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Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 11:38 pm
by johncolescarr
Hi,

I’ve just re-bought a trident pro 600 38mm off of eBay (I sold exactly the same model 2 months ago and regretted immediately as in my opinion it is the perfect watch and also a contender for a modest one watch collection). The new watch was sold as new (although I can see some micro scratches on the bracelet, possibly why he couldn’t return for a refund) with an August dated warranty card, so I suspect the crown has barely ever/ never been pulled out.

When I pull the crown to set the time (fully extended position) it takes quite a bit of a pull to get it there, certainly more than I’m used to, not super excessive but still more than my normal.

The seller seems genuine and the welcome letter matches the sellers name so he’s the first owner.

My question is, is this normal for a brand new movement to have a stiff to extend crown and does it get slightly easier over time? I’ve only owned used ETA and Sellita movements so I have nothing to gauge it against.

The watch winds with that buttery smooth mess and all other aspects are perfect.

John

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 8:17 am
by downer
Personally, I would not worry about it too much.

I have owned a number of ETA/Sellita movements, together with a variety of other brands. There are definitely idiosyncrasies with each example of the same movement - particularly regarding the crown action. Some move easily, some are stiffer, some have more or less resistance when winding, some feel smooth on the screw-in crown and others don't. It even seems that some have more 'definite' positions for date change etc.

When you think about it, it's hardly surprising - as the crown is a mechanical linkage to a physical mechanism.

At the end of the day, if it functions correctly, I think it will be okay. And of course, if it goes wrong, you are protected by the warranty.

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:14 am
by ddav
A point of note Richard, have CW not made a point in the recent past of saying crown and stem issues are not covered by the "movement" warranty ? (There may have done this in the early days)

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:14 am
by downer
ddav wrote:A point of note Richard, have CW not made a point in the recent past of saying crown and stem issues are not covered by the "movement" warranty ? (There may have done this in the early days)
Fair comment - although it’s always going to be a contentious point when it comes down to whether or not the crown actually operates the movement...

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:26 pm
by PaulJS
I have three Tridents - two 600s and a 65 all, presumably, with the same movement. They all have slightly different characteristics in terms of effort to pull out the crown and the feel / level of resistance when hand winding to get them going.

Unless it feels like you have to exert such a force that you fear breaking it I would not worry about it.

Cheers,

Paul

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 8:54 pm
by johncolescarr
Thanks for all the comments, what a cracking forum this is!

All other aspects of the watch are perfect and I can live with a stiff crown. The only “flaw” is a slight bit of movement on one of the end links where it doesn’t fit perfectly to the case, but this goes away when I wear it. I’ve always found that the trident end links are not quite as tight as say my Longines hydro conquest but this doesn’t bother me and actually makes fitting straps less fiddly

Kind regards

John

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:50 pm
by Bahnstormer_vRS
johncolescarr wrote:Thanks for all the comments, what a cracking forum this is!

All other aspects of the watch are perfect and I can live with a stiff crown. The only “flaw” is a slight bit of movement on one of the end links where it doesn’t fit perfectly to the case, but this goes away when I wear it. I’ve always found that the trident end links are not quite as tight as say my Longines hydro conquest but this doesn’t bother me and actually makes fitting straps less fiddly

Kind regards

John
Maybe a slightly bent spring bar is causing the loose end link?

Guy

Sent from my Xperia XZ Premium using Tapatalk


Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2019 8:39 am
by johncolescarr
Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:50 pm
johncolescarr wrote:
Maybe a slightly bent spring bar is causing the loose end link?

Guy

Sent from my Xperia XZ Premium using Tapatalk
Thanks Guy, I’ll take a look when I adjust the bracelet

John

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2019 3:52 pm
by Fat-Sam
Also I have swapped end links as sometimes it's more pronounced on one side than t'other

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:39 pm
by johncolescarr
Just to update, I have replaced the spring bars and the end link movement is reduced to almost nothing. The bars weren’t bent but the sprung ends were very loose, poor quality IMO. Luckily, a set of decent spring bars can be had for a tenner.

Absolutely loving this little watch, can’t believe I got rid of the last one. Not sure if CW regulate the Sellita movements they put in but this one is keeping almost perfect time. For some bizarre reason all my Sellita SW200s seem to sit at +5 seconds, when I adjust the time, within 24hrs it’s back at +5 and just stays there!

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 1:13 pm
by tempus fugit
Can HIGHLY recommend WatchGecko spring bars. Have bought loads, never had a problem. They feel and look high quality but are way cheaper than a tenner (and there are three in a pack).

For the C60s, the 600 bracelet end links have quite small diameter holes, so go with the SST (standard) spring bars, not the SFP (divers) which won't fit (at least on all my Mk2 bracelets). Of course, if you are using a rubber or other strap, then choose whatever diameter bars you like - generally my straps will take the tougher spring bars so I go with the divers version. For best fit, you can bend them just a little.

Re: Advise on the “feel” of new watch movemetn

Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:29 pm
by Gasman
It probably has never had the crown used much. Just worn and forgotten.