Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

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kpc001
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Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by kpc001 »

I've had this happen some watches, and I thought I'd ask this knowledgeable group. I have a C60 Trident Elite with a Sellita SW200. When I screw the crown down, I hear a little "crackling" when I turn the crown and it closes. Nothing major, but it's not silent. I'm not worried about it, watch works just fine, winds with no issues. Is this something that occurs with the Sellita or some automatic movements? I hope the responses aren't "man, you are so screwed."

Just curious.

Thanks,

-Kevin
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by Markornot »

kpc001 wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 1:30 am When I screw the crown down, I hear a little "crackling" when I turn the crown and it closes.
Do you also “feel” the “crackle”? If so, I suspect it is actually just a slight mis-match of the thread pitch of the crown and case or perhaps some burring in the threads from sub-optimum finishing. I have a few that are like that to some degree and never had any issues and don’t give it much thought. As in life, some screws are less soft and tender than others. :wink:
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by watchaholic »

^^^Would tend to agree with the slight burring of the threads. Something I have done in the past, and there may be some here who will disagree, but you can, while pressing inward, turn the crown in reverse and feel for the spot where the crown drops into the threads cut into the case. Now turn the crown in the opposite direction as you normally would. This should help prevent any chance of crossthreading.
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

^^^^ I have always done this and never had any difficulty with screw down crowns.
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

Likewise, on any screw thread; even the lid on my coffee jar.

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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by DavecUK »

You can sometimes get crap caught in the threads....this can make a small noise. When I was a young I often used to see people adjusting their watches at the beach, crown pulled out, or unscrewed!

Before the crown is unscrewed etc.. you should always make sure the area where the stem will be exposed is clean, that you are in a clean place, not outside, no grit on the wind or around dusty gritty environments. When the crown is out, check that there is no crap revealed caught there (remove it if you can). After a trip by the sea/beach be especially careful there is nothing retained on the watch/crown case junction.
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by Thegreyman »

watchaholic wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:35 am ^^^Would tend to agree with the slight burring of the threads. Something I have done in the past, and there may be some here who will disagree, but you can, while pressing inward, turn the crown in reverse and feel for the spot where the crown drops into the threads cut into the case. Now turn the crown in the opposite direction as you normally would. This should help prevent any chance of crossthreading.
I got this advice some time ago and have done this ever since, I think it's something everyone should follow.
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by kpc001 »

Great responses. Thanks to all for taking the time to share their experiences. I'll try turning the crown in reverse - something we've all done, just on a very small scale.
-Kevin

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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by FloridaPhil »

A couple of mine do that. I was told by CW that it is just a retention clip. Hasn't affected the operation of the watch at all.
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Re: Crackle When Screwing Down Crown

Post by howzz1854 »

i came in here to register just to search for this!!. very strange. my new C60 Sapphire does this while my Dartmouth does not. sometimes there's an initial big resistance before it crackles all the way back home, other times it seems no initial resistance an much smoother.

what retention clip is CW referring to? because the best i can describe the feeling is like compressing a spring and you feel that spring crackling. funy because my Dartmouth on the other hand is butter smooth all the way back down. and my previous Steinhart also never did this. so i am curious to find out what this "retention clip" is.

i tried reversing to find the thread "seat" like suggested here and can confirm that it is a lot smoother when doing that. i always had a habbit of reversing before screwing back down but never knew about "finding the thread seat". i am going to do this to all my screw down crowns now. i have a Smiths Everest with a tiny crown that i often struggle to get it screw back down and this helps.
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