Problem with my GMT 2

[tee3509]

Greetings Forum:

About 3 weeks ago I received a Swiss ETA GMTII from Trusty. Yesterday I noticed that the GMT hand gets stuck at 1 the o'clock position and I have to move it past the 1 to get it moving correctly again. Other than that it works find and I am very happy with the watch overall. Please give me your advice on what I should do:

(A) Inform Andrew and arrange to have it replaced
(B) Send watch to get repaired
(C) Overlook this as a minor problem and move on
(D) None of the above/something I hadn't considered yet


please note that I have no intention of opening the watch up and fixing it myself since I have neither the tools or skills necessary to do this.

Thanks in advance for your always wise counsel.

 

[SteveG]

Do you have the correct or incorrect hand stack? Also it sounds like the GMT hand may be hitting the 1 o'clock marker. If you have a watch guy nearby this would be a quick fix, as you can just bend the GMT hand slightly to prevent contact from the marker. If the hand is stopping randomly you might have another problem which seems to be common with this movement, in which case I'd send it back.

Ultimately if you do not have anyone to fix this for you, I'd contact Andrew and insist on sending it back for replacement or repair.

 

[guru]

looks like an old problem, I would try to talk to the dealer and send it back to him.
Slipping GMT hand could be the problem an nothing you could do.

 

[guru]

looks like an old problem, I would try to talk to the dealer and send it back to him.
Slipping GMT hand could be the problem an nothing you could do.

 

[lovereps]

If you have the CHS.......I guess your ticking time bomb exploded early!!! :lol: Or I could be wrong and it's just a stuck GMT hand.......I hope! If i'm right....send it back and just asked for an Asian IHS version and request he send you two for 1! You paid a lot of money for the Swiss....I think!

 

[hk45ca]

send it back.

 

[AllergyDoc]

There are things you can try first before shipping the watch back to China.

Try rotating the hands through several days. Oftentimes this gets the hands lined back up again and lets your watch run as it should.

Do not fiddle with the GMT hand until the movement has had some time to "break in."

GMT's can fussy because the basic movement has to be modified to run the GMT hand. Oftentimes they just need some TLC as they "break in."

For sure, though, notify your dealer so the problem is "on record."

 

[Spirit]

..Seems to be a very common problem as I can see now too :?

Got myself an Asian IHS 16710 GMT-II (Red/Black - Coke) yesterday, and just noticed the same problem here with mine.
...The difference is that it gets stuck at 5 ´o clock and seems that it got stuck at 7 ´o clock too. But since I just got it yesterday, I didn´t even had time to see it run 24hs yet. So, I need to check what´s going on there. But as I could see, it´s not touching any hour marker.

Also, when I get the GMT hand to move around the clock manually (independently), the date pretends to change and just 'clicks' ...hmm.. like 4 times during the 24hs lap.

Well, I followed Doc´s prescription and did rotate the hours thru several days, and the GMT hand went thru it normally, getting aligned again, but after that, it´s better not move the GMT hand independently again, or the problem will show up again.
Best solution for it is to:
1 - align the GMT hand with the movement (rotate the hours thru several days until the GMT hand get aligned by itself)
2 - don´t move the GMT hand independently again.
3 - Set the second time zome that you want thru your bezel, just rotating it. (At least, it´s for what the bezel was made rotational)

...Being a perfectionist guy, seeing the bezel with the 12 ´o clock mark rotated in another place other than the right position, just freaks me out! But I´ll have to live with it. Better have a working watch set via bezel, than having a non-working watch at all. lol
[smilie=angel10.gif]


==================

On another subject related to GMT´s, I want to get a new bezel insert for mine later on, with more accurate markings, since mine isn´t at all. Does anybody know where can I get some decent 16710 bezel inserts around? I was at WatchMaterial looking for what they had there, but I only saw 16760 Inserts there, with the different font style numbers... and I don´t want it.

...Will I have to remove the entire Bezel to get the Insert removed, or can I get the Insert removed without pulling the Bezel out?
As I have no tools here, I don´t want to scratch nor harm the watch and bezel on this operation...any tips?

EDIT> Please notice that the GMT-Master II Bezel Insert DOESN´T have a pearl to pop-up and make the removing of the insert easier...


Thanks in advance =)

Cheers,
Spirit.

 

[Spirit]

*BUMP!*

======================

GMT-Master II "Coke" on probation here. Worn it thru the day, and sometimes just let it rest over the box...
It´s being able to keep track of time correctly, and the GMT hand didn´t stop since then. I just did what Doc said on his post above, and the Rollie is doing good with it so far...

Here the GMT-Master II displaying São Paulo´s time at the main hands, and California´s time at the GMT hand & 24h bezel

This GMT has a really fat minutes hand too (Yacht-Master´s hand), but I won´t bother about it. The bezel insert mod will be a first test run on modding, and I´ll save $$$ for a BK-GMT on a unknown future so far...
Need to give Watches buying a break for some time...

Cheers,
Spirit.

 

[tee3509]

Thanks so much for the advice, sadly, though, trying to align the GMT hand with the movement did not work for me. I rotated through over 30 days and it never moved off the 1. I also noticed that it tends to get stuck at the 5 and 9 positions as well. I wrote Andrew and told him the problem. Waiting for his reply. Looks like it might be back off to China for this one. Drats!!!

 

[Spirit]

...Sad to know about that, mate.

Hope you can get a replacement as soon as possible to be able to enjoy at the most this classic Rolex. 8)
...Let us know how the things are going through the negotiations, ok? Oh, and post pics of it later too...
:wink:

Good Luck!

Cheers,
Spirit.

 

[AllergyDoc]

Definitely sounds broken.

Thanks so much for the advice, sadly, though, trying to align the GMT hand with the movement did not work for me. I rotated through over 30 days and it never moved off the 1. I also noticed that it tends to get stuck at the 5 and 9 positions as well. I wrote Andrew and told him the problem. Waiting for his reply. Looks like it might be back off to China for this one. Drats!!!

 

[anurakp]

Sound like even the IHS have some problem. I have returned the first one with the similar problem which the GMT hand randomly stop. I try serveral methods to set it and find the best way as follows;

1. Set the hour hand to a couple hours before the correct time.
2. Set the GMT hand to position corresponde to the hour hand.
3. Set the Hour Hand and GMT (pull outmost) and set to the desired time.

This will help making sure that GMT hand move along with hour hand. I noticed even doing this way GMT hand work correctly for a couple days and it happen again. Bad news is my first one is totally stop moving now, all hands (my movement is asian clone). I just returned it and got a new one. Let see if the same problem repeated. Or just bad luck for the first one.

 

[tee3509]

Well, I emailed Andrew and, as usual, he was both very promt and courteous. Told me to send it back, which I did. Mailed on Friday 8/8/08. Will keep you guys updated on how this turns out. In the future, though, I think its best to not even mess with the GMT hand when setting time. At least that what I intend to once I get it back.

 

[RolexAddict]

The GMT Master sticky GMT hand is very common on almost all 2836-2. You need to disassemble hands and dial to have acces to the gears. Very easy to correct, but need the disassembly.

Spirit,
Go here for your new GMT insert
http://stores.ebay.com/WHOLESALEOUTLET9 ... idZ2QQtZkm
These are the best generic, fast shipping, the guy is very serious

To remove the insert, use a very thin piece of metal -like the edge of a vintage razor blade- and slip it between the insert and the bezel, then lift gently to avoid scratches, the chinese glue is very soft

 

[Spirit]

The GMT Master sticky GMT hand is very common on almost all 2836-2. You need to disassemble hands and dial to have acces to the gears. Very easy to correct, but need the disassembly.

Spirit,
Go here for your new GMT insert
http://stores.ebay.com/WHOLESALEOUTLET9 ... idZ2QQtZkm
These are the best generic, fast shipping, the guy is very serious

To remove the insert, use a very thin piece of metal -like the edge of a vintage razor blade- and slip it between the insert and the bezel, then lift gently to avoid scratches, the chinese glue is very soft

...Thanks for the tip, mate!
Got the link for its store and gonna check what I can find there, and see if I can get some inserts for my GMT.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Spirit.

 

[AllergyDoc]

The GMT Master sticky GMT hand is very common on almost all 2836-2. You need to disassemble hands and dial to have acces to the gears. Very easy to correct, but need the disassembly.

tictac, (is your breath always fresh and minty? :lol: )

How do you deal with the modifications made to the movement to accommodate the GMT hand? Aren't they very vulnerable to damage and irreplaceable?

 

[RolexAddict]

The GMT Master sticky GMT hand is very common on almost all 2836-2. You need to disassemble hands and dial to have acces to the gears. Very easy to correct, but need the disassembly.

tictac, (is your breath always fresh and minty? :lol: )

How do you deal with the modifications made to the movement to accommodate the GMT hand? Aren't they very vulnerable to damage and irreplaceable?

Beer vapor...

The Chinese IHS mod is not so bad, basically the 2836-2 is a day/date movement, they just made some mods to accomodate a 24 hours hand instead of a week days disk. Its just a problem with a gear who jumps a little from his axis and get randomly disconnected
Difficullt to explain, need draws and pics, but it need time,
I will try
Right now I confirm that the modified 2836-2 with the GMT hand -IHS- mod is full servicable. The mod is very comprehensive and easy to correct.
I have 3 Retro, one is "O.K" , 2 was problematic. On my 4 vintage GMT, no problem. I think it depends of movement batches and factories (eta gen/clones...???)
Beware if you disassemble a retro, the dial is very fragile and has a very poor markers assembly,