Mecanical winding

[CiroGranados]

I have read I can wind mecanically my datejust only 40 times. Means 40 exact rounds? Is it possible to overwind an oyster perpetual?

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[MonBK]

No you can not overwind, fire away.

the 40 turns are approx.

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[malarky_hk]

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[HL65]

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[Alcan]

Originally Posted by CiroGranados

Is it possible to overwind an oyster perpetual?

No. Every Rolex automatic wind watch ever made has a slip clutch built into the mainspring winding mechanism, as has just about every automatic wind watch. Think about it. A very active person could easily have enough wrist movement to wind the mainspring to full tension and then some. So what happens then? Continued movement overwinds the watch and breaks the mainspring? Nope, the mainspring is not physically attached to the inside of the barrel, rather it rides in indents in the barrel's inner diameter so it can slip once fully wound.

Here's a pretty good explanation:

"Why it doesn't over-wind itself

On June 16, 1863, Adrien Philippe (of Patek Philippe) is credited with Patent No.58941, for the "slipping mainspring". This particular invention allowed the simultaneous winding of two or more mainspring barrels, certainly a different invention with a different purpose. However, the technology of his invention is said to be the foundation for the development of self-winding wristwatches.

The Slipping Spring

This "slipping" spring allows the mainspring to slide or slip a few degrees relative to the inside of the barrel while still staying fully wound. The end of the slipping spring moves from one groove to another on the inside the barrel, stopping each time, and thus keeping the spring under constant tension.

This attachment of spring steel is sometimes referred to as a bridle. This bridle slips along the barrel wall before excess pressure is passed to the going train. The bridle must also grip the barrel wall sufficiently to not slip down either too rapidly, or too slowly, a defect known as “mainspring creep” which results in a shortened reserve power time.

The slipping bridle on the outer end of the mainspring is illustrated here. (1). the bridle (in the barrel), (2) maintains outward pressure on the outermost coil of the mainspring (3). At less than full wind, the bridle pressure causes the outer tip of the spring to catch in a notch in the barrel wall (4) and maintain its position. As the mainspring reaches full wind, the outer end of the spring slips out of the notch and releases tension by slipping across the smooth section of the barrel wall (5) until it catches in the next notch."

The image on the right below is a Rolex caliber 3135 mainspring and barrel.


Images from TimeZone

[mrbill2mrbill2]

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I wind mine 50 full turns.

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