Random Thought Thread

Mark wears a sea dweller right? Most watchmakers can do it I think. Going to an authorized dealer/servicer is gonna be 2x-3x his cost vs going to an independent watchmaker. But he'll get service papers. And it'll come back polished, by Rolex, and it'll be good. I'd suggest calling a local watchmaker and ask "assuming this is just a cleaning/overhaul with no parts required and no polish (do not polish the watch) how much do you charge," and if it's anything 400 and below it's fine. If it's more than that I'd just go to Rolex and make it perfect like new.
 
Sending a mechanical watch back to the factory is a safe move under normal circumstances. All of my watches are mechanical or "self winding"
I sent a 25 year old Seiko to a "Factory authorized service center " about a year ago for cleaning and service and $200 later it won't stay running for more than a day or so. It kept great time and would still be running after sitting in my safe for 48 hours before the service.
I sent an Omega Seamaster back to the factory for a service and it runs like a Swiss watch and keeps great time. Go figure.
 
Big DJ said:
Sending a mechanical watch back to the factory is a safe move under normal circumstances. All of my watches are mechanical or "self winding"
I sent a 25 year old Seiko to a "Factory authorized service center " about a year ago for cleaning and service and $200 later it won't stay running for more than a day or so. It kept great time and would still be running after sitting in my safe for 48 hours before the service.
I sent an Omega Seamaster back to the factory for a service and it runs like a Swiss watch and keeps great time. Go figure.
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Always a good idea to look up reviews for the shops/service centers these days. As mentioned, they're not all equal.
 
fonedork said:
My office suite was crawling with cops this morning, someone broke in over the weekend.
It looks like they checked one of my desk drawers, cause the handle was broken off. But nothing was missing, I'm guessing they got disturbed by the contents of that first drawer, and didn't bother going through the rest of my stuff.
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Maybe it was Santa... Took one look and then didn't even bother leaving you any prezies! #intervensiontime
 
bluemax_1 said:
A) not all places have people with equal skill when it comes to servicing/repairing watches.

B) mechanical watches have adjustments to compensate for gaining/losing time. Some timepieces have better regulation than others, and it's possible to see this in effect by keeping the watch properly wound, then leaving it for 24 hrs bezel up, bezel down, crown up, crown down, and noting the variance in timekeeping vs position (i.e. some watches will stay within +/- 2 seconds per day no matter what position they're left in for 24 hours. Others will gain X to XX seconds in one position, and lose X to XX seconds in another position).

Different people can also potentially affect the watches timekeeping based on their personal habits/movements, so it's actually possible to adjust the watch to correct it to the specific wearer's habits (i.e. if the watch is consistently 10 seconds fast, it can usually be adjusted to compensate for that). This can be done by taking it to a watch shop, telling them that the watch is consistently X seconds fast or slow, and asking them to adjust it, or buying the specific tool to remove the back, and messing with it yourself. As long as it's fairly consistent in how much time it gains or loses, it may take more than one adjustment to get it within a range that you're satisfied with (i.e. they may over adjust and have the watch go from gaining ~10 seconds per day, to losing 3-4 seconds daily).

COSC certification standards allow for mechanicals to gain more time than lose it per 24 hours (a watch is allowed to gain up to +6 seconds per day, or lose -2 seconds per day, and still be COSC certified. The reasoning is that a 'fast' watch will make you early. A 'slow' watch would make you late).
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I wore it for a year as a daily driver before getting it CLA'd and it kept really good time in that period. It was just so sad that it maintained extremely good time pre-CLA compared to post-CLA.

At this point, I'm wearing a Grand Seiko with Spring Drive these days that's keeping time within 2s/month so I'm not very motivated to send the Longine in. Maybe when I'm done with buying CPKs... then maybe I'll have the budget then. So basically never lol
 
fatfrog said:
I wore it for a year as a daily driver before getting it CLA'd and it kept really good time in that period. It was just so sad that it maintained extremely good time pre-CLA compared to post-CLA.

At this point, I'm wearing a Grand Seiko with Spring Drive these days that's keeping time within 2s/month so I'm not very motivated to send the Longine in. Maybe when I'm done with buying CPKs... then maybe I'll have the budget then. So basically never lol
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How is your Grand Seiko? I went in their shop here in NYC once and they were beautiful!
 
Box_Opener said:
How is your Grand Seiko? I went in their shop here in NYC once and they were beautiful!
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I have the Snowflake and am beyond impressed with it. Not to knock on Rolex but my colleagues and I compared it side-by-side with their Day-Date, Explorer, Subs, Daytona, and a Tudor Pelagos and we all agreed that the the finishing/details on the Snowflake was noticeably nicer. My example also keeps time well beyond GS's spec of 15s/month (mine is keeping time @ roughly 2s/month) and the sweeping seconds hand is so nice and buttery smooth.

I don't know if I can go back to pure mechanical watches unless it's a really high beat. I have a 28,800BPH watch and it looks so choppy next to the Spring Drive.
 
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