Regulate your watch

if you move it half a millimeter at a time you should be ok. It sometimes alters the the beat rate though. mark the original position with a fine tip marker first.

Small tip- Use a toothpick to move the stems while you regulate.

Well, you probably want a timing machine before attempting to regulate the watch. Then you don't have to wait 24 hours to see how you did. You will also want to regulate it in several positions so you will need some sort of suspension for the watch when timing the Crown up, Crown down and Crown Left and Right. BTW, the counter weights shown in your picture concern me. If one of them moves....

Long and short, if it is a watch you do not care about or is cheap, have fun. Anything of any value, I would not mess with as an amatuer. Take those to a competant watch maker.

A wooden skewer also works.

Good tips given above. Also Try to keep everything as dust free as possible 😊

I couldn't imagine regulating without a timegrapher. What seems like the slightest nudge can change it by 30+ spd. If you break things just by looking at them, I would be very cautious.

the thought of doing this myself gives me so much anxiety. even the thought of you doing it to one of your own watches is giving me anxiety. i’m an appreciator of watches but some things are best left to the experts.

While I feel I would be competent at adjusting my own watches I don't attempt it because I don't have a timegrapher.

Apologies if this seems obvious or was mentioned in the video, but try to come at it from as low an angle (towards horizontal) as you can manage, you don't want to be missing and going through the balance spring.

I have regulated dozens of watches, and it isn't hard if you own a Timegrapher. There are phone apps, but they really aren't very good. You need a very steady hand a jewellers loop. Be prepared to adjust the beat error as well, as sometimes adjusting the rate puts the beat error out as well. Finally, if your watch is running very fast make sure you demagnetize it first

Getting the feeling its best left to the pros !

Nope.

Been collecting for 50 years and never even tried.

I know enough to stay in my lane.

I got a guy for that stuff.

If they are really inaccurate, they might also be magnetized... Nothing too difficult though with a degausser, but that might be something to check!

It is a relatively simple process, but one that requires concentration and precision.

You are manipulating a lever about the balance of the watch, which is the most sensitive part. One good slip, and you will need a new hairspring.

I like to come from above the lever, make contact on the upper part, then feel my way around it, and apply the slightest pressure.

It's not complicated, but it needs to be executed well. And yes, you need some type of timegrapher.

Please don’t do this willy-nilly unless you have a timegrapher to check your progress or are happy to spend more fixing the mess you create… please.

Did it on some of my Seiko after guarantee ended and vintage watches that are under €100. Definitely doable with patience and care. A minimal movement does a lot, so trial and error is the way to go. Best method is that you should measure over 2 to 3 days how is the accuracy is on your wrist and check on the timegrapher dial up crown right and down + compare the on your wrist measure to dial down to ballpark the measure you should have on the timegrapher. Then wear it again for a day or so. Repeat until you are satisfied. I would recommend you to invest in a weishi 100 on aliex for example if it is something you are really interested in too. Apps like watch accuracy meter, timegrapher and atomic clock & watch accuracy can do that job too if you don't want to invest. But a weishi is a great tool also to monitor the amplitude of a watch you bought second hand to detect movement issue during a 14 days return guarantee before it is too late for example.

I would like to add I have done this for those of my vintage watches that needed it, but it’s not exactly fun or enjoyable. It’s also not a substitute for a service.

Maybe silly question but how do you correct beat error?

The beat error describes, that the endjewel is not centered in the notch of the palletfork. To do that on a movement like this seiko on the photo, you can move the second lever, next to that marked in red. But it isn’allways that “simple”.

Buy one then, they cost an awful lot less than a half decent watch

I have one on my wish list. 👍

I should add that not all movements are the same. Adjusting the rate on an ETA 2824 or any of it's derivatives is simple because there is a micro adjustment screw, but adjusting the beat error is a totally different job to an NH35 (for example). If you have a Powermatic 80 movement that has to go back to the manufacturer for any adjustment.

Many thanks

Many thanks

It that's the case it is very simple, but he will still need a timegrapher