolex are all well under the +4 sec threshold
The Panerai is a rogue and unmeasurable having no seconds hand
The Orients are +8-10 secs
The Steinhart was at an insane +0.66 secs over a measured period of 2 weeks

 

[Rudy Vey]

Here is what I use from time to time (pun intended...)

The Official U.S. Time | NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology - Time and Frequency Division maintains the standard for frequency and time interval for the United States, provides official time to the United States, and carries out a broad program of research and service activities in time and frequency...

www.time.gov

 

[captp]

Here is what I use from time to time (pun intended...)

The Official U.S. Time | NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology - Time and Frequency Division maintains the standard for frequency and time interval for the United States, provides official time to the United States, and carries out a broad program of research and service activities in time and frequency...

www.time.gov

I keep a tab open to NIST all the time. I think that's as accurate as it gets. I think they get the time from The Naval Observatory in Boulder.

 

[blantyre]

The digital clocks at NIST display to .01 seconds. I gave a talk there once and there was no arguing about when my allotted time was used up.

on topic, has anyone tried the timers that can be bought on Amazon, etc. for a bit over $100? They allow testing in different orientations to run what amounts to a COSC test. I don’t need one but it seems like a cool gadget.

 

[ByMyBeard]

I’m using the Movement App, not sure how reliable it is but it’s linked to an atomic clock and the usage is very intuitive.

My various Rolex are all well under the +4 sec threshold
The Panerai is a rogue and unmeasurable having no seconds hand
The Orients are +8-10 secs
The Steinhart was at an insane +0.66 secs over a measured period of 2 weeks

I may need to look into this app. I'm curious about my ProDiver, which seems to need frequent adjustments. Not sure I really want to put much...TIME into it. Thanks, I'll see myself out.

 

[Eveningcoffee]

Mine keep similar time to Captp and Parvo's watches. Of the ones made in the last few years, a Seiko 5 and a microbrand with Miyota movement, are off 5 spd or below on the wrist when timed over 12 hours.

My older watches (50+ yr) are a mix. Some are better and some worse. About 15 seconds off is the worst of the ones I wear.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I don't have any instrumentation, but looking at time.gov a week after I set it, my Orient Kamasu has gained 1 minute 45 seconds.

I prefer fast to slow.

 

[ByMyBeard]

Here is what I use from time to time (pun intended...)

The Official U.S. Time | NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology - Time and Frequency Division maintains the standard for frequency and time interval for the United States, provides official time to the United States, and carries out a broad program of research and service activities in time and frequency...

www.time.gov

Got my watch synced up to here this morning. Will see what I learn. I suspect it runs a bit slow, which to me is the worst possible option.

 

[captp]

Update on the Ball Fireman.
I reset it Friday. Today, 5 days later, it has gained 5 seconds, which is 1 second per day.
Over the last few weeks, it has varied from about 1 to just over 3 seconds per day.
For a movement that is neither claimed to be nor certified as a Chronometer, that is, IMO, phenomenal.
Ball must be doing something right.

 

[captp]

I don't have any instrumentation, but looking at time.gov a week after I set it, my Orient Kamasu has gained 1 minute 45 seconds.

I prefer fast to slow.

If my math is still working right, that's about 14 seconds a day, which, for me, is tolerable. My Seiko 5 is around 18 seconds/day; more than I like, but it was a fairly inexpensive, so that's JUST tolerable.

 

[coolcanuc]

Can't say that I've tried to measure it accurately, but my Orient Bambino, FAC08004D0, Version 4 seems to be very accurate. Since receiving it from the vendor it appears to be running +/- maybe 2 to 5 seconds per day. There was a period when it was running much faster due to becoming magnetized, that has since work off and it is back to normal service. I find that storing the watch in it's box with 12 o'clock in the top position helps keep the accuracy over night.

 

[Rhody]

I tend not to measure one more thing I don’t want to stress about but I notice when it’s too off. I do have a mechanical that hit magnetized and it’s all screwed up. I tried a diy demag and actually made it worse. Need a professional now lol.

 

[ByMyBeard]

So, I failed to check multiple days in a row. BUT, I just checked after a bit more than a week. It appears that over that time, my Pro Diver LOST 7 minutes and 54 seconds. This seems extreme...though likely not worth the effort to have it adjusted. I'll try to track over a shorter period to see what impact that has.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

So, I failed to check multiple days in a row. BUT, I just checked after a bit more than a week. It appears that over that time, my Pro Diver LOST 7 minutes and 54 seconds.

Have you been wearing it the whole time?

I'm finding that most of my automatic watches run different "on the wrist" compared to sitting on my desk. Either way, almost eight minutes seems like a lot. The Pro Diver uses the Seiko NH-35 movement, doesn't it? That's what drives my Deep Blue Diver 40 and it's only losing about 4-5 seconds a day.

You say it's not worth the effort to have it adjusted...Not worth the effort or the cost? I think with an Invicta, I might try to adjust it myself. There are a number of youtube videos showing how.

 

[ByMyBeard]

Have you been wearing it the whole time?

I'm finding that most of my automatic watches run different "on the wrist" compared to sitting on my desk. Either way, almost eight minutes seems like a lot. The Pro Diver uses the Seiko NH-35 movement, doesn't it? That's what drives my Deep Blue Diver 40 and it's only losing about 4-5 seconds a day.

You say it's not worth the effort to have it adjusted...Not worth the effort or the cost? I think with an Invicta, I might try to adjust it myself. There are a number of youtube videos showing how.

I wore it for 6 of the 7 days. It is the NH-35. I was thinking cost, as I wasn't sure I'd be able to do this myself. Perhaps I'll look for a youtube video to see what's involved. It is quite a bit. If I don't need any additional tools, I may give it a shot.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

If I don't need any additional tools, I may give it a shot.

Maybe you'll make it 8 minutes fast, which if I had a choice, I'd prefer...gaining time rather than losing it.

 

[captp]

12 days after setting the Nightbreaker, it is 1 seconds fast. It has never been more than 5 seconds fast (not per day; over the 12 days)
At the rate it varies plus/minus (+4 to -3 seconds/day), I might never need to set it again unless I let it stop.
I think I'll keep it.

 

[garyg]

The GMTII that spends most of its time these days on the winder, runs +16-18 seconds a week checked with an atomic clock. The Panerai as noted doesn't have markers & to boot is hand wound so who knows? My Hand wound Speedmaster adds about a half minute in a day. The various Scuba Doods run + 3 to 10 seconds a day (all were adjusted by trial and error at home). Seiko Orange Monster is probably the worst one, going close to a minute fast a day, no matter the position

Me I'll open a 50 buck Russian to make it run in a heartbeat. But, the Seiko is no longer in production, one of my favorites, and I cant find anyone to service it. If it ever stops I'm fubar, but now I just make allowances when it is worn

My old Accutrons on the other hand .. still beat a minute a month. The youngest is from 1974 iirc

 

[FoolishMortal]

I don't have any instrumentation, but looking at time.gov a week after I set it, my Orient Kamasu has gained 1 minute 45 seconds.

I prefer fast to slow.

+15s per day. That's not terrible... not like my Invicta! It can gain minutes, but I've recently learned about "self-regulating" - resting the watch in a specific position overnight. It seems to be helping.