How to rest overnight on the crown?

[freebo]

I've noticed my GMT keeps better time when I rest it overnight on its crown, I've only had it a month so the novelty of checking the accuracy is still with me. When stood on its crown overnight it stays within 1 sec a day. Laying it flat can result in a drift of 3-5 secs.

Things is, its a bit of a balancing act, I need to extend the bracelet so make it stand on its crown, has anyone found a better way?

And yes, I'm aware how geeky this sounds

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by freebo

I've noticed my GMT keeps better time when I rest it overnight on its crown, I've only had it a month so the novelty of checking the accuracy is still with me. When stood on its crown overnight it stays within 1 sec a day. Laying it flat can result in a drift of 3-5 secs.

Things is, its a bit of a balancing act, I need to extend the bracelet so make it stand on its crown, has anyone found a better way?

And yes, I'm aware how geeky this sounds

Rest it on a rolled up or scrunched up piece of cloth.
That way the crown will be able to sink down into it and the rest of the watch will still be supported thereby holding it in your preferred position.

[dr3ws]

I rest my watch on the crown everyday because it keeps better time and it's really easy to do

[Yzord]

How do you "really" know a watch is 1 second behind per day? Sounds like impossible to me.

[Mick P]

Originally Posted by Yzord

How do you "really" know a watch is 1 second behind per day? Sounds like impossible to me.

I time my watch every Saturday at midday and divide any variance by 7 to equate to a daily variation.

I use time.is which is deadly accurate and my old GMT 16710 has just gained 10 seconds over a week (1.43 secs per day) and when I return to the UK I fully intend to give my AD a jolly good thrashing for shoddy workmanship.

Regards

Mick

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Yzord

How do you "really" know a watch is 1 second behind per day? Sounds like impossible to me.

Compare it to the time on a timekeeping site like time.is and make a mental note each day. Or write it down. It's easy to keep track of daily variation like that.

[Yzord]

But is it really an issue to set the time a minute later after 60 days? MOst of us own more watches...you have to set the time anyway if you do not use a watch winder.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Yzord

But is it really an issue to set the time a minute later after 60 days? MOst of us own more watches...you have to set the time anyway if you do not use a watch winder.

Some people just take an interest in their watch's movement and how it performs. No one is re-setting it every day. With overnight positioning you can speed up or slow down some movements, and you use a time refernce to check the daily difference.

[Yzord]

Fair enough :-) good to know that laying it on its crown could "force" it to run it more on time!

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mick P]

It takes about 2 or 3 minutes to wind up and set the time. If you find that too much of a bother, buy a quartz.

Regards

Mick

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Yzord

Fair enough :-) good to know that laying it on its crown could "force" it to run it more on time!

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This old paper from Rolex explains it.

[Mick P]

Does that apply to new watches ?

I experimented with my 214270 (39mm Explorer) and it made not a scrap of difference and yet it does affect my older 1655.

Regards

Mick

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Mick P

Does that apply to new watches ?

I experimented with my 214270 (39mm Explorer) and it made not a scrap of difference and yet it does affect my older 1655.

Regards

Mick

It works much better with older Rolex movements (15xx for example) and modern Tudor/ETA as a rule, though some people have reported noticeable results here with current Rolex.

[Mick P]

OK - Thanks.

I am lucky, all of my watches are within 2 secs a day and run slightly fast.

All I have to do is stop the watch for a few secs every Saturday and it's job done.

Regards

Mick

[zengineer]

As for the original question, I have as stack of leather drink coasters from somewhere that make nice resting spots for a watch. A mouse pad comes to mind as well.

[The Libertine]

Crown resting position had no identifiable effect on timing of any of my watches.

[Lol-x]

So laying the watch with the crown facing down has the effect of speeding up or slowing down the watch overnight??

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

So laying the watch with the crown facing down has the effect of speeding up or slowing down the watch overnight??

Usually slowing down, Steve. Dial/face up position will usually speed it up. Assuming the movement is sensitive at all.

[slide13]

Varies based on the watch though. My Sub runs a tiny bit faster crown down then it does face up, which is counter to what most people say. I think the modern Rolex movements are so close these days that you no longer see the big shifts you used to see. The difference between face up, crown down, crown up, etc. is within a second on my watch. But face up it runs a tiny bit slow and crown down it runs even or a tiny bit fast.

As far as resting it...I always just set my watch down on a handkerchief on a small table in my bedroom...always have. I just set it crown down and it sits there fine, never had a problem with that. Maybe it's trickier on a hard surface? Easy fit if so.

I don't get too worked up over resting position or even time keeping as long as it's within a few seconds, but I do find it fun to track for no other reason then it amuses me.

[Lol-x]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Usually slowing down, Steve. Dial/face up position will usually speed it up. Assuming the movement is sensitive at all.

Thanks Adam, I positioned my watch crown down last night and today it is 1-2 seconds slower than yesterday going by time.is as a reference.

The issue is however, I want my watch to gain time if anything instead of losing time...so tonight I'll try the dial up position as you suggest and see if there is any change.

I agree with what you say that modern Rolex do not vary as much as say the 16XX series movements as a result of overnight positioning.

[zengineer]

Its easily demonstrated if you have a timegrapher. Every watch is different but when I change positions they all run faster or slower depending on position. Some lose time on a winder but gain on the wrist, some vary more than others position to position. The forum will be happy to know that Rolex in general have a pretty small spread compared to other brands I've played with.

[GMT Aviator]

I have a timegrapher. A useful piece of kit.

I time all my watches to see where they're at, and make a note of which position will best advance or retard them overnight as needed. My GMT LN needs to be crown down at night to retard it slightly, but my Exp2 and one of my DJ2's are the opposite and need to be crown up at night. One of them advances slightly in that position and the other retards slightly in that position, but both need crown up due to their individual gain and loss during the day as appropriate.

[jb335]

Resting positions had no effect on my 6 digit but does affect my 5 digit piece.

[wrist_watcher]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

This old paper from Rolex explains it.

Many here say this no longer works with the modern movements. True or False. That little paper is a relic of the past.

[173rdabn]

I have found crown down works best. I place mine on my wallet with bracelet extended. No scratches and very stable.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by wrist_watcher

Many here say this no longer works with the modern movements. True or False. That little paper is a relic of the past.

The same info is included with the warranty paper of my 1966 DateJust, too.

[freebo]

Originally Posted by wrist_watcher

Many here say this no longer works with the modern movements. True or False. That little paper is a relic of the past.

Actually it does, my BLNR looses when laid flat and gains when crown down. Only by a sec or so but its consistent.

I use the toolwatch app.

[Lol-x]

Why would some watches in a given resting position gain time, while other watches (with the same movement) lose time in that same position????

[mtgjr]

Originally Posted by freebo

Actually it does, my BLNR looses when laid flat and gains when crown down. Only by a sec or so but its consistent.

I use the toolwatch app.

Well that's the opposite of what Rolex said the result would be.

[freebo]

Originally Posted by mtgjr

Well that's the opposite of what Rolex said the result would be.

Yes I know, but that's how mine is responding.