[nelsonj3]

I have a strange problem, and it is only getting worse. My watch seems to loose a minute during the night, but this morning is was almost an hour off.

I bought a Pagani Design PD-1662 (GMT Master II homage) with a Mingzu DG5833GMT movement about a year ago. I have been wearing it almost constantly since. It has been a great watch, very reliable during the day running around -5 seconds, maybe as much as -10.

At night however, it is another story. A few months ago I started to notice that it would be a minute slow sometimes in the morning. I started checking it more frequently but it seemed to be spot on while I was watching it.

I set up a camera with my Pagani and a Casio over night. Sure enough the minute hand slowed down between 11:35 and midnight. The date change happened right at 12:04. The weird part is that the seconds hand did not slow down, it stayed in perfect sync the the Casio's second hand. If the whole watch was slowing down then the second hand should be affected as well, I would have thought.

Can someone explain to me what is happening? It isn't every night, but does seem to happen most the last few weeks of the month rather than the first. I am baffled, but also inexperienced.

Thanks!

 

[AtomicTom]

Hi Nelson, welcome to WF !

Hmm, this is perplexing no doubt, and I’m no expert on issues
like this either. 😊 It almost sounds like your watch could be on
one of those paranormal centered shows. 👻👾 Where a team
might put a camera on your watch over night, and try to discover
just what could be causing this ‘strange thing’. 😉

I’m betting someone here might be able to help you out better
than myself. ..The only things I would throw out there are:
1) Is the watch near anything magnetic ever? And 2) Does the
watch get knocked around a lot? Perhaps one, or both of these
caused the movement to get out of whack.

But maybe someone else can shine some better light on what
could be a cause Nelson.

 

[nelsonj3]

Hi Nelson, welcome to WF !

Hmm, this is perplexing no doubt, and I’m no expert on issues
like this either. 😊 It almost sounds like your watch could be on
one of those paranormal centered shows. 👻👾 Where a team
might put a camera on your watch over night, and try to discover
just what could be causing this ‘strange thing’. 😉

I’m betting someone here might be able to help you out better
than myself. ..The only things I would throw out there are:
1) Is the watch near anything magnetic ever? And 2) Does the
watch get knocked around a lot? Perhaps one, or both of these
caused the movement to get out of whack.

But maybe someone else can shine some better light on what
could be a cause Nelson.

Thanks for responding. I agree it seems weird, especially since the second hand doesn't seem to be affected.

As for you questions, it is my "daily driver" that I where nearly every day, and it is my first mechanical watch I have worn consistently. I have a few vintage ones I keep but I don't wear that often. I can't say it has had any particularly hard knocks, I don't let the kids play with it (I have a cheap Walmart special I let my baby play with) and never been knocked around particularly hard. I can't say it has been through any particularly strong magnetic fields, but I do have a number of small rare-earth magnets I use for various things. I used a compass to see if my watch was magnetized after this started and the needle deflected slightly, so I got a degausser and ran the watch through that a few times and the compass didn't respond to my watch any more. The problem has only gotten worse since then.

 

[AtomicTom]

Thanks for responding. I agree it seems weird, especially since the second hand doesn't seem to be affected.

As for you questions, it is my "daily driver" that I where nearly every day, and it is my first mechanical watch I have worn consistently. I have a few vintage ones I keep but I don't wear that often. I can't say it has had any particularly hard knocks, I don't let the kids play with it (I have a cheap Walmart special I let my baby play with) and never been knocked around particularly hard. I can't say it has been through any particularly strong magnetic fields, but I do have a number of small rare-earth magnets I use for various things. I used a compass to see if my watch was magnetized after this started and the needle deflected slightly, so I got a degausser and ran the watch through that a few times and the compass didn't respond to my watch any more. The problem has only gotten worse since then.

You are very very welcome. And thank you too !

Honestly was just throwing the magnetic thing, as well as the
possible knocked around/shock possibilities out there. 😊 But
it probably doesn’t have anything to do with you. It could just
be that movement itself needs a service.

But now that I say that, it makes me wonder because it’s only
year or so old. It’s a real mystery. ..I want to say the issue
can be remedied, but it ‘could’ be a defect. But I’m hoping not
Nelson.

Please keep us posted.

 

[Robotaz]

Seconds hand is being driven separately from hour/minute.

The date mechanism is being powered by the hour hand, and the building of power or the actual activation of the mechanism has more drag than it should.

The date mechanism needs to be serviced. Sounds like it is not lubricated maybe.

 

[nelsonj3]

Seconds hand is being driven separately from hour/minute.

The date mechanism is being powered by the hour hand, and the building of power or the actual activation of the mechanism has more drag than it should.

The date mechanism needs to be serviced. Sounds like it is not lubricated maybe.

That makes sense. In thinking about your response I realized that a hacking second hand would have to be driven separately from the rest. I am still new mechanical watches. I was considering just replacing the movement but I don't know that that will be the best solution in the long run. I found a video tearing down the movement, maybe I should bite the bullet and try servicing it myself. I can still replace it afterward.

 

[Robotaz]

That makes sense. In thinking about your response I realized that a hacking second hand would have to be driven separately from the rest. I am still new mechanical watches. I was considering just replacing the movement but I don't know that that will be the best solution in the long run. I found a video tearing down the movement, maybe I should bite the bullet and try servicing it myself. I can still replace it afterward.

I would. If your video shows a real breakdown then it’ll show the calendar area and it probably just needs lube. I’m talking simple fix just to see what happens. If it’s easy while you’re in there clean the parts up.

 

[Mrs Wiggles]

It's definitely not a magnetization issue, and like somebody else said, the date mechanism requires lubricating.