The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Nice work. Yes it does look big in the pic, but I'll bet it doesn't in "real life." A closer object (the watch) appears larger compared to the background object (your wrist). While the watch bezel is just 15mms or so above your wrist, the camera lense is very close to the 2 objects and the perspective illusion is no different than a scaled up picture of 2 like sized objects photographed from a distance and placed feet or many yards apart. Like a pencil appearing larger than an oak tree.

Disclaimer - I just made all that up, but it sounds right.

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SHARKMAN

OK - When I bought the watch, the sales people were really confusing about how to care for the watch and the heavy accent didn't make it any easier for me to understand so I bring my questions to you guys! Plus the booklet doesn't tell me much more.

Please excuse me if these are stupid questions but I am a newbie and need someone to explain in layman's terms...please!

1. I plan to wear it daily so do I need a watch winder? (Not even sure what a watch winder is supposed to do for the watch)
2. What happens if I don't wear it for a while? (ie: when I go on vacation, I won't be taking it with me)
3. The store told me that it has a 42 hour reserve (what the heck does that mean?)
4. I noticed that my watch is a minute fast today from yesterday...is this something that is common?

Thanks!!!!

42 hour power reserve means that after you wind it the watch should run for 42 hours if you don't move it. So if you wear it every day you don't need a winder. If you go away for a couple of days or weeks even and don't wear it you don't need a winder either. The watch will just story running and you'll have to reset it but as long as URLs not sitting there for to long, like months or years, it'll be fine.
Congrats.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

This thread is my first point of motivation on my wife to get her into a Breitling. She is the same size as the original poster.

1 Minute day to day is pretty high. I have no clue on the history of the watch, but if it is new, I have seen several topics regarding the "settling in" of the movement. Apparently the movement will break in and begin to operate within COSC specs (+/- a few seconds a day).

Also, someone please explain to her the exact rule regarding when and how to set the date using the quickset date feature.

Oh, and the watch looks great on your wrist.

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Rock Chalk!

1) Nobody needs a watch winder. You can wind the watch manually. A winder is designed to keep the watch at the same "charge" point as when you put it on the winder, without charging it further. It's purely for convenience. Wearing the watch daily may or may not be sufficient to keep the watch charged. It really depends on how long you wear it per day.

2) If you don't wear it for a while, and you don't have the watch on a winder, the watch will wind down and you will have to reset it the next time you wear it. There's no harm in this. However, if the watch stops, it is advisable that you manually advance the hands at least 12 hours ahead, to see whether the watch is set for AM or PM. You can tell, because the date will change at midnight. If you advance the hands past 12, and the date doesn't change, you're at noon. Remember, don't use the quickset date or advance the hands backwards between 8pm and 3am.

3) This means that your watch will run approximately 42 hours without winding or wearing before winding down.

4) A one minute gain is excessive. COSC specifications allow for -4/+6 seconds a day. Check your watch daily via an accurate source (an atomic clock, or http://www.time.gov) to see if that gain is consistent. If it is, consult your dealer; the watch may need regulating or repair.

Congratulations on your new watch and no need to apologize for your questions, they're perfectly normal for someone new to the watch world

1. Your watch is automatic, which means it doesn't have a battery. It has a mechanical movement inside which is charged by movement. Therefore, if you wear it daily your regular arm and wrist movement will be sufficient to charge the watch and keep it working well. You can imagine that this mechanism could potentially work and last forever (doesn't require a battery)...that is why we're all so amazed by mechanical watches And a watch winder simply charges mechanical watches by spinning them around and "winding them" when you don't wear them that often

2 and 3. Your power reserve is 42 hours as you stated. This is the amount of time the watch will work when charged completely. Thus, if you don't wear it a lot time, like say a few days, it will simply stop since it hasn't gotten the movement necessary to charge it

4. I will leave this one to the pro's

Lastly, here is a quick video which explains the differences between manual, automatic, and quartz watches which you might find helpful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJdofFLjINE

Enjoy your new watch!

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Alex
Breitling - Navitimer
Breitling - SuperOcean
Breitling - Chrono SuperOcean

Set the watch against atomic clock - time.gov or similar. Fully wind it - 40 cranks. Check it again in 72 hours. There are many possibilities. The time might have been off somewhat to start. It is tricky being accurate when setting the time on a 7750 movement. Sometimes the minute hands moves slightly forward or backward when pushing in the crown depending on which direction there may be slack in the gears. So once you play with it and have it correctly set to atomic time, also remember it takes a while for the movement to settle.

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SHARKMAN

It's more likely she was using a wide angle lens, which makes objects closer to the lens look larger than they actually are.

Ok thanks for the replies guys - Whew!

Maybe I will wait a few days/weeks to see if my watch "settles" as I did purchase it brand new.

I have no idea how to reset it but I guess if or when it stops after I return from my vacation I will figure out how to do this!

Thanks again!

Here is a better picture of the watch on my wrist...sorry about the quality of my pics. I'm taking it with my Blackberry

You'll want to reset it daily to monitor how well it's keeping time. While you could do it every few days and average it out, ideally you'll want to know how much it gains (or loses) on any given day. Doing this over the period of a few weeks will give you a good picture of how the movement is performing. Setting the time is simple - unscrew the crown (the big knob on the side). When the crown is unscrewed, but you haven't pulled it out, you can wind the watch. Pulling the crown out one stop enables you to set the date; as mentioned, don't use this feature when the watch is showing the time between 8pm and 3am. Pulling the crown out a second stop will stop the second hand (located on the 9:00 subdial), and enables you to adjust the time. I prefer to stop the second hand at zero seconds. Pushing the crown back in will start the second hand running again. When you're done, push the crown all the way in and screw it back down.

Gorgeous watch, BTW. Congrats on the pickup.

That's a great explanation!

One question: If I were to reset it daily...Do you wind the watch before or after setting the time? And do you wind it daily as well and how many times? The booklet says 40 times is that correct?

No, as long as you wear it you don't need to wind it daily. 40 turns is what it takes so the watch is fully wound from when it's dead. For instance, I wear my Omega every day for 4-6 hours after I get home from work. I haven't wound it in over a month and it's going fine. My Blackbird get's worn less so it frequently runs down, no big deal. I just wind it up, set the time and date and I'm good to go.

I'd give it a couple of weeks, maybe a month to let the movement settle in before worrying about the time keeping. Personally there's no place I have to be at an exact time, I'm usually early everywhere anyway, so if my watch get's off by a couple minutes once in a while it doesn't bother me.

Don't over think the watch too much, just enjoy it and start thinking of your next purchase.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

My turn to ask a question. I know about the settling in period, but is it reasonable to expect a watch running a minute fast to "settle in" to COSC specs in a few weeks? My CSO ran +5/day out of the box, and has now settled in to around +2 to +3/day. It makes sense to let it settle in before considering a repair, but if she's gaining a minute a day, she'll be 7 minutes fast in a week if she doesn't reset.

Uptown, per your question: I don't think it makes a difference whether you wind it before or after setting. As Roman explained, 40 winds is to fully charge a fully unwound mainspring. Just try wearing it without winding it, and see if it winds down. If it does, you will obviously need to wind it every once in a while. The times when I don't put mine on a winder, if I leave it sitting for more than just overnight, I'll give it between 10 and 20 winds. That's unscientific, but it seems to do the trick. You'll get a feel for it as you go.

It won't settle from a minute to COSC, but I would like to see a more scientific measure of how fast it's running before determining whether there is an issue with this particular piece.

Congrats, you've made a very good choice, especially by choosing roman numerals. Your Cockpit looks great.

As time goes by and you get to know your watch better, you'll see that you'll better understand the answers you've got to your questions.

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