Watch Academy: The second hand does not line up with the indexes

 

Customers often contact us asking if it is normal for the second hand on their watch to not line up with the hour markers. Of course, there are questions about whether something can be done about this phenomenon. In today's article I will try to explain the whole thing and suggest possible solutions, at least as far as Helveti is concerned.

Is this a bug?

If you too have a watch whose seconds hand does not overlap directly with the indexes, but jumps to a position just before or behind them, or even between them, believe me, you do not have to worry. Your watch is fine. The misaligned seconds hand is a feature of the movements, not a defect. This behavior plays an important role in watches and is somewhat indispensable. We will explain why below.

So is this just an aesthetic issue?

Of course, we understand that someone may be bothered by the inaccuracy of the second hand so much that it even discourages them from buying a watch. At Helveti, we solve such cases by offering you a stock check and the selection of the piece whose hand matches the indexes, or at least coincides with them in the largest part of the dial.

What causes the hand not to land exactly on the index?

The misalignment of the second hand with the indexes on the dial is caused by a gap between the teeth of the gears in the movement gear, the so-called backlash. We encounter this clearance to a greater or lesser extent in all movements, as it is necessary for their proper operation and functioning. Gear clearance plays a very important role in watches indeed.

What is the gear clearance for?

In simple terms, it can be said that a certain clearance is necessary for the smooth running of the gears, because despite the set standards, the gear wheel does not have a perfect shape. If there was no clearance between the teeth, the entire gear could get stuck. The clearance thus helps to eliminate the influence of possible manufacturing deviations of the wheels and their gearing. In addition, the parts in the watch are not all exactly the same size, despite the great precision of the machining. The will thus also takes into account these possible imperfections and deviations.

However, this is not the only reason why a certain will is desirable, other reasons include:

• The clearance helps to compensate for the possible change in material volume caused by temperature changes. Each material has a different thermal expansion and reacts differently to low or high temperatures. A certain clearance thus minimizes the effect of extreme temperatures.

• The slight clearance protects the gears and gears of the wheels against the impact of impact or the watch falling. If there was no gap between the teeth of the gear wheel, the gear and the wheel shaft could be damaged in the event of a sudden external force, such as a fall or a strong impact of the watch.

• The manufacturers do not try to eliminate slight clearance also due to energy requirements - with less clearance, friction increases, and greater friction means higher demands on energy consumption and therefore a shorter battery life. Greater friction could also result in reduced component life.

How can you tell the clearance of gears on a watch?

As I already outlined in the introduction, play in the gears can manifest itself in different ways when the seconds hand is running, but you can always recognize it very easily.

• Sometimes the hand doesn't hit the indexes across the entire dial. In such a case, a slight correction could be ensured by repositioning the handle, but the matter must always be assessed individually in each case.

• You may also come across watches where the hand jumps directly to the indices in one part of the dial and deviates and jumps in front of or behind the index in another part.

• And of course also with the case where the hand jumps in front of the indexes in half of the dial and behind the indexes in the other half.

• It should also be mentioned that the position of the watch or your hand, the influence of gravity and other forces currently acting on the gears may play a role in this case.

With which watch will you encounter the expression of will

Hand in hand with the influence of gravity, the second hand's behavior can also be affected by its own size and weight. We have already encountered that longer and heavier grips, e.g. grips with tritium capsules, can also show a little vibration when shifting.

Practically every brand has a piece whose second hand will jump outside the marked indexes. This ailment can afflict the cheapest watches, as well as pieces of famous brands for tens of thousands of crowns. Yes, you'll find it at Omega, Longin, Breitling, Tag Heuer, and even Grand Seiko may not always have the seconds hand exactly aligned with the indexes. You definitely don't have to be ashamed of your watch, no matter which category it belongs to.

Since the brands are aware of this feature, you can find an explanation of this behavior directly on the pages of some of them, see for example the Tag Heuer brand pages:

Or the full document on the Citizen website (document available in Japanese, link to translation). Here you can see pictures illustrating some of the connections.

Is the occurrence of the manifestation of will less with some watches?

Some brands try to eliminate the backlash in the gear and the resulting misalignment of the handle with additional devices and adjustments to the movement. However, if we stay with ordinary watches and within the scope of our experience from the Helveti store, we have had the opportunity to observe that you will encounter smaller manifestations in watches with small and light hands, and Japanese brands (watches with Japanese movements) also suffer less from misalignment. However, please note that this may not be the rule.

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On the other hand, you will not encounter this phenomenon at all in mechanical watches, whose second hand moves smoothly and hits every index with certainty.

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What can you do?

Straight up? In most cases, nothing. Only in rare cases can reducing the offset of the second hand help, but only in cases where the hand passes the index evenly around the entire circumference of the dial. So it won't help where the hand hits the index on part of the dial and off on part of it. If you can live with this "imperfection" of your watch, we would probably advise you to leave the watch and save yourself the unnecessary opening of the case and removing the movement, although we can fully guarantee the service centers we work with.

If you know that you will not put up with this manifestation, at Helveti we offer the aforementioned offer, where we will be happy to compare all our stock pieces for you and choose the one with the least manifestation of will for you. During a personal visit to the store, we will of course be happy to let you choose among the skald pieces in person.

Other options are:

• purchase of a watch without a second hand,

• selection of watches without an hourglass, or minute markings on the dial,

• possibly considering the purchase of a mechanical watch, in which the manifestation of the backlash of the gears is hidden behind the smooth operation of the second hand.

If you can forgive an imperfection in the form of a mismatched seconds hand with indexes, then fine. Then there is nothing to spoil your enjoyment of an otherwise perfectly functioning watch that is perfect for you. It should be noted that clearance in the gears is somewhat indispensable in watches. This "defect" is purely cosmetic, it does not affect the operation or its accuracy. In addition, it can appear on the cheapest watches, but also on more expensive watches.