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Self winding watches "Click" to Login or Register 
posted
I grew tired of trying to get my Automatic Omega to run after being fully unwound. Would it be harmful to leave the stem pulled out to the set position which stops the watch from ticking and storing it that way? Thanks for looking and any answers or thoughts...

 
Posts: 77 | Location: Hartford, Connecticut in the USA | Registered: August 11, 2010
IHC Life Member
Moderator
Picture of Donald Trumble
posted
Sounds like a good plan to me, that way the watch is powered up and ready to go when you next want to use it. One caution, having the stem part way out does make the watch vulnerable to dirt and moisture so I'd probably wrap it in a soft cloth unless you store it in a watch box which should protect it well.

Don
 
Posts: 504 | Location: Pennsylvania in the USA | Registered: April 02, 2005
posted
I am afraid of long term issues say for 4 months it sits that way then wear for a day or so....
 
Posts: 77 | Location: Hartford, Connecticut in the USA | Registered: August 11, 2010
IHC President
Life Member
Picture of Lindell V. Riddle
posted

Like Don, I really don't think there would be any adverse effects.

With a mechanical-automatic with a hack feature all you are doing is essentially applying the brake. If it was a quartz watch you might want to do the same thing in order to conserve the battery.

Lindell

Wink
 
Posts: 10553 | Location: Northeastern Ohio in the USA | Registered: November 19, 2002
IHC Member 1335
Picture of Tom Brunton
posted
truly a beauty watch Bill
Wink
 
Posts: 1746 | Location: Aylmer, Ontario in Canada | Registered: December 15, 2009
posted
Thank you Lindell and Tom. I would not want to do harm to my old friend. It still keeps great time.
 
Posts: 77 | Location: Hartford, Connecticut in the USA | Registered: August 11, 2010
posted
Well as luck would have it I wore the watch for a day and it seems to have stopped running. It did not stop during a day or date change either! Winding the stem does not seem to help. Can the watch be manually wound by winding the stem or must it be rocked?
 
Posts: 77 | Location: Hartford, Connecticut in the USA | Registered: August 11, 2010
IHC Life Member
Moderator
Picture of Donald Trumble
posted
Bill,

You watch must have been close to running down when you put it away. The answer is yes, you can wind it like a manual wind wristwatch, if it is run all the way down rotate the watch and observe the seconds hand moving to be sure it is functioning, wind it until you feel a slippage then put it on. Do this each time you put it away with the crown out.

If you have the box, store it it in the box and if you have the original paperwork read the manufacturers instructions.

Don
 
Posts: 504 | Location: Pennsylvania in the USA | Registered: April 02, 2005
IHC Life Member
posted
If I'm not mistaken, self winding watches like yours will not wind completely with just wearing. There is a special friction grease used in the mainspring barrel that allows the mainspring to slip unlike a fixed mainspring on a non self winder. If you wind it as far as possible before storing and hack it, it should maintain power to run. It may be that the friction grease is no longer performing as it should.

I asked this question a few years ago and Lin & Chris Abell gave a great explanation. Click here: Self Winding Watches
 
Posts: 1078 | Location: Ticonderoga, New York USA | Registered: March 01, 2008
posted
If your Omega is like my Breitling, after they stop running and you go to put it it, you are supposed to slightly pull out the crown. That allows you to wind the spring and it gets it going. It is hard to explain but it is like running fast but your feet move very slow, it is a gentle wind designed to get the spring going. This is how I get my Breitling going every time I let it run out. I had many watches like yours and this is a common feature on high end watches. It is between screwed in and the quickset date. See if yours has that feature.
 
Posts: 5101 | Location: Buffalo, New York in the USA | Registered: November 11, 2009
IHC Member 376
Watchmaker
Picture of Samie L. Smith
posted
I wear a 23 jewel auto wind bulova and did wear a 25 jewel trainmaster either watch would run 5 days or 30 days without ever winding them.. I take them off lay them on a night stand when i go too bed ,then back on in the morning and they never need winding ,,i do move around a lot and that keeps them wound just fine.

If you have a automatic wind watch that will not wind itself when wore seems too me that somethings wrong.
 
Posts: 3208 | Location: Monticello, Kentucky U.S.A. | Registered: June 24, 2004
Site Administrator
IHC Life Member
Picture of Phillip Sanchez
posted
Samie, you are moving around a lot hiding all of your money in different places. Big Grin
 
Posts: 4975 | Location: North Georgia Mountains in the U.S.A. | Registered: March 31, 2006
posted
When I wind the watch it does seem like something is slipping. I noticed it seems to feel like that everytime I wound it but now it does not start to tick. Rocking it in my hand to jump start the balance wheel does not seem to work either. My local jeweler said he could get it going so its off to him this friday I guess. I feel bad cause I don't wear it as often as I used to. The older these watches get the more afraid I become they will break and be unfixable. Just the band on an Omega can run $400 in Stainless and that is what I bought the watch for. I spent $800 for a "tune up" at Omega when the main spring broke 3 years ago. But it came back looking like brand new I admit. LoL...
 
Posts: 77 | Location: Hartford, Connecticut in the USA | Registered: August 11, 2010
posted
Hi all, my automatic Longines will not wind itself when you first put it on. Per the directions you should first manually wind the watch (30 turns of the crown). Once it is manually wound the normal movement of your wrist is enough to keep it wound enough that when you put it back on the next day after a nights sleep the watch WILL be able to fully re-wind itself. If you allow the watch to sit for more than 36 hrs you should manually wind the watch before wearing it for it to function properly.
 
Posts: 311 | Location: New Jersey in the USA | Registered: February 13, 2011
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