Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:1. When you set the time, does the minute hand have to line up exactly with a marker when the seconds hand points to 12? Or is that too OCD?
It depends. On a chronograph, I find it less important. On a three hander, I will sometimes stop the second hand at 12 and align the minute hand, but if the second hand is part way round the dial, I'll guesstimate the minute hand position and I'm generally quite happy with that.
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:2. Quartz running and chrono seconds hands "missing the marks"? Surely this is axiomatic...?
Every now and then I look at this, but I never let it bother me, so many other unimportant things to worry about.
Agree that #1 is a must and #2 is highly desirable but that is more about feeling a high level of precision rather than a loss of functionality.
Related #1, I wish makers could create a movement where the second hand was "locked" in synchrony with the minute hand, much like the minute hand is tied to the hour hand. Obviously that would have to relaxed when the time was being set. The average person may find this idea too confusing, but I would like a movement which when hacked and reset could only be restarted exactly on the minute and then run the hand gear train in a manner which put everything back in sync. For example, assume it will be 8:32 in another 15 seconds, so you quickly hack the movement and move the hands to approximately 8:32 or just slightly past the 32 mark without a care to where the second hand is pointing. As soon as the crown is pressed to start the time keeping, the movement assumes it was meant as starting at second 00 of the current time, which might mean the minute hand does not start moving for a few seconds if it was too far ahead, and certainly the second hand would sit idle for however many seconds ahead it was before time was restarted. All that may be impractical to build, but it would greatly simplify getting all three hands to line up properly with the current time. OCD people would appreciate it
Watchamacallit wrote:.The average person may find this idea too confusing, but I would like a movement which when hacked and reset could only be restarted exactly on the minute and then run the hand gear train in a manner which put everything back in sync.
I am suddenly feeling distinctly average!
Steve Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.(Max Ehrmann)
Interesting to note that one of the most iconic and popular chronographs on the forum doesn't have a hacking second hand. Neither do at least three of the most desirable luxury sports watches!
About once a month I set all my watches against time.is, and yes the second hand at 12 and the minute dead centre of the mark.
Then I generally just use the Grand Seiko as the benchmark after that as some of the vintage watches do tend to gain a little more than the modern watches.
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For me it depends on the watch I am trying to set.
I tend to use more modern (accurate) mechanical watches for my day-to-day wear and for work because I noften need to know the time to within a few seconds of true time. Holidays and weekends I often go for my vintage pieces since ish-o'clock is usually good enough.
To set my modern pieces (usually each Sunday night) I refer to my Casio GShock which is radio linked to keep accuracy and site beside my bed. During the day I sometimes check in my phone too. For the times when accuracy is not absolutely necessary I just refer to any time signal that is available - phone, computer, other wall clocks...
J
Watchamacallit wrote:
The average person may find this idea too confusing, but I would like a movement which when hacked and reset could only be restarted exactly on the minute and then run the hand gear train in a manner which put everything back in sync.
Panerai and Lange have return to zero complication for time setting.
When the crown is pulled out the seconds hand jumps to zero and hacks. You set the minutes dead on then push the crown back on the minute signal from your favorite time source.
Simples.
C8 Pilot Mk II Vintage; C5 Quartz Mk II; C4 'Phoenix', C5 MMXV FLE, C7 Automatic Chronograph
Watchamacallit wrote:
The average person may find this idea too confusing, but I would like a movement which when hacked and reset could only be restarted exactly on the minute and then run the hand gear train in a manner which put everything back in sync.
Panerai and Lange have return to zero complication for time setting.
When the crown is pulled out the seconds hand jumps to zero and hacks. You set the minutes dead on then push the crown back on the minute signal from your favorite time source.
Simples.
Thanks for letting me know about this return-to-zero complication. Even though I wear a quartz watch more often than a mechanical, when I set the time I like for all three hands to be aligned and the seconds to be correct. Since most analog movements do not make this an easy task, it is common to waste 2-3 minutes setting the time and frequently the minute and second hands are still a bit misaligned.
Thanks, I got lots of great information from all the replies.
The transmitted time to my cell or truck clock is definitely close enough to set my watch.
With two children, plus or minus 15 minutes is keeping great time in my life!
However, it is fun to geek out and sync up once in a while. I just didn't know how the experienced did it.
I think I'll spend the next couple days checking out all the suggested sites and apps.
And, just for the record, the new C60 GMT is running on the slow side by about 8 seconds since last sync'd 5 days ago (using Time.gov) - not bad at all I have to say!