GMT hand keeps stopping? Easy fix or major concern?

[Arism 26]

Hey guys,

 

My daily beater, a GMTiic from the late and great Robert has developed a problem where the GMT hand will occasionally stop and creates one of two outcomes;

 

1) The GMT hand will stop and so will the hour and minute hands. Seconds keep ticking away.(Majority of the time)

2) The GMT hand will stop but the hour, minute and second hands keep going unhindered.(Pretty rarely of late)

 

I've noticed that the GMT hand will sometimes lose sync with the hour hand before stopping.

Sometimes pulling out the crown to the second position(GMT and Date set position) "corrects" the problem and puts the GMT hand back in sync with the hour hand. Other times, I need to completely reset the GMT hand in relation to local time.

 

The hands aren't hitting the hour markers and I don't think the hands are impeding the rotation of the others as they go around the dial. Everything works as it should when setting the time(Hour and GMT keep in sync), it's just when the watch is running with the crown screwed in or in the winding position.

 

So my question to all you watch gurus out there; is this a simple problem to fix?

I suspect it's canon pinion(from what I've read, might need tightening?) related but I'm not too sure.

Or is it a more serious problem which would require a service of the movement or even worse; replacement of the movement?

 

My GMTiic on Gunny Nato; seen better days.

 

Let me know what you guys think and what can be done to remedy this problem.

Thanks to everyone in advance!

-Arism-

[baxter 6]

Can't really help mate as i'm not even remotely competent but i can tell you that you're not on your own - i have the same watch ( with swiss mov't ) and the gmt hand has got a mind of its fucking own, every time i set it within a few hours it's all wrong again - the watch keeps perfect time though ( i've got my fingers crossed here as it's one of my favourites)

[conx 0]

A slipping 24 hour hand is a known problem with some 2836 based gmt watches. This is why 21j based models are often recommended over them as they tend to be rock solid. Robert always used to say 21j was the best option for trouble free gmt watches.

 

I have a lot of gmt watches as I travel a lot and all are 21j based for this very reason.

 

I'm not sure what the fix is, so I will defer to the more technically minded for that.

[dkj1956 0]

I've been running into this same problem with the 24 hr hand on my GMTiic slowing down and evenutally stopping..

My watch runs slightly fast, and when I pull the stem to either reset the time or let the actual time catch up to the time on my watch, I wondered if something wasn't catching when I screwed back the crown. The problem is erratic, and it has not recurred for a little while... but it's good to know that the problem is somewhat common. I have an Alpha GMT - about two years old now - and never had any issue with the 24hr hand. Must be something to the claim about the lowly 21j movement. Thanks - good to know.

[conx 0]

Thinking about it, I seem to remember it is something to do with the extra gears added to drive the 24hr hand not engaging correctly. Somewhere on one of the boards (not sure which one) there is a thread that tells you how to get the gears re-engaged - easily by moving the hands thru 24 hours I think. Might be worth some searching to see if you can find it somewhere.

[conx 0]

Found this in a post on repgeek.... Might help

 

Is this the 21j or the Asian clone ETA? I don't know if this will work on the 21j but it does on the ETA. This is a really easy fix to get it back working again. It's not permanent but it will work for a while. Adjust the GMT hand to where you want it, relative to your hour hand. Then set your time and scroll through a day or so. Just turn the crown and advance the time for 24 hours. It will get the gears back in synch and you should see the GMT hand working perfectly while you scroll through your time. It should work for a while. Whenever mine would slip out of synch that little trick would get it back working again.

 

I read it here in another thread 3 years ago when this watch was brand new and the cat's meow. Good luck!

[dkj1956 0]

Thanks Arism for raising the topic and to you Conx for tracking a solution. I'll give it a try!

:canuck:

[Arism 26]

Cheers Conx, I too read that a while back but couldn't for the life of me find it again. Seems to have worked for now, though as you said, not a permanent fix. Any technically gifted minds out there with a more permanent solution?

[conx 0]

Glad to help. Hope you get a long lasting fix. Let us know if you do because I would definately prefer a reliable hi-beat gmt.

[<RJ> 0]

My pro hunter gmt II... also crapped out on me, Only in the beginning though, The first weeks, Very strange. Completely stopped even with good power reserve left. Movement is 21j.

In this case all hands got stuck in one position and got running again when adjusting again. Very strange indeed.

 

This gmt hand complication must be a little pita for these movements that usually are very reliable

[Arism 26]

Bumped for more answers/options.

 

The problem has started happening again, so I've decided to send it to my watch guy to have a look at it. Hopefully he'll be able to improve the reliability. Will post the results here, hopefully it'll be a more permanent fix for those wanting to make their hi-beat GMT more reliable.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Arism

[Balad1 0]

Cheers Conx, I too read that a while back but couldn't for the life of me find it again. Seems to have worked for now, though as you said, not a permanent fix. Any technically gifted minds out there with a more permanent solution?

 

PM CLS, he's the man.

[Dendo 93]

Two scenarios

 

1) Gears slipping - sounds like turning it through 24 hours will get it back on track for at least a few days.

 

2) Hands slipping - you may need to take the hands off and refix them to the canon pinion.

 

Some of the problems Arism talks about sound like scenario 2. Others may be having scenario 1.

 

Of course you could be unlucky and the two scenarios could be coincident.

 

I am no expert but hands slipping is a common problem I have had to fix often enough.

[djn1 0]

i have had similar problems with my Omega Seamaster 300 SMP GMT. Within one week of receiving the watch the GMT hand stopped working properly. I also had an issue where the watch was not automatically winding so I sent it back to the TD. 4 weeks later I received the watch with a new movement and the problem reoccurred within a week or so. But this time it got even worse and I the entire movement is messed up. I am sending back to have the movement and dial swapped for the non-GMT version. Not a great first experience with a rep, but I didn't do enough GMT research ahead of time :-(

[Balad1 0]

i have had similar problems with my Omega Seamaster 300 SMP GMT. Within one week of receiving the watch the GMT hand stopped working properly. I also had an issue where the watch was not automatically winding so I sent it back to the TD. 4 weeks later I received the watch with a new movement and the problem reoccurred within a week or so. But this time it got even worse and I the entire movement is messed up. I am sending back to have the movement and dial swapped for the non-GMT version. Not a great first experience with a rep, but I didn't do enough GMT research ahead of time :-(

 

Sounds like the 9 year old Chinese repair technician didn't do proper testing and QC.

[King 0]

I've had the same problem with my GMT in the past (Asian eta). Now I set the GMT hand first, then the time, then i engage the date and turn it until it almost clicks over, but not quite. I've had no problems with my GMT Hand since I started setting it this way. Good luck -- these watches are well documented PITAs.

[powderfreak 0]

I've had the same problem with my GMT in the past (Asian eta). Now I set the GMT hand first, then the time, then i engage the date and turn it until it almost clicks over, but not quite. I've had no problems with my GMT Hand since I started setting it this way. Good luck -- these watches are well documented PITAs.

Thats exactly how I do (and have described a few times). So far the GMT has always been running fine as long as I follow "protocol".

[DFH 0]

I've had the same problem with my GMT in the past (Asian eta). Now I set the GMT hand first, then the time, then i engage the date and turn it until it almost clicks over, but not quite. I've had no problems with my GMT Hand since I started setting it this way. Good luck -- these watches are well documented PITAs.

You are correct sir!!!

This is the way...

[Distinct 0]

My GMT hand just started slipping on my Asian ETA clone. Too bad, the watch had been relatively good for a while (if you don't count that it came DOA and the hour hand was jumping and settling into the wrong hour spots when setting). I guess now it finally has died. I tried the suggestion above but I'll try again tonight.

 

If it still doesn't work, then it's DSSD time!

[onionbag 1]

I got fed up with my slightly out of synch GMT hand............sold it today to a work colleague........so a new watch beckons and same as you Distinct, I think I'll get a DSSD.