Reply With QuoteMainspring has broken.
Hi all.
I have a strange watch issue and would be grateful for advice from members here who know far more than I do!
I own a Steinhart Marine Chronometer II, bought on SC about a year and a half ago. It's a lovely watch, fitted with the Unitas 6498-1 hand wound movement (according to the papers).
Now for the problem... until a couple of weeks ago it has run perfectly. It wound beautifully, kept excellent time and had a power reserve of around 40 hours (again, exactly as stated in the papers). It was close to fully wound after 40 turns of the crown.
All of a sudden, something changed. Now, after 16 turns of the crown (from fully unwound), there is a click as if a clutch has slipped, and turning the crown any more won't wind up the watch any further. The power reserve is now 15 hours.
The watch is still keeping time perfectly well...
So, what has gone wrong? I can still wear the watch but I would have to wind it twice a day, which is clearly not right. There was a thread on the forum back in 2007 that very clearly identified that the hand wound 6498 is not fitted with a slipping clutch, unlike many automatics. So this is a bit of a mystery...
Any thoughts/advice/help gratefully received.
All the best,
Simon
Mainspring has broken.
You probably wouldn´t be able to wind it at all, with a broken mainspring..........Originally Posted by chrisb
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Something is wrong. Get it fixed.
:)
m
Very helpfull, in need of some posts?
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
That would be my assumption, Daddel. I don't believe the watch has been over-wound as I'm not generally that ham-fisted, and if the mainspring had gone then surely the watch wouldn't work at all?
A really useful contribution from morgandk, though...
Simon
If the mainspring has broken at the arbor end you won't be able to wind it, if it's broken more towards the bridle end (the barrel wall) it will wind and it will have a little power reserve. My money's on a broken mainspring.
Yep, the spring will take compression in proportion to its unbroken length.
Oh come on. Have a sense of humor. Ive been on here since 2009.
It can be the mainspring. It can be the gear that the stem hooks into, or it could be a loose tirette screw thats moving around inside the movement. Identical for all three problems - have a qualified watchmaker look at it. Doing problem solving without opening a watch is like trying to fix a car without turning it on or opening the good. Very good fun, but ultimately a waste of time. :)
Morgan
I've had a mainspring break on a pocket watch and it would do similar to the symptoms mentioned - it had broken right at the end but there was enough friction on the broken end that when wound it would wind a bit, then slip round in the barrel.
Thanks all. Much as I suspected. I've sent a PM to Paul to see if he would be able to help.
Cheers, Simon
Only if the end is able to catch/bind up somewhere. The outer coil of the spring has a bridle that engages against the barrel wall; if the spring's broken this won`t happen but the (part) spring may be able to catch against the part that's not attached to the arbour. That'll allow the watch to run a little.
Nothing lasts forever, and watch mainsprings are no exception!
Paul
... and help he can. What a guy :)
Simon
Good to hear :)
I'd be really interested to know what the issue is when you have it looked at. I have an Archimede Deck Watch with the same movement, and it occasionally clicks and feels like something's jumped a gear while winding in the way that you describe. No issue with power reserve though, so I've just assumed it's a feature for now - it's under warranty so if something does go bang I'll just send it back to them to fix.
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