Quartz Watches

A quartz watch is running 24 Hours a day, seven days a week even if it’s put in a drawer and not worn for months.

 

Remember: Forgetting about a watch can allow a dead battery to leak and damage the movement	battery that has leaked and corroded.

While there is little friction on the moving parts the almost microscopic amounts of oil will eventually dry up causing the watch to slow, stop or drain the batteries too fast. Exactly how long before this happens is difficult to predict. Often it is between 5 to 10 years.

Many watches have been know to go 15 or 20 years without cleaning – Amazing considering very little else in our daily life runs continuously, is so dependable, and so relied upon.

While this means low maintenance there is something else to consider in the care for your watch.

Gaskets for a water-resistant watch.

Little "seals" or gaskets are all that keep dirt and water from entering and they don't last forever dirt, heat, perspiration, lotions, soaps and many other things effect how long the gaskets will last. Check with the manufacturer on their recommendations. Usually they should be checked at each battery change and replaced every five years or so. Like the movement you may to well beyond the recommended time frame without a problem but then suddenly have a major failure when the gaskets fail the repair can be costly. It’s up to you the customer to decide how much you care about your watch and whether to follow the recommended maintenance procedures.

 

Mechanical Watches

Mechanical watches have many moving parts. Most Of these parts have constant friction-24 hours a day, Seven days a week. For proper time keeping the gear Train must consistently turn at exactly the right speed Day after day.

Gear Train

For further explaination of how it accomplishes this, see How it Works.

The main reason for servicing the movement is to reduce friction. The movement has been designed to minimize friction as much as possible, but as the oil dries up friction increases and as friction increases the parts begin to wear out. The longer you wait between services the more wear there will be.

pivot after 7 years of wear.

pivot on brand new wheel.

 

This small amount of wear can be enough to cause a bind in the gear train and throw the time keeping off by several seconds a day and over a few weeks you would notice the problem.

A balance wheel

Remember some of these pivots are smaller than a human hair and will carry the wheels hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of miles between recommended service intervals. In an average watch, any point on a balance wheel will travel 15-20 miles a day.

Old organic oils used to “gum up” forcing the customers to service the watch every couple of years, which this minimized wear. Because of this, watches could last for years without needing much in the way of replacement parts. They were regularly serviced by cleaning and re-lubricating. Today the oil and greases used are generally synthetic and do not “gum up” This is a double edged sword. It allows the wearer to go longer between services but they’re often unaware that –like a car- you should have a watch serviced before you have a problem.

Regular maintenance can save you time, money and headaches. Remember about every 5 years is a good rule to follow!