3120 Power Reserve Issues

[SN2354]

Hi All

I have a 15300, with the famous 3120 movement. Had the watch only for about 6-8 months with little use. grey dealer claims it was serviced within a year at the time I bought it.

However I have not worn it much, so I when I wore it last week I simply set the time and wound it up a bit (30-40x) and it was fine. It died at some point, as I did not wear it all weekend so when I put it back on yesterday in the morning I simply set the time gave it only 5-6 winds and went to work.

Watch worked fine all day, but when I woke up in the morning the watch stopped at roughly 3am. This morning I set the time (without winding AT ALL as a test) at around 7:30 and going about my day and she is running just fine at the moment.

My assumption is the winding mechanism both manually winding and automatically working fine, but something is up with the power reserve if that makes any sense.

Does anybody have any experience with this issue, and a way I can remedy it? Obviously buying a 15 year old watch has its pros/cons, but if it was serviced roughly a year ago, it should not have PR issues like this. I know the typical response would be take it to AP, but I honestly am curious why this happens and maybe there is something I can do to remedy it before going off to AP for 4-6 weeks.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[value.target]

My 15510 had the same issue. Sent in for service.

Is it still under warranty? Send it in

[SN2354]

Originally Posted by value.target

My 15510 had the same issue. Sent in for service.

Is it still under warranty? Send it in

No longer under warranty, its a 2009 15300

[Halothane]

It’s an AP. Expect to send it in periodically. AP’s can be fragile - at least that has been my experience. Of note , I’ve never had issues with Rolex or Patek.


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[Octagon Guy]

Originally Posted by Halothane

It’s an AP. Expect to send it in periodically. AP’s can be fragile - at least that has been my experience. Of note , I’ve never had issues with Rolex or Patek.


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I don't own any PP but my Batgirl has PR issues. Daytona's crown came off. It all comes down to luck I guess.

[mickyd329]

Originally Posted by Halothane

It’s an AP. Expect to send it in periodically. AP’s can be fragile - at least that has been my experience. Of note , I’ve never had issues with Rolex or Patek.


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13 AP's over a 10+ year span. Only had 2 issues which were promptly addressed by APSC, so I can't agree with your statement.

[Octagon Guy]

Originally Posted by SN2354

I wore it last week I simply set the time and wound it up a bit (30-40x) and it was fine. It died at some point, as I did not wear it all weekend so when I put it back on yesterday in the morning I simply set the time gave it only 5-6 winds and went to work.

Watch worked fine all day, but when I woke up in the morning the watch stopped at roughly 3am. This morning I set the time (without winding AT ALL as a test) at around 7:30 and going about my day and she is running just fine at the moment.

How long was the watch left idle after removing it off the 1st time? You mentioned it's off during weekend. Probably the power run out during the weekend. As for subsequent wear, winding less than 10x or not even winding up is not gonna power up the reserve enough to last when it's off your wrist. Try winding up 50x and leave it alone on the table. See if it lasts abt 60hrs +/-. That's the easiest way to test out.

[SN2354]

Originally Posted by Octagon Guy

How long was the watch left idle after removing it off the 1st time? You mentioned it's off during weekend. Probably the power run out during the weekend. As for subsequent wear, winding less than 10x or not even winding up is not gonna power up the reserve enough to last when it's off your wrist. Try winding up 50x and leave it alone on the table. See if it lasts abt 60hrs +/-. That's the easiest way to test out.

That is the thing. 30-40 winds, yes it will last 48-60 hours. When it is on my wrist with no winding it works just fine (that was a test) so I do not know if the watch will be working after the 48-60 hours on it's own power from my movement.

So my issue is that if I wear it for a day without winding and then take it off, it will only last something like 5-6 hours after taking it off. Not the biggest issue I know, but it is just unreliable at this point.

[Octagon Guy]

Originally Posted by SN2354

That is the thing. 30-40 winds, yes it will last 48-60 hours. When it is on my wrist with no winding it works just fine (that was a test) so I do not know if the watch will be working after the 48-60 hours on it's own power from my movement.

So my issue is that if I wear it for a day without winding and then take it off, it will only last something like 5-6 hours after taking it off. Not the biggest issue I know, but it is just unreliable at this point.

Then I don't see any issue nor is there any unreliability concerns. It's just the way it is.

[Tools]

Power reserve is how long it takes to unwind when fully wound.

Winding it a bit here and a bit there, plus letting it sit for a day or two.. None of this has much to with power reserve, but rather how much wind is in the watch at any given time.

Every self wind watch will wind down to only the amount of wind that you put into it daily - and that is seldom a full wind.

If you are not active enough you will not put enough wind into the watch to make up for the amount of power it uses just to maintain itself and it will stop on your wrist.

[SN2354]

Originally Posted by Tools

Power reserve is how long it takes to unwind when fully wound.

Winding it a bit here and a bit there, plus letting it sit for a day or two.. None of this has much to with power reserve, but rather how much wind is in the watch at any given time.

Every self wind watch will wind down to only the amount of wind that you put into it daily - and that is seldom a full wind.

If you are not active enough you will not put enough wind into the watch to make up for the amount of power it uses just to maintain itself and it will stop on your wrist.

Apologies if my explanation was incorrect. Basically if I wind it 30-40 times, which is a full wind, the watch will work normally. After a few days, it is hit or miss as the watch will stop randomly. This week wore for a few days after full wind, today it stopped about an hour ago but I had little movement as I was at my desk.... It did restart at one point, maybe when I went to the restroom or something, but still not sure how that is possible.

[Tomas Eriksson]

Originally Posted by SN2354

Hi All

I have a 15300, with the famous 3120 movement. Had the watch only for about 6-8 months with little use. grey dealer claims it was serviced within a year at the time I bought it.

You have no papers confirming the service? Worst case just service the watch, especially if it's a keeper. I had two 3120 watches serviced by AP the last two years and both were very reasonable, no extra costs except a new strap for my Diver.

Originally Posted by Halothane

It’s an AP. Expect to send it in periodically. AP’s can be fragile - at least that has been my experience. Of note , I’ve never had issues with Rolex or Patek.


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Not my experience. Had multiple Rolex warranty repairs over the years but none on any of my APs, all have been treated equally.

[SN2354]

Originally Posted by Octagon Guy

Hand wound is quite impossible to obtain the full power reserve as indicated on specs. It's mostly a hit or miss. When specs states 60hrs, it'll normally range from 55hrs to sometimes 65hrs. And when the watch stops ticking for a very short time, at times it can restart with a big movement but will stop again soon. My guess is that when it just stop, there's probably still a bit of wound up power left. Not strong enough to move the calibre by itself but enough to kick start with a push from our exterior hand movement. But again, not enough power to maintain movement for a long time.

Anyway from how you describe, I'll say your watch is totally fine.

For example, I wind it up, wear for a few days no problem... Last night I put it on the table at around midnight, I wake up and it is dead at 3am. Not sure this is normal, if it is then I apologize for wasting anybody's time.

Originally Posted by Tools

I think that we are saying the same thing.

You full wind it, then you are somewhat inactive, and the watch runs down after a few days. If you are not active a self wind watch will stop on your wrist - then start if you give enough movement to put a few more minutes in.

Naturally, the other alternative is that you are plenty active, but the self-wind mechanism is not working properly.

As mentioned above, its working fine on the wrist, winding auto or manual.... it only dies when off the wrist for a few hours (or sleeping) after a few days of manually winding it. Does that make sense? If this is normal I will totally accept it. It is my first AP.

Originally Posted by Tomas Eriksson

You have no papers confirming the service? Worst case just service the watch, especially if it's a keeper. I had two 3120 watches serviced by AP the last two years and both were very reasonable, no extra costs except a new strap for my Diver.



Not my experience. Had multiple Rolex warranty repairs over the years but none on any of my APs, all have been treated equally.

If above quotes are true, it seems nothing is wrong (maybe?) and if that is the case I have no reason to service it as it is actually telling time great when its working

[neal.jy]

This sounds normal to me, it’s likely that your wrist isn’t moving enough for the movement to wind fully - so between the initial manual wind and then the slight movement of your wrist, it has just enough power to keep running - but then a few hours later it’ll use up the remaining power.

One solution is to get a winder - when I take my watches off I have them on a SwissKubik winder and that’s worked well for me.


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[SN2354]

Originally Posted by neal.jy

This sounds normal to me, it’s likely that your wrist isn’t moving enough for the movement to wind fully - so between the initial manual wind and then the slight movement of your wrist, it has just enough power to keep running - but then a few hours later it’ll use up the remaining power.

One solution is to get a winder - when I take my watches off I have them on a SwissKubik winder and that’s worked well for me.


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Thank you. As long as it is normal in the AP world, I am happy as I do not have to send it off to be serviced and not wear it for a couple of months

[Octagon Guy]

Originally Posted by SN2354

Thank you. As long as it is normal in the AP world, I am happy as I do not have to send it off to be serviced and not wear it for a couple of months

Definitely normal. The situation you are facing should apply to all mechanical watches across all brands.