Is it safe to leave a watch hacked?

[QinetiQ 0]

:yoda:

[greg_r 83]

Q - I start to worry when a thread stays on track... it's not usually a good sign around here :yoda:

 

[QinetiQ 0]

Haha. I'm starting to like this place already........emmmmmm......I mean GO BACK TO TOPIC!!! Is it ok to leave a watch hacked?!

[greg_r 83]

I think you're always going to get contradictory answers to that one, but for what it's worth I frequently leave my auto watches hacked for a day or two and have never yet had a problem (I'm not talking about reps particularly - I'm thinking of 30+ years of auto watch ownership).

 

I only do it when I'm planning to wear the watch a day or two later, though - if I'm going to leave it more than a few days before I wear it again I'll generally let it run all the way down.

[Brightlight 0]

Haha. I'm starting to like this place already........emmmmmm......I mean GO BACK TO TOPIC!!! Is it ok to leave a watch hacked?!

 

 

Let me sum up the answers so far -

 

1. It is definitely OK to leave a watch hacked

2. It is definitely not OK to leave a watch hacked

 

Sorry but I don't think you'll get better than that. Now sit back and just enjoy the legendary wit of General JoeyB, never knowingly funny.

 

See what I did there? On then off...............

[JoeyB 0]

Q - I start to worry when a thread stays on track... it's not usually a good sign around here B)

 

See? Nothing to worry about at all! You gotta keep an eye on those midget tag-team wrestlers... B)

[AllergyDoc 40]

After doing a little research, it seems to me that an unserviced A7750 is the movement most prone to damage from things like manual winding and being left hacked with a full power reserve. You might want to be a little more careful with watches powered by the A7750. I don't think such care needs to be taken with the ETA or A21j movements, though. Especially the A21j because they can be replaced for less than lunch with your wife or gf (but not both B)).

 

Ziggy's warning against manual winding of an automatic watch was for a A7750, not an ETA or A21j. He also says frequent adjusting of time wears out a canon gear, especially on an unserviced A7750.

 

So if you don't have a winder that will keep all your watches wound, what are you to do? Ya gotta do something!

 

I manually wind all my watches except the two on the only winder I have left that still works. I wind them slowly and only until they start running. Then I set the time, then the date. (On a 7750 watch I set the time to 6:00, then the date, then the correct time.)

 

The only other alternative is to wind them a little every day to keep them going. Which is manual winding, which you're "not supposed to do". B) This kind of doublespeak is why I'm really starting to appreciate manual winding movements.

[robbnj 0]

Haha. I'm starting to like this place already........emmmmmm......I mean GO BACK TO TOPIC!!! Is it ok to leave a watch hacked?!

 

 

Let me sum up the answers so far -

 

1. It is definitely OK to leave a watch hacked

2. It is definitely not OK to leave a watch hacked

 

Sorry but I don't think you'll get better than that. Now sit back and just enjoy the legendary wit of General JoeyB, never knowingly funny.

 

See what I did there? On then off...............

 

Wound & hacked is NOT good for the mainspring.

Not running is NOT good for the oil.

Running, even with the crown unscrewed is good (unless you store it inside your Dyson's canister).

 

Spend the $60 and buy a 4-winder storage box.

[AllergyDoc 40]

A $60 winder won't last more than a year or will sound like factory in your room.

 

And I don't think not running is bad for the oil.

[RolexAddict 1]

Some watches movements with a date fonction like the old Rolex didn't have the fast date change complications and reverse possibility for this. This means, for exemple, an old Rolex GMT 1675, or Datejust, stopped on the first of may, and you want to wear today, may 21, you need to turn 20 times a complete 24 hours.

And this is no good for the movement ? to much cannon pinion hours and minutes gears friction ?

 

On a A7750 with date, there is a fast date change, you will never have to turn more than 12 h the hands to set the time,

Also about serviced or non serviced A7750, what is the difference ? the A7750 21j with the sec. at 9 works very well. Serviced or not serviced.

If Chinese would adapt a gear plate with the sec. at 6 on this movement it would run like hell. The problem of the sec.at 6 movement doesn't come from gears train, and graphite is just...

The original Swiss Valjoux/ETA 7750 is also a 21j. The improved Chinese 29j is just a Chinese invention. They wanted to make it run 28.800bph to copy the Rolex movement sweeping apparence, but the escape wheel and the balance bad design and computation make this movement is non-reliable. Thats why the movement stops and die randomly. There is also a problem with the main spring.

 

This idea of the hacked watch with a good power reserve is an excellent idea,

The main spring of a movement works exactly like a pistol magazine spring. Compressed or not compressed, no effect, the steel used for springs is non memory steel.

If affraid of ruining the pinions by turning the hands via the crown, I think the best would be to hack the watch in the morning for exemple. So if the watch is worn one week later in the morning, its just the date who has to be changed and the time would be set turning hands a minimum

 

just a suggestion

[Brightlight 0]

However you look at it, a hacked watch has the power train held under tension in one position. I doubt this stress would affect a Swiss movement but I would be wary of treating a Chinese movement like that.

[Baldrick 1]

I aim to please!

 

And always miss

 

 

To the OP, everybody here knows best and will always give their opinion, right or wrong, the simple truth is, modern oils won't dry out over short periods of time, mainsprings won't buckle and burst either, the downside may and I emphasise may, be that the spring loses some tension reducing efficiency, so leave them hacked or unhacked, it'll make very little difference, they're cheap Chinese fakes anyway.

 

If you're gonna store 'em for a while, use some silica gel pods to keep moisture at bay, however, one last point.

 

I know we live in an age of instand demand / gratification, is it so bloody difficult to set your watch when you pick it up to wear it. that's what gentlemen did all the time, or is it a case of just being too lazy to bother your arse

[RolexAddict 1]

one more coat (I have time today)

 

However you look at it, a hacked watch has the power train held under tension in one position. I doubt this stress would affect a Swiss movement but I would be wary of treating a Chinese movement like that.

 

difficult to say : may be yes, may be not... I would say, the stress or contraints are physic and mechanic, not affected by the citizenship of the movement. All power trains on classic movements have a similar design.

Or Chinese parts effectively could be affected by inferior quality of material used like metal

About Swiss :

Swiss is not alway the best, the Swiss 7750 is as shitty (professional watchsmithes agree) as the Chinese copy. 500us$ for the Swiss, 50-70 us$ for the Chinese copy.

[Brightlight 0]

one more coat (I have time today)

 

However you look at it, a hacked watch has the power train held under tension in one position. I doubt this stress would affect a Swiss movement but I would be wary of treating a Chinese movement like that.

 

difficult to say : may be yes, may be not... I would say, the stress or contraints are physic and mechanic, not affected by the citizenship of the movement. All power trains on classic movements have a similar design.

Or Chinese parts effectively could be affected by inferior quality of material used like metal

About Swiss :

Swiss is not alway the best, the Swiss 7750 is as shitty (professional watchsmithes agree) as the Chinese copy. 500us$ for the Swiss, 50-70 us$ for the Chinese copy.

 

I think it is accepted that chinese parts are less well made (Ziggy over on t'other RWG has enough posts confirming this), put inferior parts under stress and they are more likely to break. I think Ziggy would probably disagree with you over the relative merits of Chinese and Swiss 7750's too based on his comparisons.

[RolexAddict 1]

I think it is accepted that chinese parts are less well made (Ziggy over on t'other RWG has enough posts confirming this), put inferior parts under stress and they are more likely to break. I think Ziggy would probably disagree with you over the relative merits of Chinese and Swiss 7750's too based on his comparisons.

 

The entire World Of Reps can disagree with me just kidding,

I talk around me with watchsmithes, I mean, not people in the dark of internet, I mean professional men with a shop, no virtual, so I stay moderate on the side concerning affirmations about Swiss/Chinese mess and all affirmations concerning the A7750.

[speedzmaster 0]

As long as your watch is behind a firewall, then its safe from hacking.

[Tressles61 0]

Well the title says it pretty much all. I have a bunch of watches and I'm yet to buy a winder. Until then I was thinking about leaving my watches hacked until I decide to wear them. I don't feel like winding them every day or two manually so I rather wind them once and hack them. Then next time when I want to wear the watch I just set the time and push the crown back in. Is that a good idea?

 

 

I think if you leave your watch hacked it's too much of a security risk.

 

As long as your watch is behind a firewall, then its safe from hacking.

 

 

That's what I meant to say...

[robbnj 0]

A $60 winder won't last more than a year or will sound like factory in your room.

 

And I don't think not running is bad for the oil.

 

 

Info. from a small mfgr. of mechanical watches:

 

"Regular wear and use of your Ro*ex will keep the watch in perfect running condition. By doing so, you can maintain the viscosity of the lubricants in the movement. If not used on a regular basis, these lubricants may harden, causing friction within the movement. Eventually, this friction may damage the functioning of the movement. If you do not wear your Ro*ex regularly, make sure to wind it at least once a week. This will keep the watch gears moving, thus preventing the lubricants from hardening and maintaining accurate timekeeping."

 

I may be the exception rather than the rule, but my 4-watch winder has been running for 2 years with no problem. If it gets noisy, I'm sure I can quiet it down pretty quickly (or just turn it into a display box and buy a new one as an excuse to buy more watches).