Accuracy of Minute Hand (it runs fast)
My Sinn U50 BS arrived a couple of weeks ago and I’ve hardly taken it off my wrist. What a great wearing watch and I love how tough and capable it is.
The movement tends to run +5 to +6 seconds a day these past weeks on the wrist (and I wear it to bed, also). While I dream of it being only +2 seconds or less per day, this +5 is plenty good enough.
What I’ve noticed this last week, though, is that even though the seconds hand, as I check it through out the day, slowly gains those +5 seconds in a 24 hour period, I noticed that the minute hand tends to drift half a minute or a full minute fast. I don’t think the second hand was moving so fast as to be +65 seconds a day. From what I can tell, it is truly only +5 per day. But I do notice the minute hand is often half a minute or a full minute ahead.
Has anyone else encountered this? Any suggestions. Thanks all!
New to collecting in early 2022. Fun rabbit hole :)
Hey, I also own a Sinn U50 and it's my most worn watch since two years. Mine also runs a bit too fast at around +2 to +4 seconds a day. Of course that's close to perfect without any provided COSC Certificate or whatsoever.
I definitely didn't have the phenomenon you're describing on my watch. What I would suggest you, is putting the watch on a time grapher (maybe you have a watch repair shop near you) or at least try a watch accuracy app for the phone. Those aren't too accurate but for an indicator for +5 seconds vs. +65 seconds definitely suitable. As soon as you can locate the problem on the minute hand or the entire movement running too fast, I would try to get in touch with Sinn or the seller.
I hope, I could help and I wish you all the best with your watch. Great choice in my little biased opinion! 😊
So you are still at +5 a day? But it's faster at some points of the day?
Could be that is regulated 'less" in certain positions and you spend more more time in that position in a certain period of the day? And then it slows back down towards the end of the day or during the night when it's in a different position? Sounds plausible 🤷
Watch it for a few days and see if the minute hand gain is consistent and advances each day.
I've seen watches where the minute hand "jumps" ahead a bit when the crown is pushed in after setting. Being an old fart, I've also sworn that I had it perfectly lined up and later realizing that that wasn't the case at all.
I'm not sure if its mechanically possible for the minute hand to run faster than the seconds hand.
Thanks for the good advice.
@foghorn This definitely occurred to me and very well might be part of it. I haven’t observed very carefully to see what happens to the minute hand as I push in the crown. I could well be moving it slightly which would cause this issue.
@mjosamannen The watch seems to be consistently running about +5 to +6 seconds a day. It’s the minute hand that seems to be the issue. I could have sworn I have the minute hand lined up perfectly against a minute marker when I occasionally hack the movement to align to the time to the second with my G-shock. I always do this with the seconds at the 0 (or 60) seconds mark, to make sure I can line up the minute hand exactly to a minute marker. I’m finding that later in the day, or the next morning, that while the seconds hand is advancing by a few seconds, the minute hand either now lines up in between minute markers (i.e. has advanced by half a minute) or even lines up to the next minute marker (and thus reads a full minute faster than the G-shock). The seconds hand, however, doesn’t seem to have accelerated beyond the +5 seconds a day (i.e. it’s not +65 seconds)
@at_michi Thanks for the tip. I think I really do need to get a timegrapher and start playing around with regulation. I do love getting the timepieces to be as accurate as possible, like getting a musical instrument in perfect tune.
Interesting. I have heard of hour hands doing that, and on GMT watches only, but never minute hands.
What you’re describing “should” be impossible. The only possible explanations I can think of are the minute hand moving when hacking the movement (as described above), or the hands actually touching each other as they pass.
Thanks for the good advice.
@foghorn This definitely occurred to me and very well might be part of it. I haven’t observed very carefully to see what happens to the minute hand as I push in the crown. I could well be moving it slightly which would cause this issue.
@mjosamannen The watch seems to be consistently running about +5 to +6 seconds a day. It’s the minute hand that seems to be the issue. I could have sworn I have the minute hand lined up perfectly against a minute marker when I occasionally hack the movement to align to the time to the second with my G-shock. I always do this with the seconds at the 0 (or 60) seconds mark, to make sure I can line up the minute hand exactly to a minute marker. I’m finding that later in the day, or the next morning, that while the seconds hand is advancing by a few seconds, the minute hand either now lines up in between minute markers (i.e. has advanced by half a minute) or even lines up to the next minute marker (and thus reads a full minute faster than the G-shock). The seconds hand, however, doesn’t seem to have accelerated beyond the +5 seconds a day (i.e. it’s not +65 seconds)
@at_michi Thanks for the tip. I think I really do need to get a timegrapher and start playing around with regulation. I do love getting the timepieces to be as accurate as possible, like getting a musical instrument in perfect tune.
I misunderstood 😊Like someone else said. It might be that the minute hand moves as you push it back in after adjusting the time? I have owned watches that are very sensitive and does that as long as I didn't pay very close attention. But doesn't seem like the issue either if it's the same amount of time every time or if the minute hand drifts even more over several days?
I’ve experimented these last few days, taking care to be precise about setting the minute hand when I hack the movement to synchronize with g-shock. Turns out that the minute hand isn’t wandering the way I posted in Post #1. I must have been doing as you all suggested: moving the minute hand slightly when I hacked the movement.
Thank goodness. Feels great to know it’s running tightly.