Quote Originally Posted by verv View Post
I wouldn't worry too hard Tom.
I believe that the issue with the 32's is a lubrication and coating issue that can be sorted at service and not a more significant flaw of design/build.
Lubrication is the official line and it's an issue that's also been mentioned by people who've worked on them, but the main issue seems to stem from the longer power reserve which they've achieved by fitting a longer mainspring and which causes amplitude to drop off significantly when not fully wound. To combat that they've used a pallet fork with smaller jewels and an escape wheel with smaller teeth to reduce friction, which I think could be the lubrication issue as the smaller surface area retains less oil and would suggest shorter service intervals.

It's a long time since I read the thread on TRF so I may not be 100% accurate about the above, but the consensus from the Rolex watchmakers was that it's a fundamentally flawed design and much less robust than the 31xx.