The Breitling Watch Source Forums

You think its bad to use the chronograph part of the watch and let it run endlessly for not reason?

Just wondering if you think its better to run it to keep the gears and and hands moving

or could that cause wear and tear??

if you respond with I DONT THINK IT WILL HURT EITHER WAY, can you please give your reason why. Thanks

Well, any moving part is going to disintigrate faster than a non-moving part so yeah, it will cause more wear and tear. Also the power reserve will drain faster.

Is it a bad idea? Well, if you get your watch serviced regularly it should be no big deal.

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SA Blue Dial Silver Subs Pro 2

serviced regularly as in every 5 years correct?

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

Running the chronograph constantly will reduce the power reserve, but that's not a practical issue if the watch is a daily wearer. It will also create more wear on the wheels, but in a well lubricated watch that's not really an issue either. The chronograph shoul be run at least once a month anyway to prevent the oils from moving away from the friction points, so in all practical senses running the chrono constantly won't hurt at all.

In terms of servicing, the requirement in modern watches is generally created by the breaking down (aging) of the oil and the watch will tell you when it needs servicing through an inability to maintain COSC specs and / or a greatly reduced power reserve. Generally that's 5 - 7 years.

yeah, but if you wind it up before setting it down for a few days, then shut off the chrono graph, your not really using the power reserve other than to power the TIME, right?

so are you saying if you run the TIME plus CHRONOGRAPH, and your NOT wearing the watch, you wont get the 40+ hours of power reserve?

also roff, I assume a brand new breitling is considered a well lubricated watch, correct?

I assume a breitling that isnt well lubricated would be something approaching the 2 year servicing, correct?

There is no such thing as a 2 year servicing. The service interval is 5-7 years. You are probably thinking of the 2 year warranty period which wouldn't cover a general service anyway - only repairs.

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SHARKMAN

Is there any reason you want to run the chrono second hand all the time since you already have a running second hand subdial?

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TREVOR

The chrono only uses power if its being used. Ive read a few people's tests on the power reserve while running the chono and the results have varied from zero difference in power reserve, to a loss of a few hours of reserve.

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-RJ

As RJRJRJ says, running the chrono uses reserve, not running it doesn't.

If you think about it, it has to lower the reserve - it's just basic physics. The mainspring only has a certain amount of stored energy and if you are powering an additional seconds hand constantly and intermittently moving additional minute and hour hands that is going to require more energy than if those pieces weren't moving. The only place that the energy can come from is the mainspring so the power reserve is reduced.

It won't be a huge impact, worse case you'll still have mid 30s hours of reserve.

And we've come full circle.

no no, i'm just trying to understand the internal logistics of the watch....thats all.