Frequently Asked Questions
- How often should my watch be serviced?
There are different recommended periods depending on which manufacturer you choose but on average every 2-3 years. Watches will run for many years without cleaning but thickening oil and fine particles of dust and dirt form a sludge, which causes irreparable damage.
- How can I find a reputable watch repairer?
Look in the Yellow pages under watch & clock repairs then find someone with the qualifications MBHI or FBHI. These are recognised repairers who have gained membership of the British Horological Institute (BHI) through practical examination and must follow a code of conduct set by the BHI, which gives you quality assurance.
- Can I swim wearing my watch?
If your watch is designed for swimming, then yes you can. It must be water resistant down to 50 metres, 5 atmospheres or 5 bars. This information should be displayed on the dial, case back or written instructions when the watch was purchased. Be aware that your watch needs to be tested once a year for water resistance as case seals deteriorate over a period of time. An approximate guide to whether your watch is safe under various activities is listed below:
Watch Manufacturers Recommendation
| |
Water
Resistant |
50 m
5 atm
5 bar
|
100 m
10 atm
10 bar
|
150 m
15 atm
15 bar
|
200 m
20 atm
20 bar
|
1000 m
100 atm
100 bar
|
| Accidental splashes |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
| Swimming |
NO |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
Swimming
Snorkelling
Water Sports
|
NO |
NO |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
| Scuba Diving |
NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
YES |
YES |
Professional
Deep Sea
Diving |
NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
YES |
YES |
- How do I know when I need a new battery?
Obvious signs are the watch may stop completely, intermittently or lose time dramatically. On some more expensive watches the second hand will jump 2 seconds at a time whilst maintaining the correct time. This will continue for at least 48 hours, thus giving a warning about the need for a new battery. Some digital watches have end of battery life indicators in the form of the ‘digits’ flashing on and off while maintaining the correct time.
- Can I change the battery myself?
Do not try to change it yourself because you may damage the case seals on the case back. The circuit is very fragile and damage can easily be caused. The old battery may leave corrosion on the terminals, which must be removed, or the circuit replaced. The seals must be checked for good condition – often they split, crack or go soft and require replacement. New silicon sealant is always required. The electronic module must be checked with a machine to see if it is drawing the correct amount of electric current from the battery. If too much current is being taken from the battery then the watch will require servicing or the battery will go flat very quickly. Special tools are often required to open and close the case. The case is tested for water tightness using specialised equipment.
- Have I over wound my watch.
When a watch is fully wound and does not work it is not over wound. To actually over wind a watch, it would need to be fully wound until the winder came to a halt and was forced against the stop so hard as to break the end of the mainspring. There would be a resultant zipping noise as the mainspring broke and the winder would turn freely with no resistance. The fact that the watch does not work when fully wound could be due to one of many problems e.g. dried up oil, dirt, worn bearings, broken parts.
- What should I do if I have accidentally put my watch in water?
Dry the watch carefully with a hairdryer or place it on a central heating radiator and take it to a watch repairer as soon as possible.
- My watch gets condensation under the glass – what shall I do?
The watch needs to be taken to a watch repairer to have the case, glass and winder seals checked as some part of the case is leaking.
- Should I wind my automatic watch up?
Most automatic watches can be wound up but in doing so the small automatic reversing wheel can be heard to be whizzing round very fast and soon the winder becomes stiff as the resistance from the mainspring is felt. This can be quite damaging to the reversing wheels and the other winding wheels. It is only necessary to give a few turns on the winder to get the watch going and then the automatic rotor will wind the watch normally while being worn. If the watch has to be wound to keep it running then either there is a fault with the automatic winding or the watch is not being worn actively enough for the automatic work to wind up the watch fully.
- Should I take the battery out of my quartz watch if I am not wearing it?
Take the battery out of your watch if it is not in use for long periods of time – four months and longer. If you set the winder into the hand set position (pull out as far as the winder will go) this will instruct the microchip to shut down most of the functions in the watch and will only take a small amount of power from the battery.
Should you have any further questions then you are welcome to email us at robert@robertreeves.co.uk
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