Regulation story to cheer you up.
Morning all (or afternoon or evening wherever you are), I finally got around to taking my watch, a Seiko Alpinist, to finally get regulated. After moaning about this watch on many a post on here, I took it to my local watch guy to have a tinker with.
Upon walking in I asked how he was "I'm alive". This guy is very interesting as basically he insults you the whole time you are in his shop, but in such a dry way that you cannot be sure if its in jest or in seriousness. Hence he told me that my watch was basically a Seiko 5 and I was a bloody idiot for paying all that money, and that they were all built by machines. I told him I was thinking about putting it on eBay as it didn't gel and I didnt want to pass it on in good conscience as it was loosing so much time. His response was "So I am fixing your bloody watch so you make more money".
So he pops it on a time grapher and takes the back off, has a tinker a couple of times and insults me some more and charged me £10. It was the best £10 I have spent in ages, mainly for the insults !
I know many of you WC peeps regulate yourself but I am what is technically referred to as cack handed.
From the UK, I am a watch nut, from the age of 18 been putting £5ish aside each week to fund my watch passion and never stopped.
That guy sounds like a treasure, and I mean that.
Certainly sounds like a character, £10 well spent. Nice watch 😍👍
How many seconds a day improvement?
How many seconds a day improvement?
It's around 12 seconds I think, but only done yesterday afternoon. When I asked the watch guy he said "It's about 7 to 12, why don't you go buy a bloody quartz"
Best £10 you will ever spend , now Everytime you buy a watch , you will have this gem in your mind .. so dnt be a bloody idiot ok ;)
In contrast to what? Made by elves in in the deep woods of Saxony? 😂
But yes, exactly what I would expect a watchmaker to be like. Reminds me of that one time I went to a gunsmith.
In contrast to what? Made by elves in in the deep woods of Saxony? 😂
But yes, exactly what I would expect a watchmaker to be like. Reminds me of that one time I went to a gunsmith.
I’d rather insult someone carrying a watch than a gun!
I always regulate my own watches. Just takes a steady, rested hand and the tiniest of increments.
But normally I don't bother since I change watches so often. They all tell time well enough to wear for a day.
Funny story, Paul! That guy sounds like a real character. I've had dealings with that kind of personality before as well. 😄
Great story. Wish I could find a good local guy
Love this story! My watchmaker is the king of insults too, but some days he will pull out the good stuff he’s had for years and be chatty and almost nice. Worth the insults every time!
Love this story! My watchmaker is the king of insults too, but some days he will pull out the good stuff he’s had for years and be chatty and almost nice. Worth the insults every time!
I think it's a prerequisite for the job !
Paul, you cannot beat a good character, the different types are what makes life such a great kaleidoscope 👍🏻
Glad you’ve got your watch sorted hopefully the gel may develop now🤔
Paul, you cannot beat a good character, the different types are what makes life such a great kaleidoscope 👍🏻
Glad you’ve got your watch sorted hopefully the gel may develop now🤔
Yes going to give it a bit more wrist time, other than the slightly off alignment with the compass (that is useless for me) the main problem was losing a lot of time, a couple of mins + a day. It's a lovely watch.
Would love to find a watch guy like that!
Yup, changing the beat error will make a huge change to the accuracy, but sometimes it needs to be done.
If he's Scottish that may be my uncle...in a good mood.
I Regulate my watch. I cant change beat error in Miyota because it need a small screwdriver. I have Suunto compass, demagnitizer, timegrapher, workbench case opener. It is handy.
I checked all my watch, compare it to yesterday. If it is running faster i know i have to check if it is magnetizef. If it is slower a lot, i will wind it.
Seiko movement run lower amplitude to Selita
That sounds exactly like the watchmaker I used for my SKX! A real grumpy man, insulting everything and everyone, but in that dry humour way. The way in which you laugh, but uncomfortably, and just want him to do what you ask so you can leave lol. He even refused to service 2 out of the 3 watches I wanted him to work on as the vintage Smiths watches "were a load of crap"... 🤷🏼♂️
Crazy. Wonder how he stays in business hating everyone so much. But, 10 for regulation is unbelievably cheap. Nothing watch related costs under $200 bucks in my city.
Alp'ies are super GADA watches (dressy enough looking, but also 200m WR field watches, and you don't mind if they get scuffed) so nice to always have one in the collection.
Mine is regulated and keeps within COSC, but I don't care much whether a watch is +10 or +2. ...Well, except for my spring drives (I expect them to keep within seconds per year!😜)
The sunray dial on yours looks great, hope it goes back into rotation.
My Alpy McAlp Face: