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10 October 2018, 05:52 AM | #1 |
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Time for service soon?
Eighteen year old GMT II with 3185 movement, with average rate of +5.8s/d; beat error 1.4ms; and amplitude of 271. Is it time for a service, or can it wait? Any risk to the watch if it is not serviced now? The beat error is a little troubling to me. I don't know any prior service history. Thanks.
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10 October 2018, 06:25 AM | #2 |
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18 years with no service history...I'd say yeah, time for a service. There's no way to know what has changed in that amount of time. Gaskets are probably crispy at this point too. And those oscillating weight axles like to eat themselves alive, especially after the oil has dried up.
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10 October 2018, 06:29 AM | #3 |
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Yep! What he said.
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10 October 2018, 06:46 AM | #4 |
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When we view watches that haven't been serviced for 10+ years under our microscope camera it's truly impressive seeing the crusty fossilized oil and all the brass metal dust and shavings from the jewels just completely destroying pivots. You find brass dust all over in places you would expect to find it. Basically turning good rolex parts into a what looks like a pile of sand.
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10 October 2018, 06:49 AM | #5 |
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Really would love to get this watch into our shop see this movement under the camera.
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10 October 2018, 07:14 AM | #6 |
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So, even if I assume it needs servicing, is it a bit of a crapshoot?
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10 October 2018, 07:56 AM | #7 | |
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There's no way to know until it's checked. Did it live on a watch winder? Worn one day a week for 2 hours? Sort of the difference between a car being a daily 50-100 mile commuter or a Sunday drive for a couple hours. Time isn't the only factor here. |
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10 October 2018, 08:13 AM | #8 | |
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Thanks everyone for the clarity. |
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10 October 2018, 08:15 AM | #9 |
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Good analogy.
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10 October 2018, 09:10 AM | #10 | |
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10 October 2018, 11:10 AM | #11 |
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10 October 2018, 03:09 PM | #12 | |
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18 years without service? Yeah even if it wasn't worn I'd get the movement serviced.
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10 October 2018, 06:55 PM | #13 | |
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Thanx :) |
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10 October 2018, 08:01 PM | #14 | |
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I would venture to guess that 18 years of winding once per month would show more wear on the movement than 3 years of consecutive use purely due to oils migrating or drying up. Your tube and crown would have far more wear as well since you'd have ~216 winding events compared to only a handful a year on a daily watch. Personally, I'd wear the watch and enjoy it. I'd rather receive a worn watch from my father than one in mint/NOS condition. A worn watch has history, soul and inherent sentimental value. An unworn watch would be intimidating to wear far too tempting to sell for current market value or put back in the safe for another 30 years. But, that's just my take. |
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10 October 2018, 10:37 PM | #15 | |
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Totally agree. Cheers. -Norm
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11 October 2018, 04:15 AM | #16 |
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Offcourse i do not want safe queens lol.. But just for the sake of education purpose ) thanx for the info btw
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11 October 2018, 04:26 AM | #17 | |
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Great info. Same goes for quartz watches. People seem to think that just because they never wore it, it's still perfect. Sadly, batteries tend to leak, and that's just total destruction. I always tell people who want to put quartz watches aside to pass down, to let me at least take the batteries out! |
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11 October 2018, 10:02 PM | #18 |
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Be cool to have a picture taken once it is open up! Just to see how the movement has lived for 18 years
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12 October 2018, 01:45 AM | #19 |
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12 October 2018, 05:40 AM | #20 |
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12 October 2018, 05:42 AM | #21 |
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Does no service history mean that it is unknown if/when it was last serviced or does it mean that it wasn’t service in the past 18 years?
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12 October 2018, 06:48 AM | #22 |
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Sounds like it's a complete unknown per the first post.
Regardless, it's probably best to assume no prior service and that movement parts are now wearing considerably with daily use. The sooner a service can be performed, the better. |
12 October 2018, 06:53 AM | #23 |
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