Vibration and Analog Watches

N

nopyo

Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
519
So, I have a really nice watch I'd like to wear to work. The thing is, I bike to work, and the ride is quite bumpy. I wore my nice watch once, saw that it was constantly under vibration during the bike ride, and went back to wearing my old digital watch for fear that I would damage it.

My question: How badly does vibration like that affect the movement? And if it does have a significant effect, which watches have the most robust/vibration resistant movements?

Thanks in advance.
 
I have worn an automatic (self winding) watch everyday for the last 8 years, swimming, fishing, kayaking ect with no problems. Analog watches have been around a long time, a lot longer than digital ones. I think that they can survive your bike ride.
 
I wear a mechanical watch most days. The only issue I've ever seen documented is with automatic winding movements and repeated very quick arm movements such as folders during a professional tournament. Even then I've never heard of a documented failure. I often wear one of my mechanicals when shooting or working SAR and I've ever had a problem. Extreme sports might be an issue but the vibration from a bike ride won't bother it.
 
I wear a Timex Expedition analog watch (cheap). I dive to ten foot depths regularly and shower with it on. I also run 90# pneumatic jackhammers and use sledge hammers and floor chisels as well as pneumatic chisels without taking it off. They last me about five years with this treatment.
 
It depends upon the design of the watch. Some mechanical watches, like the Seiko 5 series, have been designed to withstand a moderate degree of shock. Other watches are more delicate.
 
Grouch said:
It depends upon the design of the watch. Some mechanical watches, like the Seiko 5 series, have been designed to withstand a moderate degree of shock. Other watches are more delicate.
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I don't know what my Expedition was designed to withstand, but for a $40 Walmart watch, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
 
If you can clap your hands while wearing your watch, it'll withstand most anything.

I ride a motorcycle and shoot while wearing my Omega. I'd probably draw the line at jackhammering, but I'm confident that the mechanism would be fine — I'd be more worried about concrete dust gumming up the bracelet!
 
I had a Sears fully mechanical self winding watch, in the 70's. It ran about 1 minute a week fast. Wore it several days when I was breaking up clay soil with a jack hammer. It still ran a minute a week fast.

Ric
 
My understanding is that g-force is a problem. Golf (for example) is not an analog watch-friendly sport. Bicycling should be fine as long as you wear the watch on your wrist and not on your ankle.
 
Piso Mojado said:
My understanding is that g-force is a problem. Golf (for example) is not an analog watch-friendly sport. Bicycling should be fine as long as you wear the watch on your wrist and not on your ankle.
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Omega sure has been pimping the "not an analog watch-friendly sport" quite a bit lately. With some gorgeous watches IMO :)
 
ndeezl said:
Omega sure has been pimping the "not an analog watch-friendly sport" quite a bit lately. With some gorgeous watches IMO :)
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I give the WSJ Magazine to my wife because it's full of Rolex and Omega ads that just make me feel bad. If they are using my material I will have my lawyer call them.

I inherited a Victorian lady's neck chain watch with lugs brazed on so someone could wear it with a wrist strap. Of course it was dead long before I got it.

Wrist watches weren't mass produced until 1906. G-force was always a problem: there's a lot more of it when the watch is worn at the end of your arm. The other problem was image. Wrist watches were for women and sissies who smoked cigarettes and drank gin cocktails. Of course they all wore trench watches and smoked cigarettes during the Great War, and after the war they started drinking gin cocktails. That's how one thing leads to another.

I think I'll switch my subscription to Pravda. It advertises Vostok watches and they are more in my price range.

647127d1331297883-fridays-watch-k-%3D-what-you-wearing-your-wrist-today-pravda-1984-03-09.jpg
 
Piso Mojado said:
Wrist watches weren't mass produced until 1906. G-force was always a problem: there's a lot more of it when the watch is worn at the end of your arm. The other problem was image. Wrist watches were for women and sissies who smoked cigarettes and drank gin cocktails. Of course they all wore trench watches and smoked cigarettes during the Great War, and after the war they started drinking gin cocktails. That's how one thing leads to another.

I think I'll switch my subscription to Pravda. It advertises Vostok watches and they are more in my price range.

647127d1331297883-fridays-watch-k-%3D-what-you-wearing-your-wrist-today-pravda-1984-03-09.jpg
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Looks like Pravda from 9 March 1984. I suggest you shop from a later issue.
 
I have worn automatic (mechanical) watches for years and never had any problems with vibration, even when on a Harley-Davidson (vibration machine). Only problem was when I had a crash and ground up the face of my watch. In that case I should have been wearing a cheap digital watch. Good automatic watches will stand up to most vibration, except perhaps Jack-Hammer use. As far as running fast or slow, there are many factors which influence this, including how it is worn. Take off your Breitling, Rolex, or Tag when working on the car engine, jack-hammering and driving railroad spikes-.
 
It also depends on what movement you are talking about. What do you consider having a "really nice watch"? What is the watch? Is it an automatic or a quartz? Some watches can take more of a pounding than others.
 
metlman1 said:
I have worn automatic (mechanical) watches for years and never had any problems with vibration, even when on a Harley-Davidson (vibration machine). Only problem was when I had a crash and ground up the face of my watch. In that case I should have been wearing a cheap digital watch. Good automatic watches will stand up to most vibration, except perhaps Jack-Hammer use. As far as running fast or slow, there are many factors which influence this, including how it is worn. Take off your Breitling, Rolex, or Tag when working on the car engine, jack-hammering and driving railroad spikes-.
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Buy a cheap battery powered Timex analog watch if you do more than sit at a desk all day and then go to the opera? :) One would think that an expensive watch would include a bit of durability.
 
I bicycle and I have a lot of analog watches, but I don't wear them while I'm biking. To the OP- I would put the watch in my pocket for the ride to work.
 
I have about 30,000 bike miles on my 1966 Rolex Milgauss with no ill effects.
 
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