Watch Care

It is the normal timeframe that a mechanical watch will function uninterrupted.

Comparatively, an automobile will travel an average of 20,000 km/year at an average velocity of 35 km/h (highway/city), and will require assistance every 580 hours. At the end of three years, the automobile will have been running for 1,740 hours, around 15 times less than a watch. No other machine works the same consecutive hours without assistance as your watch.

To precisely calculate time, the balance oscillates around 28,800 times per hour with an elevated consistency. The supports of the balance measure roughly 0,08 mm in diameter. They are approximately 100 times smaller than the balance’s diameter and not only do they support the balance, but they are shock resistant and resist usage.

Applying a simple mathematic formula, we are able to calculate the distance that the watch’s balance runs for a given amount of time. With an oscillation and amplitude at approximately 270°, the balance runs 18,8 mm. Meaning 540 meters per hour, almost 13 km per day, 390 km/month, 4,680 km/year, and over 14,000 km in three years.

Almost as much time as your automobile before requiring an inspection.

This brief automobile analogy demonstrates the importance of submitting your watch to a periodical maintenance, every 3 or 4 years. In the case where you anticipate that the watch will be in contact with an aquatic lifestyle, to avoid any type of problems with the watch’s impermeability, you should submit the watch for an evaluation in regard to the permeability before the suggested time period.

While an instrument for precision, the watch requires regular maintenance to guarantee its proper functionality. The frequency and type of service are dependent on model, climate, and the type of usage by the wearer. Its longevity depends on a complete service every 3 or 4 years.

There are those who say that maintaining a watch functioning also prolongs one’s life others affirm that maintaining the watch frozen in time is the most indicated. However, even a watch that has been stopped for a long period of time requires some type of maintenance. This requirement is not due to the little usage and therefore minimization of wear, but due to the lubricating oils of the mechanism drying over a long period of time. Utilizing a watch under these conditions may result in unfortunate consequences for some mechanisms of the movement.

By maintaining your watch clean, you are minimizing the probability of dust from entering the interior. Clean your watch periodically to remove dust, dirt, humidity, and sweat.

Impermeability is the capacity that the watch has to be in contact with water. The current nomenclature, engraved on your watch established by rules, presents a relation between the measured pressure in bar (or ATM) and the depth that the watch may be submitted to in laboratorial conditions. This information is an average and not an absolute immersive depth.

The impermeability cannot be permanently guaranteed due to the diverse factors such as regular aging of the pieces, exposure to external agents such as cosmetics, chlorinated or salt water, or damage to the impermeability area provoked by a shock. To guarantee this characteristic, the watches should be submitted to an impermeability test once a year.

A failed impermeability test involves the formation of condensation on the glass. In this case, the watch’s sealant should be adjusted by an authorized repair.

Existing numerous pictograms and depending on the indicated information, water contact may begin with simply washing of hands or shower up to recreational diving at the beach or swimming pool.

You should only utilize your watch in subaquatic activities at greater depths, if the bottom of your watch indicates with a pictogram that it was made for this purpose.

The average life expectancy of a quartz watch’s battery is three years, which depends on a number of factors: the age, the movement type and type of watch (analogical, chronograph, or digital).

The more functions available on the watch, the greater the frequency and need to substitute batteries. When the battery loses the ability to power your watch it is fundamental that you substitute the piece immediately to avoid the risk of liquid escapement (acid) that is inside the battery, and consequently, the risk of permanently damaging the watch’s mechanism.

It is extremely important that the battery’s exchange is made by a professional to ensure that the exchange is made correctly and that the impermeability is not affected, avoiding future mechanical damage as a result of water.

Some watches contain an EOL (end of life) mechanism that makes the seconds hand jump at 5 second intervals when a battery is reaching its end and should be exchanged urgently. An expired battery may spill liquid into the interior of your watch, which may catastrophic damage.

1. Manual watch:
   1. Wind your watch completely, every day at the same time;
2. Automatic watch:
   1. Utilize your watch every day to ensure that the reserve movement never fails;
   2. If it has stopped, rotate the crown around 15 to 20 times and place it on your watch;
   3. If the crown is a screw, ensure that the crown is correctly screwed on to avoid compromising your watch’s impermeability;
   4. If you utilize your watch on a daily basis, wind the watch every 15 days; if not, wind the watch twice per week;
3. Adjusting the date :
   1. Ensure that you adjust the date between 21:00 and 3:00 to avoid damaging the movements cogs and mechanism; this is the interval of time in which your watch’s mechanisms for adjusting the date are in automatic movement. The manual adjustment of the date during this period of time may damage the watch’s mechanism.

Contrary to what many may believe, water resistance does not imply that a watch is water proof. A water-resistant watch signifies that it may be utilized for simple day to day tasks such as washing your hands or rain, but should not be utilized on other types of activities involving water such as (ex. Showering with your watch).

Not all watches are constructed to be water resistant, including, the various degrees of water resistance. It is important to remember that water resistance is not a permanent condition, requiring periodic tests to verify the sealants utilized to seal the watch due their deterioration over time.

If your watch is to be used in water activities, ensure that the crown is in place – or firmly adjusted – before using in water.

Do not adjust the crown in humid environments due to the heightened probability of water infiltration in the watch’s mechanism.

After contact with salt water or chlorinated water, immediately wash your watch with spring water and dry with a smooth cloth.

If your watch’s bezel is mobile, ensure that you rotate it completely during cleaning to make sure that it is cleaned of any salt or sand vestiges.

Since the majority of your watch’s components are made from metal, magnetic fields have an influence over the proper functionality, and in extreme situations – stopping your watch.

As a result, we recommend that you avoid leaving your watch near any electronic devices (tablets, computers, microwaves) or exposure to simple magnetic fields such as fridges or magnetic clasps on handbags or purses.

The marching reserve is a watch’s capacity to continue functioning after you have winded the watch, but it depends from watch to watch. In the case of automatic watches, your own wrist movement keeps the watch always functioning without winding it.

In the case of automatic watches that are not used regularly, to ensure that they are always precise when used, we recommend acquiring a special case for whenever you are not utilizing the watch. These cases simulate the wrist’s movement and keep the watch functioning at maximum precision. Never shake an automatic watch with the objective of keeping it in movement. This common mistake may bring problems to the watch’s functionality.

The impact of a fall on a watch’s mechanism may be fatal. In the case of a fall, at first sight, everything may seem fine and the watch may continue functioning, but we recommend taking your watch to be evaluated by a technician.

Any contact with chemical products (dishwashing detergent or cleaning products), perfumes or cosmetic lotions, may have consequences on the bracelet’s finish or on the movements material, including the sealants that maintain the watch’s impermeability.

1. Avoid all shocks or sudden impacts that may result in damage to the box, movement, glass, face, and ultimately, invalidate the warranty or necessitate technical intervention. Most impacts don’t leave any type of physical mark on the exterior of the watch that indicate what happened. Only a certified service technician by the brand can diagnose the cause of the problem and advance with the necessary repair.
2. Avoid direct contact with solvents, detergents, perfumes, cosmetics, and other chemicals that may cause damage to the bracelet, box, sealants, and potentially the antireflective treatment of the glass.
3. Never manipulate the crown and the poussoirs (buttons) with the watch submerged in water or in contact with water.
4. Avoid exposure to extreme temperatures (inferior to 0° C or superior to 60° C) or sudden changes in temperature.
5. Avoid damage to the movement by performing calendar corrections through the rapid correction (intermediate crown position) between 21:00 and 3:00.
6. Keep in mind that the watch’s precise movement is strongly influenced by external factors such as shocks, variations in temperature, and magnetism.
7. Keep in mind that the automatic watch takes advantage of the wrist movement to wind the watch, as a result charging the watch depends on the daily usage, rhythms, and lifestyle of the wearer.
8. If your watch is automatic and stops after consuming all of the reserve march, set the time and wind the clock manually – 15 to 20 rotations of the crown – before placing the movement on the wrist.
9. - Avoid exposing your watch to strong magnetic fields, intensities such as sound speakers, fridges or televisions. A strong magnetic force on the movement may insubstantially influence or even stop, the watch’s function. Magnetic fields do not provoke any type of permanent and irreversible damage, in most cases, simply demagnetizing the watch to return the movement and amplitude back to normal. To correct this situation contact us.