Automatic Watch Not Holding Charge

[saleen]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Rado skeleton automatic watch (cosc version) from an online discount retailer. The watch is physically new but my best estimate is this was a 2010 watch model that went out of production 2-3 years ago. So I think it was just old stock sold at a heavy discount.

 

My problem is it just doesn't hold a charge. I try to wind it up by spinning the crown towards 12 more than 30 times. I wear it all day, 7am to 10pm and I'm a fairly active person. I will wear like this the whole week but come the weekend, if I stop wearing it, the watch dies and stops working after only 12 hours. According to the manufacture information, it should hold up to a 36 hour charge. It also runs extremely slow, after about 5 days of wearing, it is almost running 4 minutes behind the time I originally synchronized via www.time.gov. Can anyone help advise me what I should do?

 

I did send it back to the retailer for repair but they had no clue how to address the issue. They told me they sent the watch back to Rado for manufacture repair, but I don't believe them, because after receiving the watch back there is no improvement whatsoever. I just don't understand what could be wrong or what I should try next. Any help would be appreciated. I really like this model and would like to see it working properly.

[anilv]

Hi Saleen,

 

Some pictures would help..especially of the back.

 

Anil

[clockboy]

These are the faults I have encountered with auto watches. The oscillating weight sometimes the bearing fails or it just gets dirty & does not oscillate freely. The reversing wheels (some watches only wind in one direction some wind in both) can fail although they can be cleaned & lubricated with a special lubricant (Lubeta V105) I would just replace if possible. The mainspring may be slipping too much in the barrel again it will need cleaning & inspecting. Finally it can be the watch just needs a service but if the watch is new this is unlikely. In fact if to is new you are entitled to your money back as it is not "fit for purpose"

[Geo]

If new old stock, I would recommend a full service anyway. If this is carried out by a competent repairer, he or she should find the problem in the process.

[saleen]

Thanks for the responses so far. As requested, I am adding some photos. One is a front view and two with a view of back of the watch. I hope this helps.

[Gingerr6]

That's a beaut. Cosc certfied too... Should be top notch. I would ask for my ££££ back. Does it state what movement it is ??

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[bobm12]

I love the watch! Problem is I'm not familiar with it...you said it won't hold a charge but...is it electronic/digital? I think I saw a balance wheel there...maybe it is an auto with a weak spring? In any case, I'd love to know what movement it uses...maybe it is an easy fix, like a simple maintenance as Geo recommended.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[saleen]

@bobm12 It is a self winding automatic watch which should accumulate up to a 36 hour charge. At the moment, I am manually winding it up on a daily basis, by turning the crown towards 12. I spin the crown daily by about 30 times. If I don't continue to manually wind it up, it will eventually die after about 12 hours of not being worn instead of lasting up to 36 hours.

[clockboy]

@bobm12 It is a self winding automatic watch which should accumulate up to a 36 hour charge. At the moment, I am manually winding it up on a daily basis, by turning the crown towards 12. I spin the crown daily by about 30 times. If I don't continue to manually wind it up, it will eventually die after about 12 hours of not being worn instead of lasting up to 36 hours.

Salon, As I stated in my original post there are quite a few things that could be wrong.The fact that the watch runs is good.

However the only way to fix is to have it looked at by a watch repairer who will strip it & inspect. 

[anilv]

Dear Saleen,

 

New old stock watches may have problems with old oil.

 

What happens when oil gets old is that it takes greater energy to keep things moving.. so you may have a watch with full wind but somewhere at the half-way point between fully wound and unwound it stops, possibly because the 'resisitance' in the train is more than the residual power in the mainspring.

 

One way to check this is once the watch stops (without hand-winding mind) ,  release the mainspring keeping track of how many turns of the crown, or ratchet wheel screw until it is fully unwound (you need to remove the winding rotor and bridge first),. typically you should have less than half a turn. If you have only half a  turn then then the fault is in the automatic winding. If you have more than one full turn of the ratchet wheel you have a problem in the train.

 

one thing to consider is that the watch may have been faulty in the first place...someone bought it but found it didn't work well and brought it in for a replacement...dealer was lazy sending it off and then it was too late!

 

Anil

[bobm12]

Also, could the problem be be the rotor bearing? Just a possibility I think...

 

Cheers,

 

Bob