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Thread: Having a 2824 regulated in London

  1. #1

    Having a 2824 regulated in London

    On watch forums there are some bits of advice that are often repeated, but seemingly never without the specifics.

    I often read people saying, oh a standard 2824 can be regulated to etc etc. I've a watch with a 2824 and it's typically +10s/d (and always has been) and I would quite fancy that being improved.

    In London whereabouts would I be able to walk in and ask to have it regulated? And what kind of price range should I expect? (I'm not interested in it being sent it in the post) I work all over town so popping by would be unproblematic.

  2. #2
    Famously grumpy Sean at Picadilly?
    I spotted a chain watchmaker at the back end of the GF of Debenhams on Oxford Street too. No idea what sorta services they offer though.
    Last edited by drunken monkey; Mar 13, 2015 at 12:46 PM.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by drunken monkey View Post
    Famously grumpy Sean at Picadilly?
    I spotted a chain watchmaker at the back end of the GF of Debenhams on Oxford Street too. No idea what sorta services they offer though.
    Cheers. I like grumpy: if he's not getting the work for his manners he must be getting it for the quality of the work

    Is that in one of the arcades off Piccadilly? I can never remember which one is which.

    I'm presuming that a chain have a centralised workshop. I would rather go somewhere on site.

    I keep meaning to investigate the two places in Clerkenwell, but never remember to seek them out when I'm working in that part of town.

  4. #4

  5. #5
    Moderator - Central tribe125's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drunken monkey View Post
    Famously grumpy Sean at Picadilly?

    I have no personal experience but have seen him recommended (with grumpy qualification) before.

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  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by tribe125 View Post
    I have no personal experience but have seen him recommended (with grumpy qualification) before.
    Thank you Anyone have any thoughts on how long it takes to regulate a watch, and how much would be reasonable in price (allowing for the weirdly huge variation in pricing in the arena of Watch Fiddling)

  8. #7
    Regulating a watch is a bit of a black art in one way and easy as pie in another. In most variations of the 2824, it's ridiculously simple to change the rate and if it's a stable ten seconds a day out then it will be hard not to improve it by doing so.

    The bottom line is that there are two issues: stability and accuracy: stability is about how steadily the watch ticks. If it is +10 +10 +10 every day then it is lovely and stable, but it is ticking to its own tune and regulation will bring it in line with the rest of the world. If it were that simple then Grumpy Sean could just pop it on his vibrograf and then move the little lever that adjust rate until it's spot on and that's it.

    However, there's a problem. Watches are rarely that stable across a range of positions. Generally a decent movement, and the 2824 is a decent movement, will vary somewhat across positions and vary a little bit depending on how it is moved around. So pretty well anything sitting in one position on a vibrograf can be adjusted to look spot on, but then depending on how you wear it, how you walk the up way you sleep and so on, this idealised adjustment will not be quite right for you. Every watch has it's own set of variations and every user has their own set of variations and it can take a while to find the sweet spot in which the sum of the various positions adds up to what looks like zero or plus a tiny bit deviation.

    So a good watchmaker will be able to get it closer to perfect but, unless you are going to go back several times and home in on perfection, the best thing is to do it yourself and learn on the job. The tools you'll need are cheaper than getting the job done: a horb ball will have most backs of with no risk of scratching, a small tube of silicon grease for the gasket, a 10x loupe and as a starter just a nice clean cocktail stick to very very gently push the lever with, or a good quality micro screwdriver if it's a posh one! Practice a dozen times on something unimportant - say a battered seiko you have hanging around being useless - and then start making tiny adjustments and then seeing what happens 24 hours later.

    Call it fun!

    *edit*

    Here's an Omega variant on the regulator:



    See the bit that looks like a magnifying glass with a jewel in the middle - ignore the swan neck around it as the 2824 doesn't have that - all you have to do to regulate the 2824 is move the handle bit fractions of a mm in one direction to slow down and the other to sped up. if you practice moving small things a tiny bit using a loupe for half an hour, it's easy to do and deeply satisfying.
    Last edited by Matt; Mar 13, 2015 at 05:49 PM.

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  10. #8
    I'm so definitely not doing it myself! So much of what I do in life requires intense examination of my actions. For me, watches are for pleasure, and purely passive pleasure at that.

    The +10 is very stable, which is what makes me think it worth having someone have a go at tweaking it.

  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Der Amf View Post
    I'm so definitely not doing it myself! So much of what I do in life requires intense examination of my actions. For me, watches are for pleasure, and purely passive pleasure at that.

    The +10 is very stable, which is what makes me think it worth having someone have a go at tweaking it.
    In that case, while it isn't London, I really like these people:

    http://www.littlecogs.com/

    Very professional and all.

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  13. #10
    Moderator - Central tribe125's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Amf View Post
    Anyone have any thoughts on how long it takes to regulate a watch

    Following on from Matt's advice, I have never expected regulation while you wait, or within a day - or thought it desirable. A week is more like it, and then only if they're not busy.

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