Zodiac Talk => General Zodiac Discussion => Topic started by: Butch on March 07, 2011, 08:01:29 PM

Title: Why wind an automatic? Accuracy!
Post by: Butch on March 07, 2011, 08:01:29 PM
This never ceases to amaze me that people think they do not NEED to wind an automatic. Think about the spring, in its little round case. Now think of the science behind this.

In the morning you should pick it up and wind it 20-30 times. Now the spring is wound up tight. This uses less energy to make the watch run. Throughout the day your arm movement KEEPS the spring wound and using less energy. When you take it off at night, wind it again, thereby keeping the spring wound tight. This allows it to run for the night, using less energy. Less energy means more accuracy. In the morning you should pick it up and...

Another example is the Triple Date Moonphase. As it approaches midnight on the 31st many things will happen. The energy build up is tremendous, thus causing a loss of time. Then at midnight (more or less, depending on your watch, its last service, your watchmaker, etc.) the Day flips, the Date Flips, the Moonphase flips, and on some of them, the MONTH flips. Boom! All that energy is released for the flips, the energy build up is gone, but the time loss has already occurred. But it kept running! To a lesser extent, the same thing happens every night on this model, except for the month flipping.

So my point is, just because it is an automatic does not mean that you do not wind it. Wind it for better accuracy. The Zodiac calibers 7X and 8X can be made to be extremely accurate as they are excellent running movements. There are flaws in their design, but not when it comes to accuracy.

A final note: You cannot over wind an automatic like you can a manual wind watch. It has a clutch that let's it slip when fully wound to prevent damage.

<putting soapbox away>