Baltic mr01 for sale maybe
Now I absolutely love this watch. I spend a lot of time staring at this dial periodically and I even go as far as taking it off my wrist in the middle of the day just to admire the movement through the exhibition caseback.
That being said I’m not sure if it’s just my example but it runs TERRIBLY. By the end of my work week it’s gained like 3-4 minutes. I mean I’ve worn vintage seikos a fraction of the price for years and have never experienced such bad timekeeping.
Am I overreacting or are these numbers unacceptable for a watch that’s costs over $500. Have any of you had this issue? I took it to my watchmaker and for him to service and regulate would cost around half of what I paid for the watch altogether so I was thinking about selling it off.
What are your thoughts?
Oh gosh sorry to hear that. Could it have been magnetized?
Oh gosh sorry to hear that. Could it have been magnetized?
That’s what I was thinking but my watchmaker keeps saying that demagnetizing it would just be “putting a bandaid on the issue” which I don’t understand because my understanding is that once it’s demagnetized it’d run right unless it’s magnetized again.
Regulating the watch should not require a full service. I think you should check with another watchmaker.
Fwiw I don't think 3-4minutes a week is by any means terrible, it's an automatic watch, sub $1,000, I agree that it's a lot of money for any watch (that's a separate conversation) but the luxury "I can't believe this is off by 10 seconds / chronometer certified" tier isn't for another few thousand dollars.
Have you tried contacting them? The only accuracy spec I found on the Hangzhou CAL5000a was +/- 20s per day. If that's true, I imagine it would be covered under the warranty.
That’s what I was thinking but my watchmaker keeps saying that demagnetizing it would just be “putting a bandaid on the issue” which I don’t understand because my understanding is that once it’s demagnetized it’d run right unless it’s magnetized again.
It might be worth a small investment to buy a degausser from Amazon to check it out.
Regulating the watch should not require a full service. I think you should check with another watchmaker.
Fwiw I don't think 3-4minutes a week is by any means terrible, it's an automatic watch, sub $1,000, I agree that it's a lot of money for any watch (that's a separate conversation) but the luxury "I can't believe this is off by 10 seconds / chronometer certified" tier isn't for another few thousand dollars.
Right, that might be within spec for that movement. 3-4 mins a week means 30-45 sec/day
Before you do that I’d talk to Baltic. Try and get the tolerances for your movement to double check first although 4mins in 5 days does sound like a lot. And maybe try demagnetising it. If it had to fly over to you it wouldn’t be strange if it got magnetised. The x-rays it would have gone through and all the electronics it would have been close to could easily have done that, and you can get a demagnetiser for not much money on Amazon and it’s a handy thing to have.
If that doesn’t work and it’s not running within tolerances I’d speak to Baltic. You should have a 2 year warranty for that.
Funnily enough my Baltic Acquascaphe is one of my worst in this as well currently running at +14s/day and I’ll be running it through my demagnetiser but a watch of around this price a tolerance of around +/-20s is not unreasonable and as I change out my watches daily it’s not much of an issue.
Regulating the watch should not require a full service. I think you should check with another watchmaker.
Fwiw I don't think 3-4minutes a week is by any means terrible, it's an automatic watch, sub $1,000, I agree that it's a lot of money for any watch (that's a separate conversation) but the luxury "I can't believe this is off by 10 seconds / chronometer certified" tier isn't for another few thousand dollars.
I understand that for watches it’s in the lower echelon but I guess I’m just comparing this watch to my experience with the seikos I own which in comparison are much more affordable (also automatic) but run better. I was expecting it to run similarly to those watches if not better given the higher price tag, finishing of the movement etc etc.
Timegragher and demagnetizer
That’s what I was thinking but my watchmaker keeps saying that demagnetizing it would just be “putting a bandaid on the issue” which I don’t understand because my understanding is that once it’s demagnetized it’d run right unless it’s magnetized again.
Every watch I've ever had that's run 3-4 minutes fast per week was because they got magnetized.
Demagnetizer off Amazon costs $10 and will be delivered in 2 days. Demagnetizing the watch takes 30 seconds.
Spending $10 and 30 seconds of effort to see if it's magnetized is a lot cheaper than what you'd pay in transaction fees and effort and headache and whatnot to sell the watch.
Also, your watchmaker is a quack. If a watch gets magnetized and then demagnetized, there ain't any more issues. "Bandaid"? More like, "Hey, pay me money instead of buying a $10 demagnetizer and solving your own issues."
Can you clarify "work week" and how much it's gaining?
Because 3 minutes lost over 7 days is borderline acceptable at 25 seconds.
4 minutes lost over 4 days is a dreadful 60s
Accuracy is important (get it? 😅)
Can you clarify "work week" and how much it's gaining?
Because 3 minutes lost over 7 days is borderline acceptable at 25 seconds.
4 minutes lost over 4 days is a dreadful 60s
Accuracy is important (get it? 😅)
My work week is 4-5 days 😅
Always liked the look of Baltic, but avoided them because I've always thought they're style over substance.
Would you pay that much if it was on AliExpress? (Rhetorical question)
They're pretty, but beyond that it's a case of the Emperor's New Clothes IMHO.