Glashütte Original

patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Hi Martin...

My understanding, which may not be perfect... Is that when you wind a normal watch, you're interrupting the flow of torque to the rest of the movement. This inconsistency in torque does cause a slight inaccuracy. This is usually not a big issue since we only wind the watch for 10-20 seconds a day. And the movement does recover within a few minutes. So the small probable that exists is very minor. Possibly trivial.
I don't have any other information - except - viewing it from a mechanical engineering perspective (I'm not a professional mechanical engineer but I am somewhat familiar with some of the basics) that's what I see as a major benefit of the planetary gear system - allowing you to wind the watch and not affect the torque output. I agree, this seems to be a very small and trivial benefit. The marketing material from Glashutte Original isn't great at explaining all of the concepts, and I couldn't find one that specifically mentioned the benefit of the feature - they seem to list "planetary gear" as a feature without a real explanation to its actual benefits.
I've reread all the material I could find on it - including many of your posts on WatchProSite about the planetary gears.
Your statement regarding the planetary gear system is used for the power reserve display is a real possibility and is also cited in an SJX article. And it's also possible that we are both correct that the planetary gear system does have the torque consistency benefit I mention as well as being a part of the power reserve feature you mentioned. Next time I see the G.O. USA brand leader, I'll ask him more in detail. I've definitely mentioned my perceived benefit of the system to another collector in his presence recently. He didn't correct me, so I'm probably not completely wrong.