The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi all,
I occasionally read that you can manually wind one of the new automatic movements (40 turns and all that). Can you do the same with the older auto movements? I have a Cal 11 TransOcean.
Greg

Sure you can, they still have the keyless works connecting the crown to the mainspring.

According to the vintage gurus here, it's actually recommended that with the caliber 11/12 it's actually better to wind it from the crown because the microrotor tends to give out over time and it's very difficult to fix later...

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"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

With the cal. 11 you can usually tell when it is fully wound. You can feel the winding resistance change when the mainspring bridle slips in the barrel. There is no advantage to winding it after that. Under no circumstance would I put on a watch winder.

I wear my cal. 11 cosmo when I fly my plane. The remainder of the time it sits on a shelf in my closet. When I get dressed in the morning I give the crown a few turns to keep it wound.

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1809 Cosmonaute
1903 Navi
Navi Olympus
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