We all have questions about our wrist-watches, and this guide is looking to help answer some of them. Certain sides of timepiece upkeep cause much discussion between watch buffs. Many of us accept the saying, “don’t fix it if it is’s not broken.”
To help in keeping your watch running for the years yet to come, here are some things you’ll have to know.
Adjusting Different Band Types…
Having bought your new or used watch you find the band needs adjusting:
In the case of band, there’s often some adjustment available in the clasp itself, through the employment of a spring loaded pin which locks into holes in the clasp. Usually no problem to attempt this adjustment employing a tool thin enough to press the pin from the outside and so release it. Careful! These tiny pins can do a trapeze act and fly to the other side of the room, customarily never to be found again. Before attempting this adjustment, ensure that the watch is on a fabric in order not to itch the case or dent the crown.
Straps customarily have multiple holes so finding a snug position is mostly straightforward. If not you can always make a new hole using a button hole sewing tool.
Hang on, the band wishes links removing.
Some bracelets use screws to glue links to each other, while others use push pins. It’s best to leave this to a watchmaker, if you do not have the tools to do this,eg bracelet pin removal tool and watchmakers’ screwdrivers. In the case of screws and if you have the correct screwdriver then make sure that the bracelet is held extraordinarily resolutely before trying to unscrew the screw ; again there are consultant bracelet holders for this. That said, you can avoid damaging the screw slot by making sure the screwdriver is of the proper size and thickness.
Push pins, well firstly there are generally tiny arrows on the underside of the links indicating which way the pin should be pushed out - clear perhaps but worth discussing; some pins are of the split type pure and simple, these are typically found on lower-mid range watches. Again, if you can secure the band and have an instrument that may fit the pin hole right, you can do it yourself. It’s enough to get rid of the split pin type with a light tap of the tool. Extraordinarily fastidiously, the links are inserted and the pins replaced from the opposite end. It’s better to seek a professional watchmaker if you are not cushty doing this.
You’ll have more problems with solid-type pins because these have special collars which should be in the right place on the band. Solid pins are often an extremely tight fit and without the specialist tools I would personally recommend that you take the watch to a watchmaker for this. Better to be safe than sorry!
Your watch and the way to wind it
My watch is a manual, how do I wind it up?
Try and wind a manual wind watch at the same time each day to have more consistent timekeeping, ideally in the mornings to have ideal power during the day. Wind it slowly and consistently; you’ll feel the mainspring tighten when it is completely wound. This is a nice thing. Don’t try and force it any further as damage may be done both to the mainspring itself and to components in the escapement.
Remember this. It’s a good idea to take the watch off when winding a manual wind watch. Why? It’s possible that you may put needless tax on the winding stem if you keep the watch on. I have seen folks wind their watch by forcing a finger under the crown and then winding by a forward and back ward motion of the said finger! This isn’t a good idea.
My watch is an automatic, does it need winding?
Well, it does if it has stopped! Some less expensive automatics do not have a manual winding capability; in such cases you need to swing the watch delicately in an arc for a minute or so to get the watch running. For those with a manual wind capacity, you have to put the movement in a perfect state of wind to start with by giving the watch approximately 35 to forty gentle turns. To keep the watch wound for a bit, standard arm movement is enough. It’s alright to leave the watch off overnight without further manual winding if you’re reasonably active.
Setting your timepiece…
Date and time setting?
Normally, there are three crown positions for a watch supplied with a date feature: for date setting, pull out with one click; for time setting, pulled out with two clicks; and, naturally, in. It’s totally easy. two tips on how to try this. First, wind the hands slowly when setting the time; doing this much too fast will prematurely wear the components. In a clockwise direction, wind it gently and slowly. Unless a watch allows this in particular, don’t adjust the time backwards through midnight. Second, avoid any use of the quickset or quick date advance feature between 8:00 PM and 4:00 AM as you might seriously damage the date mechanism. If the watch stops, make sure you are sell into the safe zone before you set the date and that you set the time once through midnight.
