The Breitling Watch Source Forums

So I have my new Breitling finally...
I LOVE IT!
my first ever nice watch..
Now though... I have made sure that the time on it was spot on with the World CLock, to the second... well... ish...
But liking the fact that it is such a precise time piece, I like to know that the watch is super accurate....

Fair enough?

But something is annoying me...
No matter how much I try, I cannot get the minute hand to be dead on the minute when the second hand hits the 0 seconds...

Am I asking for too much? Am I the only person who wants to be so OCD with his watch?

So is there a mechanical reason why I can't achieve this? Or is it just a trial and error until I get it right?

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Now the proud owner of a Black Steel Super Avenger II

With a mechanical watch there is always a little play in the cogs of the drive train : there has to be or else everything would seize up. This play alone can affect the ability to set it absolutely dead-on a particular marker.

However, if super-accuracy is your thing, then you may have been better off buying a Superquartz model instead as even Chronometer rated mechanical watches such as your SA will still be considered accurate if they are within -4/+6 seconds a day.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Need to advance the minute hand 30/40 % into next minute when setting the watch. So for 1300 hrs queue up the second hand at zero and watch stopped, put the minute hand about 30/40% of the way to 1301, and then start the watch when atomic clock hits 1300.00. Not perfect but visually looks right.

But doesn't stay that way because of the play in the running train so it's a never ending process of resetting or accepting that it isn't always going to be perfect.

Yes, in my books at least you are being weird.
Nothing strange though.
When I first got into this craze I used to set my watches to a second against the atomic clock and monitor their accuracy performance every night, all of them.
Now however I just pick the next one in the rotation, wind it and set it to the nearest minute and just enjoy wearing them. Now and then I might test them for heir accuracy just to see if there is any degradation just to see if a service is in order.
That now and then is somewhere in the vicinity of once every six months.
Good enough indicator for me.
So, my advice is stop being obsessive and start enjoying the watch

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"It is just a matter of time!"

I'm probably the weird one here. Fairly often, I'll throw a watch on in the morning and never set the time all day.

Well we do have a name for this, WIS and I agree I am at least half way there. I never used to mind but of late its got a real grip on me.. I set my watches every other weekend and even approximate the time as I know the rates they are fast/slow since last set.. Thankfully my other other watch is a gshock sync'd to the atomic clock nightly.

Ha, I used to do the same thing. Checking a few times a day, resetting every day so it was perfect. Now half the time I grab one, set the time by the microwave, car radio or guide on the TV listing and go. I'll give it a good look later in the day and see the date is off by several days.

There have been times I have set one by atomic clock worn it for the entire week, checked it and it is almost perfect. That always amazes me. Seems if you check one multiple times it will be +/- within specs, but over the long haul, in my experience, they even out to very close a lot of the time.

OP, when I do set mine by Atomic clock I try to get the minute hand lined up to one of the 5 minute markers and hack the second hand right at "12" position, set it when the proper time rolls around. After that I don't worry where the minute hand lines up when the second hand is at the top. Better yet get a chrono and some old 40+ year old eyes and you won't even pay attention to where the real second hand is...it always looks like it is at 12 upon a quick glance at the time.

Quite often I don't even bother to set the date right, never mind the super minutes and seconds accuracy. I just set it to the nearest minute according to my phone.
It gets me on time wherever I need to be, teleconference, meeting, etc...
As I said, just enjoy wearing the watch.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

OP, I think you're asking how to set the minute hand to zero exactly with the second hand?

If so, this is how you do it. You need to take up the slack in the drive train that Roff was mentioning... hack the watch when the small second hand zero's at the top (ie, pull out the crown all the way) so it stops the movement. Roll the minute hand forward about ten or fiftenn minutes PAST the time you want it set for, then slowly roll it back to the minute you want to set the watch to. Then when sync'ing with your source time, gently press the crown straight in so it doesn't rotate, the seconds hand starts moving again, there should be no slack in the drive train, and they should be right in sync at the top of the minute.

This works like a charm with most movements, especially the venerable 7750 you have in your Super Avenger II BlackSteel... WHICH YOU REALLY NEED TO POST PICTURES OF!!! Immediately!! And plenty of them too!!

Cheers and good luck!

Ross

Well I never thought I would generate such a discussion with my OCD!
I agree with you all... I should just enjoy the watch, and not the accuracy of the time on it...
But give me a break, I have never had such an amazing watch...
I am sure that in no time I won't worry about it, and just make sure that it is on time...

For now though, I will enjoy it is spot on, and thanks for the advice on how to get it right...
I have taken the slack off, and it is dead on...
SWEET!

Thanks all...

PS: you can't have a go at a guy OCD about his Breitling, and being a member of this forum... Right?


It's been nearly 3 weeks (I think), and I still look at it everyday loving it!
Whoop whoop!

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Now the proud owner of a Black Steel Super Avenger II

Oh, and my SAII is not the Blacksteel, sorry, mine is the steel, with black face...
Actually I am not sorry...

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Now the proud owner of a Black Steel Super Avenger II

So, yes.

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

For some chronographs only in my experience. Also not basic 3 hand watches.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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SHARKMAN

It actually gives this method in Omega hand book with my chrono speedmaster, and it works perfectly on all my watches (YMMV).