zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: My 2298.80 Seamaster Titanium Chronograph was 1
: minute 42 seconds fast from the time change
: in Oct. to April and I thought that was
: terrible for a watch with a list price of
: $3400.00 but after reading this I guess it
: is good. Why are these watches so inaccurate
: ?

These watches don't run on batteries, they operate on lots of small parts that are subjected to friction. If your watch gained 102 seconds from the end of October to the beginning of April, that's 102 seconds in approximately 151 days, which is 0.68 seconds per day. Anyone with a mechanical watch would kill for such accuracy.

To give you a better explanation, though, your watch's rotor vibrates at 28,800 vibrations per hour to keep the watch running. That is 8 vibrations per second. In one day that is 691,200 vibrations that your watch's rotor has made. In order for it to gain 0.68 seconds in that day, that means that it was off by 5.4 vibrations in 24 hours. 5.4 vibrations out of a total of 691,200 is phenomenal for a mechanical device this small and intricate.

I hope this explanation helps.

-John