What causes a watch to run fast? And to what degree?

[Der Amf]

I've a vintage watch that gains four *minutes* per day. The date of its last service is unknown, so off it will go for some TLC. As far as I know, all my other vintage watches lose a little time, its only my two bought-new autos that gain, and only 10s/d, which is pretty much what you want.

Meanwhile Jane's Oris has, despite a service, got into the habit of gaining a couple of minutes in just 12 hours.

What are the various things that can cause a watch to run fast? And to what degree?

[Colin63]

I've a vintage watch that gains four *minutes* per day. The date of its last service is unknown, so off it will go for some TLC. As far as I know, all my other vintage watches lose a little time, its only my two bought-new autos that gain, and only 10s/d, which is pretty much what you want.

Meanwhile Jane's Oris has, despite a service, got into the habit of gaining a couple of minutes in just 12 hours.

What are the various things that can cause a watch to run fast? And to what degree?

It is possible that the hairspring has become magnetised or, if it has been dropped, tangled.
Either would make it gain consistently.

[Martin]

As Colin said, there's something with the hairspring. You could open it and take a look. Sometimes it's just some sticky dirt or dried oil on it, having it demagnetised is also cheap to try.

[Der Amf]

As Colin said, there's something with the hairspring. You could open it and take a look. Sometimes it's just some sticky dirt or dried oil on it, having it demagnetised is also cheap to try.

Tbh since it's a nice watch and since its service history isn't known I'm glad to have an excuse for sending it off (there are a couple other things not quite right, eg sometimes when fully wound it stops running)

So this isn't a Help Me Out thread, this is a Teach Me Everything On This Topic thread

PS please could you talk me through the cause/effect of the sticky oil causing it to run fast?

[Martin]

If some of the winds of the coil are stuck together, they will move together and not independently, so this will in fact shorten the entire spring. And a shorter spring will have a higher frequency. When tangled or magnetised or goo in between, you will have the same effect.
Hope this helps?

[Der Amf]

If some of the winds of the coil are stuck together, they will move together and not independently, so this will in fact shorten the entire spring. And a shorter spring will have a higher frequency. When tangled or magnetised or goo in between, you will have the same effect.
Hope this helps?

That does I wasn't thinking of the length, I was thinking of sluggishness. Thank you

[WWII70]

I'm in a similar boat. My 1950-1960's Ebel Cal 119 (A Schild movement) gains ridiculous amounts of time time (up to an hour a day). Also, it does not hold power; it will run nicely (but v. fast) on my wrist but then stop after about an hour when taken off. Would a tangled balance spring account for the loss of power reserve? Could a mainspring problem (slipping?) account for both running fast and loss of power reserve?

It is back at the repairer's but I would appreciate any suggestions.

[Matt]

Another possibility is that a lack of torque due to the sum of friction across the train can cause the balance to only swing a little way in both directions giving the watch a weak but rapid pulse (so as to speak). In the case of the Ebel , this is almost certainly the problem as this issue would cause both symptoms. A simple service would free everything up and give the balance a healthier period of oscillation. Of course, debris or damage, such as a cracked jewel, can cause a similar effect.

[iyonk]

in my experience with my japanese automatic watches, when the power reserve is low or not adequate, they have tendency to run much much faster..

that's why i give my auto plenty wound to make sure i top up the power reserve since they usually run more consisten that way..

for ex: my Orient black bambino would start as soon as i pick it up or shake it a bit.. if i give it only several shakes and wear it, it would gain 5-10secs/ hour.
if i give it proper wound/top up the power reserve it would only lose 1 sec/day.

by black monster with 4R36 usually lose a bit time when worn a long time with full power reserve, but re-gain when not worn... and when the power reserve getting low (after 1 day or more untouched) they will go 'warp speed' especially dial up =)

but strangely have a couple auto that run slower when the power reserve is low... these mechanical have their own personality =)

[FuzzyB]

Tbh since it's a nice watch and since its service history isn't known I'm glad to have an excuse for sending it off (there are a couple other things not quite right, eg sometimes when fully wound it stops running)

So this isn't a Help Me Out thread, this is a Teach Me Everything On This Topic thread

PS please could you talk me through the cause/effect of the sticky oil causing it to run fast?

You already got some excellent answers regarding the fast running, do I'll share my experience with the fully wound/not running part.

My first decent watch was an Oris Artelier Skeleton that was a wedding gift from my wife. Within a month of owning it, the watch would randomly stop. Being a skeleton design, I could plainly see that the mainspring was fully wound and that it just wasn't running. I could also see that there were a couple specks of dust on the hairspring and mainspring. There was a bit more gunk inside that was gumming up the works, so a good cleaning was necessary to get that running again.

Long story short, even if it is a magnetized hairspring causing it to run fast, the other issue appears to signal that the watch needs a good cleaning.