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Justpen initiates "The Great Watch Race," a community-driven experiment to test the real-world accuracy of various luxury watches. This ambitious project, detailed with initial findings and methodology, invites collectors to move beyond theoretical specifications and share practical observations on their timepieces' performance under normal use, fostering a unique blend of scientific inquiry and horological passion.
‘The Great Watch Race’....OK Guys...Results are in;
How about getting involved?
I am glad MKVC agrees, and hope others also feel a need...and it might be fun...that we do some trials and get an idea of the accuracy of our watches in general...and so ask, and hope that many of you might carry out some accurate tests and publish the result.
It is possible Our Host might allow us to put up some kind of record sheet that shows the average accuracy of different brand’s models over a period of testing....something like .00+ or .00-
It is also possible, that may be if we do some initial trials this month then, next month we might actually start a Great Watch Race and refine those watches that come direct from the manufacturer and are close to perfect time keepers just to see which model excels...and if it is general accuracy by that model or just a stroke of luck.
I have never actually properly tested any of my watches, but in recent times I have noticed that some were getting ahead and so I did the following check with Microsoft time which I checked with the Australian Governments Aviation Briefing Service’s UTC time and after confirming both were exactly the same I synchronised all in the photo and list below, just before 6.00pm local time yesterday....and I mean I synchronized them “PERFECTLY”
At 6.00 pm on the 1st March 2008 there were all perfect.
The first day’s results for (my) Great Watch Race are beginning to show that Breguet are leading the field with the Marine 5817, being the only entry to show no noticeable gain or loss in the first 24 hours.
To do the test, I had set up my camera on a 10 second timer and watched the UTC time and hit the camera button at exactly 07.59-50UTC and as luck...or good quality manufacturing.... would have it the second hand on the 5817 was dead centre of the minute hand on 6.00pm.
As many of you know this is my favourite watch so I was pretty impressed....we will see how it holds up over the next 24 hours....and days.
Anyway.....
The overall result for the first 24 hours is as follows.
Breguet Marine 5817 =00 secs
Breguet Retrograde 5207 =01.5 + secs
Brietling Avenger Seawolf =02+ secs
Breguet “Le Reveil du Tsa” 5707=03+ or 04 + secs
Rolex Daytona =03+ or 04 + secs
Rolex Day Date (A 20 year old) =06.5 + Secs
Brietling Cronomat Evolution =09.5 + secs.
So....How about joining in and we do a test on factory standard models?
We can make some conditions as follows...but suggestions are welcome.
Proposed Conditions of participation in The Great Watch Race trails are;
1. Honesty in reporting is a must.
2. That watches entered be factory standard models...not adjusted after purchase.
3. The time check system must be equivalent to Microsoft’s computer or a UTC or GMT provider.
4. Time check should be conducted over a period which is long enough to establish a pattern of performance.
If enough of us around the world do a thorough check we might just establish some interesting facts.
I would like to know if the initial indication of accuracy of the 5817 is consistent through the overall production or just a bit of luck....What do you think Bill?
A lot might come out of this.
Who will give a go?
Kindest regards to all,
Jack.
P.S. Someone tell me if this has already been done?
its gone now so not my problem any more.
Of course, there's first the "luck of the draw" with a small sample size. Next, there's the luck of condition, as a watch may perform differently when it is about to need service than when it has just been serviced. Next, there's luck in that a watch can actually be very inaccurate in different positions, but if the inaccuracies cancel out at the end of the day it may appear accurate. (For that reason, when I'm timing my watches, I time them at the beginning of the day, wear them through the day
Hi Mkvc, I really appreciate your reply as I am interested to discover the expectations of fellow enthusists. I dont think.. ..that a controlled situation is necessarily relevent to doing time checks...I think that a lot of claims are made about wrist watch accuracy which are pretty bogus or stretched anyway. Because we are talking wrist watches and not Mantle Clocks, naturally means that the wrist watch was purchased to be used as a mobile instrument in a very uncontrolled enviroment whcih may
I used to be interested in how accurate my watches were, and did all sorts of measurements and graphs. I've now given up as it's more or less pointless, IMHO. I'm not a statistician, so I don't know how big a sample you need to say how accurate a given brand's watches are, or even how accurate a given model is. At least many hundreds, if not thousands for watches produced in large numbers such as Omega and Rolex. First, I've no idea how to accurately read 1s/d error on a watch given normal human
..thank you for taking the time to be so thorough. I am particurally interested in a few points you mentioned. But first let me say that I think there is an outcome in all of this for myself and others.. and that might just be to know How accurate the average wrist watch can be...as in what is the acceptable industry standar for error...and What is the consumer acceptance for error and Which model best ' delivers reliability in all circumstances' . Of course that could be answered by simply buyi
Watches always perform differently in different positions and when subjected to different types of motion. If I am willing to behave consistently, I can guarantee to make any decent watch run within a second per day. I will always wear it for the same number hours per day, engaging in the same activities. I will experiment until I find the resting position that best cancels out the error created during wear. I will boast that my watch is extremely accurate. That's not my world, however. First, I
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