Issue with my first replica, a PAM 048

[nilsou]

Hey everyone,

I've been reading the forum for a while, devouring the treasure of info on here but have never posted until today.

I received my first replica, a PAM 048, from a TD a few weeks ago. I'm in love with it and super happy with the quality. I'm thinking I'll get it re-lumed soon but other than that I couldn't be happier.

For the first 2 weeks it kept time really well, at about -30s per day and I was happy.

However yesterday I looked at my watch and saw that it was 50 minutes behind. I set it back to the correct time but every couple hours I would look at it and it would be behind by up to an hour.

Last night I decided I wanted to see how long it would keep time if not wound so I wound it well and left it on my desk. 8 hours later, in the morning, It had not lost 1 minute!

I then put it back on my wrist and after 30 minutes it was already behind by several minutes.

It seems that it keeps time well when not worn but when worn it stops sometimes?

Has anyone seen a behavior like this before? Do you think the issue happened soon enough after receiving the watch that I can talk to the TD about it? If not, do you think having the watch looked at / serviced by a watch smith would be able to fix it?

Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge!

 

[nalomb]

First off, sending it to a watchsmith is going to be a much more painless process than sending it back to your TD.

Second, are you winding it a little before you put it on, or just setting the time and letting your wrist charge the movement? If you are doing the latter, I'd recommend winding it 10-15 times before you put it on and see if that works better.

If that doesn't solve it, there may be an issue with position. Try your same experiment at night with the watch on either side and upside down and see if that has an effect. If it doesn't, then its likely a winding issue. If there is a significant change, let us know in which position that was observed.

Lastly, are you hearing any sounds of anything moving like a loose screw or clamp? Open up the back and see if you can find anything obstructing the balance wheel or gear train. I highly doubt that is the issue because it kept time perfectly at night, but you might as well check (something could have been dislodged when you put it down and then got back in somehow when you put it on -- as unlikely as that may be).

Where are you located? That will help in maybe finding a local or regional watchsmith to recommend ...

 

[nilsou]

Wow thank you so much for the fast response!

I did wind it several times before putting it on, I don't think it is a winding problem.

There doesn't seem to be anything loose inside (no sound).

I will try my experiment again in different positions and will report the outcome. I'll also open the case back when I get home tonight.

I'm in San Francisco, CA, do you know a watch smith around here?

Thank you!

 

[Strodda]

When you timeset, does the crown move with very little resistance? The cannon pinion might not be on tight enough. It will allow the movement to appear properly functioning but the time will always run behind.

 

[nilsou]

So I tested different orientations and I found that:
- crown side up lost 1 min in 3 hours
- crown side down lost 10 min in 1 hour
- face down watch completely stopped

 

[nilsou]

Strodda, the crown does not turn too easily when setting the time. There is what feels like the right amount of resistance.

I guess next step is to figure out how to open the case back to see if there is something obviously wrong inside.

thank you all for the suggestions!

if anyone knows a good watch smith in the San Francisco area, please let me know!

 

[nalomb]

Send it to Strodda himself — he is a fantastic watchsmith and can do a helluva relume at the same time ...


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