Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by HAYQ »

MarkingTime wrote: Sat Mar 08, 2025 10:07 pm
HAYQ wrote: Thu Mar 06, 2025 10:51 pm Hi everyone,

I discovered Christopher Ward through the Bel Canto and became a member here a while ago. I finally got my own Bel Canto Classic in Argento, and I wanted to share my thoughts and ask you something.

First Impressions
Opening the box, my immediate thought was: "This thing is tiny!"—in a good way. In photos and videos, it always looked big and chunky, but in person, it’s small, delicate, and almost ‘cute.’ It does have some thickness, but nothing beyond what I’d consider normal.

The watch is also very light, and I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. I generally prefer lightweight watches since I don’t like feeling them on my wrist, so in that sense, it’s perfect. However, when handling the bracelet, it almost has a plastic-like feel—which I believe is just the nature of titanium rather than a CW-specific issue.

Rattling Sound – Is This Normal?
Later today, while patting my son’s back as he was napping, I noticed a rattling sound coming from the watch. It sounded like something was loose or moving inside. However, if something was actually loose, I’d expect to hear it with every wrist movement—which I don’t. The sound only occurs when I shake my wrist or make strong, sudden movements.

At first, I thought it might be the bracelet, so I removed it and shook the watch again—the sound was still there. I’m used to hearing the movement inside a watch if I bring it close to my ear, but this is different. I don’t need to bring it near my ear to hear it—it’s very noticeable.

For those of you who own the Bel Canto, is this normal? I’ve recorded a video with sound so you can hear it clearly (it looks like a watch horror movie the way I shake it, but I wanted to make sure the sound was captured). Let me know what you think!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19bgpQ9 ... sp=sharing
I`m not sure how to upload my video here and hope the link works.
Sounds like normal winding rotor noise to me. Different movements have varying degrees of noise, but none are silent.
In my limited experience with watches, I’ve never encountered something this pronounced before, so it’s reassuring to hear that it’s normal.

What I don’t quite understand, though, is why people are so fond of Sellita movements. In most forums and Facebook groups discussing movements for microbrands or independent brands, Sellita seems to be the preferred choice over Seiko or Miyota.

This is my first experience with a Sellita movement, so maybe other versions are quieter and less shaky, but my NH Seiko movement in my Venezianico feels sturdier and quieter than this. So why is Sellita so sought after (at least from my perspective)? Is it just because it’s Swiss?

Along with titanium giving off a somewhat cheap and toy-like feel (even though I know logically it’s a premium and stronger material than stainless steel), this affects the perceived quality of the watch—at least for someone like me, who is new to all of this. I know CW’s quality is excellent, and I’m not questioning that, but for newbies like me, the handling and feel don’t immediately scream high quality.

I absolutely love the design of the Bel Canto, so overall, I’m very excited about it! But now I understand how such an intricate and high-end-looking design comes at such an affordable price.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by MarkingTime »

Regarding movements, there are several factors that make a good one.
Quality control in Swiss movements is generally top notch, you won't find build debris inside one of these, for example. Swiss movements also tend to be more precise and display tighter timekeeping tolerances in general.
Robustness is important and a good movement will maintain its timekeeping through knocks and bumps and extended periods between servicing.
Then there are aesthetics, entirely superfluous, but show care and attention to detail above and beyond the purely functional.
All movements have strengths and weaknesses, but Sellita are consistently good. The Miyota 9 series movements are also supposed to be very good, but I have had little experience with these.
Having stripped apart, serviced, repaired and restored quite a few watches now, I have pulled back the curtain, so to speak and have gained some insight into the smoke and mirrors of the marketing used to sell watches. It is an eye opener to see what literally makes these things tick.
As for price, I have seen wide swings in quality with no particular correlation to cost of the watch, which my empirical experience suggests, is largely down to price positioning.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

^^^^ Probably quite simple; Sellita is Swiss.

Seiko, Miyota et al are not. :wink: :wink:

Guy

PS> posted simultaneously with @MarkingTime . :oops:

His is a much better reply. :wink: :wink:

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by rkovars »

Seiko movements use a different system for harvesting power from the rotor than most Swiss movements called the Magic Lever. Swiss movements mostly use a set of reverser wheels and a click wheel. This accounts for some of the difference.



When hand winding what you probably feel is slight differences in the click wheel on both movements. To make matters more confusing some manufacturers actually improve the off the shelf click wheel in Sellit/ETA movements to tighter tolerances to make winding more smooth. So two Sellitas from different watch brands might feel different. You also feel a little more resistance in the Sellita because you have to overcome the friction of the reverser wheels.

In my limited experience with Miyota it didn't feel like I was winding anything. You definitely get more tactile feedback with the Swiss movements in general.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by HAYQ »

rkovars wrote: Sun Mar 09, 2025 2:19 pm Seiko movements use a different system for harvesting power from the rotor than most Swiss movements called the Magic Lever. Swiss movements mostly use a set of reverser wheels and a click wheel. This accounts for some of the difference.



When hand winding what you probably feel is slight differences in the click wheel on both movements. To make matters more confusing some manufacturers actually improve the off the shelf click wheel in Sellit/ETA movements to tighter tolerances to make winding more smooth. So two Sellitas from different watch brands might feel different. You also feel a little more resistance in the Sellita because you have to overcome the friction of the reverser wheels.

In my limited experience with Miyota it didn't feel like I was winding anything. You definitely get more tactile feedback with the Swiss movements in general.
That’s a great explanation—thank you!

With the Bel Canto, I definitely feel and hear this crunchy sound (that’s the best way I can describe it), which I actually like. My Venezianico Redentore, on the other hand, has more of a zipper-like sound and feel when winding. With my Rolex, I neither feel nor hear anything at all.

I do enjoy the tactile feedback, but as a newbie to all this, I can’t help but wonder—is this normal? Does this mean the movement will wear out faster since I can both feel and hear the wheels moving? In the case of the Bel Canto, there’s a bit too much audible and tactile feedback, both when winding and when simply moving my wrist. That rattling sound almost makes it feel like something is loose inside.

These subjective experiences can make someone with limited knowledge slightly concerned about how long this beautiful watch will last. However, it’s reassuring to read the explanations here and know that it’s all normal and won’t affect the watch’s longevity.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by R33Y »

I just got my Bel Canto Cielo back today from repair (unremovable stains on the chrystal, most likely failing AR coating if other reports are to believed) in which they replaced the chrystal and repaired the calibre. No idea why the latter was done given the reason for return or what "repair" means. Replacement?

Anyway, to my horror I heard something seemed broken inside the watch. Such a loud rattling, also when slightly moving the watch up and down. Could be heard from my wrist. Did not sound like rotor winding and was definitely not there before repair. The watch did run though and after some web searching, apparently this may in fact not be a broken movement but a part of the SW200 "charme".

After I wound it much more, the rattling is now significantly less, but still more than I am used to before repair. I don't like it at all :( and hope I will get used to it. I absolutely adored my Bel Canto. I own a couple of other mechanical watches in the price range around $ 500, but never heard such noise. Contemplating to contact support again but I rather would not part with my Bel Canto again, especially if there is nothing to repair this time.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by MomentsNotice »

I'm currently wearing my Glycine Combat Sub. It's the only watch I own with the SW200-1.

When I make sudden wrist movements, such as rotating quickly, it will sometimes make a "tink"-ing sound.

It's nearly two years old and runs just fine so I figure it's just a normal thing with the movement.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by albionphoto »

I am also a member of the rattling Bel Canto club. No harm seems to come of it.
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Re: Rattling sound from my new watch - normal?

Post by tikkathree »

HAYQ wrote: Thu Mar 06, 2025 10:51 pm Hi everyone,

I discovered Christopher Ward through the Bel Canto and became a member here a while ago. I finally got my own Bel Canto Classic in Argento, and I wanted to share my thoughts and ask you something.

First Impressions
Opening the box, my immediate thought was: "This thing is tiny!"—in a good way. In photos and videos, it always looked big and chunky, but in person, it’s small, delicate, and almost ‘cute.’ It does have some thickness, but nothing beyond what I’d consider normal.

The watch is also very light, and I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. I generally prefer lightweight watches since I don’t like feeling them on my wrist, so in that sense, it’s perfect. However, when handling the bracelet, it almost has a plastic-like feel—which I believe is just the nature of titanium rather than a CW-specific issue.

<SNIP>
Apologies if I'm wrong but you paint a picture of experience with bigger, chunkier and heavier watches? I well remember my personal transition through Seiko divers like the Sumo which served as a diving weight :lol: :lol: and Valjoux 7750 chrono watches in big heavy (cheap) cases - and if you want a noisy movement just google "wobbler watches" :shock:

HAYQ wrote: Fri Mar 07, 2025 8:47 pm
timepieces_and_bags wrote: Fri Mar 07, 2025 4:06 pm ^^^ I had the exact same thought when I bought mine and posted so in my First Impressions post.

But I think my impression was borne out of only having worn steel bracelet watches previously. Now I find it simply light rather than toy-like, but I do know what you mean by that comment.
I’m surprised that not a single YouTube reviewer has mentioned any of these issues. Most people have little to no experience with titanium watches or ultra-light cases with noisy movements, so when you encounter something like this, you start to wonder if there’s actually something wrong with your watch.

Also, I don’t understand why Sellita movements are so popular and sought after in microbrand and independent brand forums. The cheap Seiko movement in my Venezianico is much quieter, and I’m sure there are other movements that are less noisy as well. Or is it just this specific Sellita series that has this "issue"?

When I`m manually winding the watch the winding sound and sensation is also a bit noisy with this crunchy sound and feel. Again not sure if I`m describing it correctly. Again something new to me compared to my other watches but for some reason I do like this crunchy feeling and sound
Erm youtube reviewers as a breed. Admittedly they're as diverse as any other subset of humans but I'd be amazed if a youtube search of something like "noisy watch movements" didn't produce the goods but maybe just maybe there's an assumption that we're all up to speed with the fact that mechanical watches make some noise.
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