Good morning!
I've recently purchased a Portuguese Yacht Club (black face, 309210) and absolutely love it!
My question is this - is it detrimental to have the chronograph going continuously - so as to mimic a second time zone? I realise that this will affect the power reserve but will it actually "damage" the movement?
Thanks to all,
Espy.
Hi Epsy, welcome to the forum.
Like you I have the Portuguese Yacht Club with a black dial ;)
my answer would be: "Life is Short, Run the Chrono" :) I certainly love to run the chrono as a second time zone, even when I am not travelling, just to get the chrono counter identical to regular time, as u can see below.
These earlier posts will assist in understanding the issues, etc:
www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/30849/
www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/29713/
Hi Espy,
the good thing in this caliber is you won't experience loss of amplitude, even if the chronograph is on. You should find a lot in the archives about it.
Obviously, if you'll have the chrono functions on all the time, the parts involved will get more stress, this will turn into a shorter service cycle, although I don't have objective comparisons to prove it.
Espy,
I have inlaws in Switzerland and Kenya. I find it handy to run my chrono all the time as a "second time zone" feature. This helps assure me that I'm not calling in the dead of night or before the dawn. I suspect my brother Roberto is correct about shortening the service cycle...but I ascribe to Shing's advice, "Life is Short, Run the Chrono!"
Collectors' Forum DaVinci Chrono
So now you need a three time zone IWC. LOL!
Can't wait to see Dorothy and you this summer, brother! :)
What I wrote is probably not completely correct, after all, chronograph or not, service should take place on a regular basis.
It's more precise to say, some parts may need to be replaced faster but, with current oils (and regular services) this also gets hypothetic, tending to a far, imprecise period in time.
If you buy a chrono and can make use of the added features why not use them? I agree with the others that the small amount of wear on the chrono mechanism should not be a deterrent. It's a mechanical watch and will eventually need service anyway. Enjoy all the features available to you.
Thank you all very much for the informative replies.
I'll enjoy my Yacht Club even more now!
And Shing, I must commend you on your impeccable taste! :-)
I previously read that chronos should not be used 24/7. However we constantly read how new watches need to be run in until oils work their way in and the watch is run in. So if chronos aren't used how are the oils supposed to spread and likewise is the chrono feature in turn likely to act like applying a break as that section of the movement is not worn in and fully lubricated? Maybe our resident service forumers JF and Leo would like to throw some light on this?
Hi Greg,
The 'do not run the chrono 24/7' advice applies Only to quartz chronographs like 3805 or 3741. Doing so can shorten the battery life by up to 50%. This advice has been offered by service center and retail staff for many years now and has been slowly transformed by them to include All chronos. This error now shows up in many FAQ's and forums.
Most mechanical chronos will experience a drop in amplitude while the chrono is on, even more so with the split hand stopped on a 3711/3713 for example.
On a high-grade watch like IWC, this drop will not have an effect on the timekeeping as the balance and hairspring are adjusted for isochronism(same rate at different amplitudes).
Once the lubrication has been initally spread to all the relevant areas, use or not of aditional mechanisms is unimportant.
Personally, I always have the chronograph running on my watches and get a small perverse pleasure by synching the chrono seconds hand exactly 30 seconds out from the movement seconds hand and checking that synch regularly throughout the day.
Leo
Very interesting information Leo, thanks.
For watches where the sweep seconds hand is for the chrono feature, running the chrono all the time essentially adds the sweep hand to everyday use.
And, as Leo states, you can add interest in the way this is actuated.
I hesitate to disagree with an IWC service technician, but in this instance I will for two reasons:
Other manufacturers, noticeably Patek Philippe, offer different advice (in fact printed in its instruction manual for its Reference 5070 chronograph, which is Lemania-based). There is a drop in amplitude that can somewhat affect timekeeping, as well as promote some minimally more wear (increassing the need to lubricate in a shorter interval if done for a long time). The wear is nominal but the "accuracy" can be enough to be off 10 or more seconds a day, if one cares.
The calibre 89360 (and 89361 and presumably 89365, although I didn't ask) use a different system to deal with the drop in amplitude. It is not that the balance and hairspring are adjusted for isochronism (althought they are) but rather that there is a different design to the chronograph, using a so-called "vertical clutch". The vertical clutch is a new design technique and not used in IWC's outsourced chronographs, which are Valjoux based. A discussion of the design of the 89360 can be found, I believe, in the archives and is based on a discussion with Stefan Ihnen, who designed the c. 89360 and is now IWC's Technical Director. The avoidance of amplitude loss here is uniquely a matter of parts-design and not fine-tuning.
You can presumably find out a lot more about this with prior posts (via an archives search here) and also Googling "vertical clutch chronographs" and similar terms on the Net.
Hi Michael,
I drifted slightly off point in replying to Greg's question about chronos in general rather than Espy's 89361.
I totally agree with your point 2. The clutch mechanism can even lead to a slight increase in amplitude when the chrono is running.
I don't think you are correct in referencing other brands instructions as a guide to IWC, especially as Lemania are not used by IWC. If PP had a 10 second difference it can only be due to a large iscohronism tollerance/fault. Yet again confirming how much better their marketing is compared to their watchmaking. No IWC would leave our or Schaffhausen's workshops with such an error.
With chrono always on, the ammount of extra wear, on correctly lubricated components, is so minimal as to have no observeable effect on the daily running or service interval of any IWC.
Synch hands and start chronos without fear...
Leo
Leo --I do concur that the extra wear is nominal; it's essentially the same as a second seconds hand running, plus triggering a totalizer. BUT I also do believe that there can be a 5% or greater change in amplitude without a vertical clutch (when a chrono is running or not running), and changes in amplitude will affect timekeeping. The vertical clutch was developed (not by IWC) to solve a known problem with chronographs running.
But the bottom line is the same: there is no material problem continuously running a chronograph with a calibre 89361 movement.
great discussion - eminently useful for future questions on whether to run the chrono continuously.
This thread can be pulled for the FAQ that some are involved in.
I'd prefer to call it clutch mechanism, if it's ok with you, so not to confuse it with the vertical clutch (generally speaking) this chrono does not adopt.