Hi all,

I bought a Breitling a couple months ago, a Chrono Avenger II I think it is. It's great, except for one thing...

It gets fast. Like, if I don't adjust the time, inside of 2 months, it gets over 5 minutes fast. It bugs me because I paid for a watch that I thought could keep time better than your average $15 mall timex. I had a Tudor that also ran a little fast, give or take a minute per month, but that was it. This is over 2 and a half minutes fast per month, and to me that's unacceptable.

My question is this: Should I send it to have work done to it to correct this...or is this a normal thing to happen to an automatic? I don't recall my Tudor being anything near this weird.  One year I wore it straight through without adjusting it's date, just to see...at the end of the year, it was less than 3 minutes fast. This one is more than 5 minutes fast after 2 months.

For comparison, I bought an el-cheapo no-name japanese quartz movement battery-powered pocket watch in early 2001. i just checked it this morning, and it's about 5 minutes fast...and it was originally set 2 minutes fast as it was.

Any advice or thoughts would be most welcome.

Thanks!

Isn't there a guarantee on a watch like that in regards to it's clock accuracy?  I'm not a watch fanatic so I don't know but I would think if you pay good money for something like that you'd expect it to do a decent job on its main purpose.

That's what I thought, but figured I'd ask first, see if this is a common problem, or if I just need to "break it in" (I got it in February)...or what.

5 minutes in 2 months seems a trite fast.  See if you can contact Breitling's customer service and have it adjusted.  

Do you wear it all the time or take it off at night?  If you are taking it off, try leaving it in different positions over-night, face down, face up, crown up/down etc.  

If you are not a very active person, try 'spinning' the watch by hand each day so the counterweight spins and winds the watch up.  Some automatics lose or gain more when they are only lightly wound.

Evil-Ed
Nice watch...All mechanical timepieces will deviate by a few seconds each day.  Not even Patek or Rolex run exact.  If you add all the seconds in the day and multiply that by the days of the year and figure your watch gains five minutes every two months you will find that your watch is 99.99999% accurate.  Mechanical timepieces are bought by people that appreciate something handcrafted and keep good time.  Losing or gaining a few seconds a day is common with these.  I adjust my watches every two weeks and actually enjoy doing this. Remember that your timepiece has over 300 parts involved and some 38,000 internal watch screws will fit into a thimble.  Anyone can own a Timex....
Gemologist[x]BLOAT
Buy Lots Of Ammo Today

PS  Breitling would be happy to adjust the watch to try and get a better ratio.  They are a great company to work with although if they have to send it off(meaning your dealer doesn't have a watchmaker) it may take you a month or two to get it back.

Gem, yah....gotcha. Just, well, for the cash I paid, I fully expected it to tell time better than some hand-wound Timex I could snag in a PX, you know? [:)]

I'll send it back for some adjustment...I think it's a weird body magnetism thing. If I wear an automatic on the underside of my left wrist, it doesn't gain or lose time, generally. It'll gain a few minutes here, and a couple months later, it'll be right back on target. Weird. Right wrist underside, it loses some. Right wrist on top, it loses a bit more. Left wrist on top (normal)...you saw what it gained. Weirdest thing. And wearing this monster on my underwrist is...not good. I type way too much; I'll scratch the hell out of it and make it near unreadable in a couple years. Already did that to cheapo watches, don't wanna do it to this one...

Edited to add: Yes, time is very important to me. I work for one of the world's largest options market makers...we live and die by time. I bought this watch thinking that it'd keep damn good time, as good if not better than the shitty digitals I've owned (not to mention look a whole lot classier [;)])..it now makes me wonder about it's stopwatch, and if that's accurate or not. This is one of my big issues with this thing...can I trust it? [:|])

[b]Hineline[/b], every post you've made (and I've seen most of 'em) has been slightly short of useful.

Thank you, go clean your Pez dispenser, go away, and have a nice day.

When you have something useful to say, chime in. Until then, feel free to exercise your right to be silent.

Agreed! COSC specs are between -4sec and +6 sec per day.

Your Breitling is within this range. It can be fine tuned, but since the watch is still fairly new, it may "settle in" some requiring further regulation.

Any and all questions can be answered here: [url]http://www.timezone.com/forum.aspx?forumId=breitling[/url]

Well I'm a retired Master Watchmaker so........

First, all mechanical devices need a break-in period, but your watch should be broken in.

Watches are adjusted at the factory to keep precise time.  The trouble starts when a real live person puts it on. A watch will gain or lose depending on the person wearing it. A very active wearer will get one standard of accuracy, and a less active wearer will get a totally different accuracy, for instance.
The adjustment made at the factory is a "best guess".

I can adjust a fine watch to keep almost perfect time on MY wrist, but on your's it will likely gain or lose.

In your case, just take the watch to a factory authorized dealer, and have it adjusted.  It may take a trip or two, but it will keep a better standard.  Having to have a new high-end
watch adjusted for maximum accuracy is standard procedure.  Most people either don't know about it, or just don't bother.
You do.  See your dealer.

Why does a watch keep a different accuracy when worn in different manners?  Because the case, and therefore the movement is in a different position. Put a watch movement in a different position, and it will run differently.

As to "Body Magnetism", this is one of the oldest "urban myths" about watches there is.
Here's an explanation I posted on another forum some time ago:
----------------------------------------------
Ok, here's some hard talk from a retired Master watchmaker, NO DISRESPECT INTENDED: Just the facts from a pro.............

Years ago, the complaint was "My chemistry or Magnetism or electricity stops my mechanical watch" Now days it affects electronic movements, but sometimes NOT mechanicals.

Chemistry can have no effect on a watch that's sealed in a water resistant case. If chemistry was responsible, the movement would be rusted or corroded, and the case would be damaged.
I have seen many watches exposed to harmful chemicals, and in every instance, the watch case was damaged, and the movement was corroded if the chemical penetrated the case.
There is no chemical exuded by the human body that can stop a watch, without corroding the movement. If it can't get inside a sealed case, it can't affect the watch. Period.

If you had enough "Magnetism" or "electricity" in your body to affect a mechanical or quartz watch movement, (both of which are ANTI-magnetic by the way) you could stick a light bulb in your mouth and light up the room...., LITERALLY.
There is no function of the human body that can drain a power cell or affect a watch movement. Otherwise you would have problems with flashlights, cell phones, and car batteries.

There are strong magnetic fields that can affect watch movements, mechanical and electronic. However the human body can't generate such a field unless you're an "X" Man. Watches exposed to that strength field will either stop functioning instantly , or will be wildly inaccurate.

Watchmaker's are constantly being told by people that there's "something" about their body that stops watches or causes inaccuracy.
We hear this constantly, we try to tell people this just isn't possible, but the legend persists.

The reason some people have problems keeping a watch running is just a matter of bad Karma, The Fates, or just pure "bad luck". I have had these people as customers, and most believed in the "electricity, magnetism, or chemistry" explanations. I long ago gave up trying to explain sealed cases, anti-magnetic movements, and physics.
Some of these people are sure they can "Kill" a watch, but never consider the fact they have no problem with a hearing aid, cell phone, beeper, or other device.

We learned long ago to just evade the question, because you can't win these.

Why do some people have watches that just quit or won't run properly? Body electricity? Body Magnetism? Body chemistry?  
Why not that the "Watch Gods" just don't like you.  That makes as much sense.

[b]faris[/b], thanks. That's exactily what I was looking for. I wasn't sure if this was normal, or what. Now I know [:)]



Ahh...that explains that. I had nothing else to blame it on, so I figured magnetism, or something [;)] Hey, at least it was an excuse that fit the bill [:)] Thanks!