Glashütte Original

Hi guys, new to this site and actually new to high end time pieces in general and need some help.  Recently purchased a Glashutte Senator Vollkalender and I am a big fan.  I have not owned an automatic movement watch before and have some basic questions as the manual does not go into the basic technical issues (probably because these questions are so simple).

1.  The watch I have does not have a power reserve feature on the face.  I don't wear a watch on the weekend and I was told it should work for 55 hrs without wearing it, but it seems to lose time quicker than 40 hrs.  Is that common? 

Also it loses time rather than stopping completely.  I would have assumed it would just stop at the 40hrs mark rather than slowly lose time.

2.  Once the power reserve is down should you just wind up the watch until the perp motion starts up?  How many turns?  Can you damage by "over winding?"

3.  Say you are constantly adjusting the time because you are not wearing the watch enough, or are going back and forth between two watches, are there are any long term issues (in terms of wear and tear) on the dial?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Ric,

1/ the power reserve quoted would be based on the watch being at full wind when you take it off.  Depending on your level of activity, you may or may not have the watch at it's fully wound state when you take it off for the weekend.  Also, the power reserves may vary slightly from what is quoted, but usually not by a lot.  As for the watch slowing down (losing time) - when the watch gets near the end of it's reserve the timekeeping can become erratic.  It varies from one watch to another but many actually gain due to loss of balance amplitude.  You don;t say how much time the watch loses, so I can't say if this is indicative of a problem or not.

2/ Personlly when one of my autos has stopped, I give a decent number of winds manually using the crown - say 40 turns before putting it on my wrist.  You can't damage the watch (i.e. break the main spring) by overwinding since the design does not allow for this to happen, although there would be some wear (but not enough to worry about IMO).

3/ I can't see there being any issue with wear and tear on the dial.  Certainly adjusting the time and winding requires the use of the crown and keyless works, but provided that everything is properly lubricated this should not be an issue.

Hopes this helps.

Cheers, Al

. . . and my respects for choosing not only a G O, but a rather uncommon G O to start your collection; I've never seen a picture of one posted on our forum other than the introductory post by Marcus, and I don't recall any other posts about the Vollkalendar, either. While I don't own any cal 100 equipped G O's, I've never had one that suffered a significant shortage of specified power reserve; indeed, my latest G O precisely conforms to the published spec. Since the cal 100 is specified as having a 55 hour power reserve +/- 10%, I would send the watch back in for inspection just to make sure there isn't a technical problem that's causing a loss of power reserve. It's even more imperative to send it back to G Oif you're noticing a significant deterioration in rate over a long stretch of time towards the end of the power reserve.

It's almost impossible to damage an automatic by overwinding . . . generally, five or six turns of the crown are all it takes to get the movement started, and several more turns will suffice to build up the power reserve to the point where your normal wrist action will take over. In the long run, any form of adjustment will add wear and tear to a watch, but continually re-setting a watch isn't likely to cause problems within the normal service period. Dials do fade over time, but usually due to the effects of light and moisture, and can be replaced if necessary without having to concurrently service the movement. You'll probably go thru three cars before you notice any significant deterioration in the dial, Ric ;-) . . . cordially, Art

PS - can we have a picture or two?

thanks Dr No and Al. very good posts, exactly the type of info i was looking for.

apologies i dont have a digital camera these days. but you can go to www.glashuette-original.com . and then under collection, then senator, then stainless steel. thats the one i purchased.  to be honest i was not familiar with GO and had gone into the store to buy a J-LeCoultre, then I saw this one and was hooked!

. . . don't let Nicolas (our esteemed JLC moderator) know our little secret . . . appreciatively, Art

LOL

I'ml badly waiting for my special Senator Navigator...Looks like I have to wait 2 or 3 more weeks before delivering...Or should I say...Delivrance? LOL

My AD just called to to confirm that my watch is OK, I'll get it, but I still have to wait...

Bouhouhou...

Best.

Nicolas...

PS: What is this litle secret you talk about???

 

. . . understood the mysteries of youthful passion . . . our friend Ric went looking for Miss JLC, but wound up with Miss GO! That's all there is to our 'little secret' . . . most cordially, Art