WatchTech

Dear All, I hope this Thursday have treated you all well, or is currently treating you well! Recently, on a topic which has surfaced up with much debate on the HOME forum, with regards to the launch of a latest timepiece which claims to be the most accura...  

And I hope it is not important for Patek owners too... I use the second hand as a working indicator... and not to accurately set the time. Fx

Dear Xavier, May i ask why do you hope it's not important for Patek owners too? I would have loved Patek more as a brand if they had more hacking watches. Look forward to hear your insights. Stephen

Honestly, I prefer movements that hack because I like to be able to set the watch to the exact time, but it's not a big deal to me either way. I see why many brands do not employ a hacking second watch. The stopping of the balance wheel can stop it at any... 

Hey, I appreciate this very much! Tschuss Stephen

... because it is easier how accurate those watches are - indicator of the timing of servicing. But, I do have those which I can do similar things by pulling the crown and unwinding the minute hand, and it is totally okay. Further, I have some vintage wat... 

Hi Ken, While often you and a few others have told me that it's perfectly fine to hack a watch by the reverse method, but on the other hand other sources which i have read and talked to says it isnt fine. I prefer to stick with the latter as the reverse c... 

.. but at least a few watchmakers told me it is okay.... But I know that there are other opinions, too. What do you think, Professor Don? Ken

... considering the stopping of the movement by means of a slight reverse pressure on the crown to be of potential danger for the movement, due to its effect on lubrication. Neither of them, though, was able to back his statement with a really profound ex... 

Hey Marcus, Would you be saying then that the reverse pressure does not work and is not recommended? Please enlighten! Stephen

... on all my El Primero movements it was the only way to exactly set the watch to a time signal - well, more or less exactly, since the restarting sometimes needed a slight twist on the crown in the right directions, sometimes causing the minute hand to ... 

Dear Marcus, Thanks for the clarification! I guess then we just have to wait till someone more knowledgable with an absolute verdict that can be backed up to chime into this thread! It gets interesting! Tschuss Stephen

... as there are too many factors involved, with partially contradicting influences, so all we can achieve is a compromise. In my opinion, John summed it up perfectly a few posts below. Regards, Marcus

...Hacking has nothing to do with the accuracy of a watch, only how you perceive that accuracy. Therefore, a matter of personal preference.

Hey Ben, For me it just allows me to be able to judge and read out the rate accuracy with ease. And with the "right" way, in the sense of my ruler/racing analogy. G'day Stephen

It was part of the whole statement re: the way you perceive/judge/measure the accuracy. And to me, it's purely a preference thing. I myself lean towards the hacking side, but not very heavily at all. [A semi-related question: how long do you wear the one ... 

Dear Ben, I see, well at least you do "lean" towards it! I often wear my watches only one day at a time, but on the occasion when i do wear a timepiece for consecutive days, say its a new watch and i want to test the rate accuracy, i do adjust for the dri... 

Just like you would not integrate a fuel-saving start-stop automatic into a highly sohpisticated racing engine, every stopping and restarting of a chronometer's balance might affect the performance. However, it remains to be clarified how large this effec... 

Maybe I should rephrase that to "long term accuracy".

I see it like this... If you stop the balance it will take some time for the balance to start its periodic oscillation again. How long this will take will depend on, among other things, the position in which the balance has been stopped. In any case the o... 

Such as the SpheroTourbillon from JLC and the RL ReferenzUhr from Lange. These 2 allows you to uncouple the seconds hand from the moving geartrain, zero reset them, and restart them when you release the pushpiece. But after handling them and understanding... 

Hacking allows one to set the time very precisely. It is not necessary to check accuracy, however, as on a non-hacking watch one can just synchronize the minute hand with the second hand and make a note of how far ahead or behind the watch is, following w... 

Thanks for writing some points down! Stephen

Hello Stephen, Virtually every watch can be hacked by placing a little reverse pressure on the crown when setting the time ("reverse pressure" simply meaning turning the crown gently in the direction that moves the hands backwards) even if a stop lever (h... 

I am alos thankful for your comment regarding the cannon pinion. Can a (too) loose cannon pinion cause other problems as well? Apparently, my watch's inability to stop the balance by reverse crown movement is due to that problem. Regards, Marcus

Hello Marcus, Your watch has such a complicated calendar mechanism that it would not surprise me to learn that it exhibits this behavior by design. Perhaps it doesn't employ a traditional cannon pinion at all or else it is kept loose to minimize the risk ... 

... I will ask the UN service department and shine with the knowledge borrowed from you :). Regards, Marcus

Dear John, Thank you very much for your wonderful insights as usual! Learnt alot from just what you wrote! Tschuss Stephen

when I forget which direction to turn the crown on occassion but I never do it on purpose

Thanks, John, for the sound and sane reply. Just don't try it with a Journe - comes a warning from the manufacture! I respected that bit of caution while resetting to Winter Time with some (lustful) fidgetting for the date correction - but always forwards... 

...so of course you're better off following the manufacturer's instructions. That said, if FPJ says this for all their models then I think they're just being overly cautious. YMMV. _john

but not the overall deciding factor in my decision to purchase a watch or not. Cheers, GG

Nice topic Stephen, I was delighted reading all the answers. First, I was going to say things that were already mentionned: when you stop the balance wheeel, it takes time to reach again its natural frequency and, hence, the watch its accuracy. Thus there... 

Dear Mark, I hope you read this on a beautiful Friday morning in France! I appreciate you chiming in with your thoughts and views on this subject. So far down the line i have come to the conclusion that while it seems that most folks dont mind not having ... 

Longines is good, especially the ladies watch. Appreciate it.

You may not have to have a return to zero complication, alhtough I really like that, but when setting for accuracy and timing it is a must, at least for me. Does it really hurt the overall functionality of the watch? I have not seen it, although I dont ha...