Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

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jkbarnes
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Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by jkbarnes »

Now that I have more watches in my rotation, my C65 Trident Vintage isn’t the daily wearer it had been. Any recommendations as to how many winds in the morning might be sufficient to keep it going when I won’t be wearing it for a few days? And secondly, I’ve just hit the four year mark with it. Is it time to start thinking about a service?

Thanks in advance...
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by JAFO »

Personally I wouldn't wind it until I wore it. Maybe I'd wind it once a month to keep it working, depending on how long it was going between wears. If it's keeping time, I wouldn't bother with a service either, to be honest, especially if you aren't wearing and winding it every day.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Sound advice from JAFO, there. I will pretty much second it.

When I start up a watch that has been in the box or locked away for a few weeks I like to keep it going for a few days - easier with manual winders - helps to keep the lubricants moving around inside the watch.

Again, because I go for periods and don't wear certain watches, I'm not overly worried about the service aspect. My Cartier is coming up for 5 years and my Speedy for 4 years, and I will certainly get those serviced before too long. I enquired about my Orient Mako and got a quote way in excess of what it's worth, so I'll probably run it until it expires. Not the good watches, though.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by nbg »

My thoughts:

Service - wouldn’t bother at this point, unless you have any concerns with how it is running. You have now had it for four years, so if anything went wrong with it now there is already a chance it may not be covered by the existing warranty (depending on whether CW sought to apply current interpretation of service requirements to a watch purchased before those requirements were specifically communicated).

Winding to keep it going, when not wearing it - absolutely not. The movement is not designed for regular hand winding.

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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

nbg wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:10 pm Winding to keep it going, when not wearing it - absolutely not. The movement is not designed for regular hand winding.
Good point, Neil. I forgot it was an automatic! :oops:
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by jkbarnes »

nbg wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:10 pm Winding to keep it going, when not wearing it - absolutely not. The movement is not designed for regular hand winding.

Neil
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:14 pm Good point, Neil. I forgot it was an automatic! :oops:
I’m glad I asked! I’ll stop doing that and simply reset the time as necessary if it’s stopped.

And it sounds like I don’t need to be in a hurry about a service. Thanks for the feedback, everyone.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by nbg »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:14 pm
nbg wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:10 pm Winding to keep it going, when not wearing it - absolutely not. The movement is not designed for regular hand winding.
Good point, Neil. I forgot it was an automatic! :oops:
I also think (assume) that it has a screw down crown, which adds another level of unnecessary wear, if wound everyday.

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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by jkbarnes »

nbg wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 7:01 pm I also think (assume) that it has a screw down crown, which adds another level of unnecessary wear, if wound everyday.

Neil
That has been a concern of mine. I have a watch with a stripped screw down crown, so that fear is always floating around in the back of my head. Admittedly, that watch was a pretty cheap watch.

Again, thank you for all the feedback everyone.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by exHowfener »

I have a Garrard watch that was presented to an Uncle of mine in 1962 for 20 years service with ICI. He stopped wearing (I think) when he later got an automatic. He died in 1976 and I was given it in 2002. I don't believe that it has EVER been serviced, it certainly hadn't for 26 years. For a while I wore it quite regularly and it always kept really good time.
I'm not advocating neglect, but just taking a long way of saying that I agree with the point others have made - get it serviced when you think it needs it. With my few automatic watches. I just give them a gentle shake every now and then to get them running for a few minutes.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by jkbarnes »

Follow up question, asked in light of Frank’s post about a watch being stolen in transit back to CW: if my watch is no longer under warranty, can I simply take it to a local jeweler to be serviced? Shipping it back to England, with all the hassle that goes with it, hardly seems worth the trouble and effort if the watch is no longer under warranty anyway. Or am I missing something? I have ZERO experience with getting mechanical watches serviced.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by StrappedUp »

The only reason to have it serviced by CW within warranty is to preserve the warranty itself.

Once it has expired, you are free to take it anywhere. Both manufacturers and independents usually offer warranties on service work, but some manufacturers offer up to 24 months (that I know of).
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by exHowfener »

Once you've bought it, you're free to have service and repair done anywhere you please, It's up to you to decide if the warranty (which is only on the movement anyway) is worth the inconvenience and bother of sending it away. If there is someone local who does a good job, why not support them? That way they may still be around when the warranty has expired.
I gather that CW (in common with many other companies) won't watch sell parts, but there's nothing special about the movement.
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Re: Two Questions Concerning my C65 Trident Vintage

Post by jkbarnes »

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen. You confirmed what I assumed. If the movement was an in-house movement, I think I’d be more likely to send it back, especially if it was potential warranty work.

But since it’s a widely available, third party movement I assume any qualified jeweler could service it. That’s what I’ll do when it comes time for a service.

Thanks for the input!
Drew
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