Horological Meandering

Joehank
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Minute Hand and Second Hand Do Not Sync Through the Hour

Following is a post I made today to the Help Desk Forum.  I am repeating it here because I was uncertain of the proper forum to raise this question.  I apologize for the duplication. 

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I have encountered some issues with a recent purchase and am looking for advice (both technical and practical).

As background, I have been collecting watches for about 25 years. I have what can "at best" be described a rudimentary knowledge of how a watch works. As with most collectors, my initial purchases were modest, but increased as my interest grew and my checkbook would permit. I have owned or currently own chronographs (including a split second flyback), perpetual calendars, complete calendar watches, as well as simple mechanical and automatic watches, both with and without second hands and date functions. In none of those watches have I experienced the issue described below.

My most recent purchase was an expensive (at least for me) watch with a second hand and minute markers; and, therein lies the issue. When I first set the time of the watch, I set the minute hand on a minute marker as the second hand passed across the 12 position (i.e., "0" seconds). The mechanism doesn't "hack", but I have several watches like that and have never had a problem accuractely setting those watches; nor did I have a problem setting this watch. For the next few minutes, the minute and second hands were in perfect sync (as the second hand crossed 0 seconds, the minute hand lined up perfectly with the minute marker). However, after several minutes had lapsed, I noticed that a variance between the minute hand and the second hand was present. Throughout the hour, the variance ranged from approximately +/- 3 seconds to as much as + 20 seconds (i.e., when the minute hand was exactly on the minute marker, the second hand was at 20 seconds after the 0 seconds start position). However, upon the lapse of one hour the minute and second hands were again in perfect sync. Over time, I observed that the same pattern of lack of synchronicity within any particular hour generally repeated in each subsequent hour. My first thought was that there was an imperfection in the dial. Upon reflection, that did not seem likely since the variance, although constant, did not occur at the same time during the hour if the watch was set at a different time (i.e., if I set the watch at 12:00 vs. 1:17, I would still have an approximate 20 second variance during the hour, albeit not at the same time). I would add that the watch is extremely accurate from hour to hour by comparison of the second hand to a regulated hour tone on the radio.

My initial excitement and enthusiasm for this magnificent watch began to seriously wane. I contacted the AD where I purchased the watch. The AD contacted the manufacturer and my watch was sent to Switzerland for evaluation in a controlled atmosphere. After a month of analysis, the manufacturer confirmed that the dial was accurate. The explanation of the variance from accurate synchronization of the minute and second hands was as follows:

"Regarding the watch "missing" the minute mark. It was sent to Geneva and thoroughly controlled. Given the length of the hand, the 'error' that your customer witnessed (being a little off sometimes) cannot be corrected at this time. No ... [X brand watch] ... allows to stop the second, so it is already difficult to 'start' it at exactly the minute marker. Furtherermore, given the length, it is almost impossible to have the teeth of the minute wheel perfect. Remember that a few microns of excess matter, would show a little difference at the minute marker.

Please assure that if ... [X brand] ... finds a way to minimize this error deviation, we will recall this watch and do the proper changes."

The watch was returned to me after being controlled for accuracy and water resistance.

I am decidedly uneasy with this response. The manufacturer has acknowledged that there is a problem with the watch for which it has no solution. Significantly, the response does not indicate whether the manufacturer is even working on ways to correct the problem. Moreover, the response for someone with my limited knowledge of the operation of watches is "unintelligible". For example, I do not understand why the length of what I assume is the minute hand would cause it to be at variance from syncing with the second hand. The length of the minute hand does not seem affect (or I do not believe it affects) the syncing in any other watch that I own. Maybe the other watch brands that I own resolved the issue. Perhaps I am too demanding and expect far more than is reasonable to expect from this timepiece. However, as noted above, I have not experienced anything like this issue in any of the other watches I have owned. Perhaps the answer that X brand gave to me is completely understandible and generally acceptable to the consuming public, and that I "just don't get it". If that's the case, I may be willing to live with that answer. Finally, I find it hard to believe that I am the only person to discern this issue and that it has not been the topic of discussion elsewhere. There is some internet chatter on syncing minute and second hands, but that seems to reflect the issue of "play" in the minute hand.

In any event, I am presently not accepting of the response I have received and would appreciate any input and advice you may have on the above issues.

Thanks,

Joehank

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