For total accuracy get a radio-controlled watch from Citizen, or a wave-ceptor watch from Casio.
They update everyday so your watch is accurate.
Some work in one region (such as USA, or Japan, etc.), some multiple or world-wide regions.

Next will be quartz.
Most quartz watches gain/lose a consistent time daily. After a month your watch will be off by up to 10 seconds. Given you'll change the time at least every six months when summer/winter time ends, then after six months your watch will be a minute out at most.
A quartz will always be out by the same amount. (Thus if your watch gains 5 seconds a month, it will always gain 5 seconds a month)

Auto...
Who knows?
One day it may be fast, the next it may be slow, at night on its back may be different than at night on it's side etc...
Generally accuracy is about 5-10 seconds a day!!
Yes so that does mean it could be a minute out be the end of the week, or maybe 30 minutes at the end of the month.
But the next day or night it could be a bit slower, so long term it may balance out.
Then again it may not.

For the amount you may spend on a Rolex etc., you'll still find your cheap kitchen clock keeps better time.


Personally I like quartz.
I pick the watch up, put it on and don't have to worry about setting it, or how accurate/inaccurate it might be today.

 

For total accuracy get a radio-controlled watch from Citizen, or a wave-ceptor watch from Casio.
They update everyday so your watch is accurate.
Some work in one region (such as USA, or Japan, etc.), some multiple or world-wide regions.

Next will be quartz.
Most quartz watches gain/lose a consistent time daily. After a month your watch will be off by up to 10 seconds. Given you'll change the time at least every six months when summer/winter time ends, then after six months your watch will be a minute out at most.
A quartz will always be out by the same amount. (Thus if your watch gains 5 seconds a month, it will always gain 5 seconds a month)

Auto...
Who knows?
One day it may be fast, the next it may be slow, at night on its back may be different than at night on it's side etc...
Generally accuracy is about 5-10 seconds a day!!
Yes so that does mean it could be a minute out be the end of the week, or maybe 30 minutes at the end of the month.
But the next day or night it could be a bit slower, so long term it may balance out.
Then again it may not.

For the amount you may spend on a Rolex etc., you'll still find your cheap kitchen clock keeps better time.

Personally I like quartz.
I pick the watch up, put it on and don't have to worry about setting it, or how accurate/inaccurate it might be today.

I can't stand quartz too modern, I like old-school wind-up

 

On my mechanicals, anywhere from 0 to +2 seconds per day on the wrist (I'm more relaxed off the wrist) is acceptable, although truth be told, I'd probably get rid of a watch that gained 2 seconds a day.

On a cheap mechanical, I'd expect under 5 seconds a day on the wrist. Slowness is never acceptable. Cheap watches don't have to be inaccurate. My old Orient did under +1 a day easily on my wrist (was much less precise off the wrist for a day, but I digress).

On a quartz watch, under 10 seconds a month would be ok. Any decent quartz watch is so accurate that I don't really care that much.

These are my personal standards.

 

I think there's a divergence between CitizenM's standards for ownership and what one should reasonably expect to find (even for large amounts of $$$).

On an automatic watch, even a Rolex or an Omega will be somewhere in the +/-5 secs a day range, with this number fluctuating based on how fully wound the watch is, how you're wearing it on a given day, what position you set it down at night (crown up, face up flat, etc.), and even factors like humidity and outside temperature. Sometimes watches run fast, sometimes slow -- my JLC MUT Moon is currently running -1/-2 seconds a day after just three months of ownership, and I'm noticing that its behavior fluctuates depending on environment (was getting better results, e.g., positive time gain, in different parts of the country, but it seems consistently slow down here in Miami).

On a cheaper auto, they are often not as finely made and the maker will purposely set the watch way fast at the beginning of its life cycle (watches tend to slow down as their components wear), so I've heard of new watches in the sub-$1,000 automatic ETA/Sellita market being +20 secs/day, which is within specs and is not cause for an in-warranty repair.

As above posters have suggested, quartz/digital watches are almost always more accurate.

On my mechanicals, anywhere from 0 to +2 seconds per day on the wrist (I'm more relaxed off the wrist) is acceptable, although truth be told, I'd probably get rid of a watch that gained 2 seconds a day.

On a cheap mechanical, I'd expect under 5 seconds a day on the wrist. Slowness is never acceptable. Cheap watches don't have to be inaccurate. My old Orient did under +1 a day easily on my wrist (was much less precise off the wrist for a day, but I digress).

On a quartz watch, under 10 seconds a month would be ok. Any decent quartz watch is so accurate that I don't really care that much.

These are my personal standards.

 

Watches tend to run slow in Miami and the Caribbean. It is the slow pace of life you understand....

But I think CitizenM summarised it well.

 

+ 2 sec per day.

 

Let's get real for a minute. A high end movement with a COSC chronometer certification (about 3% of watches made) is rated at -4/+6 seconds per day. That's as good as you can expect, period, with a Rolex or comparable high end watch. Most mechanical watches will be within +-12 seconds a day or better, and that's what's considered normal (or industry acceptable). Whether it's acceptable to you personally is another story, but even a cheap movement can usually be regulated to fall within COSC chronometer standards (but for how long it will hold that accuracy is questionable due to potentially lower quality parts).

In comparison the COSC standard for quartz watches is +- 0.07 seconds per day, or about 2 seconds per month. Quartz is quartz is quartz.... don't expect any significant difference in accuracy between an Omega quartz versus a Timex quartz, they'll both be within a couple of seconds of each other per month.

 

Let's get real for a minute. A high end movement with a COSC chronometer certification (about 3% of watches made) is rated at -4/+6 seconds per day. That's as good as you can expect, period, with a Rolex or comparable high end watch. Most mechanical watches will be within +-12 seconds a day or better, and that's what's considered normal (or industry acceptable). Whether it's acceptable to you personally is another story, but even a cheap movement can usually be regulated to fall within COSC chronometer standards (but for how long it will hold that accuracy is questionable due to potentially lower quality parts).

that would not be acceptable in my book.

 

Perhaps instead of being concerned about what the acceptable accuracy is of a particular watch type you should determine what is acceptable accuracy for you. If you can accept the lower accuracy and higher maintenance costs of an auto/mechanical you will own a ingenious piece of mechanical engineering, steeped in history and tradition, and requiring an almost daily active physical relationship with you in order to function. A HAQ watch is for you if accuracy is paramount and low maintenance a necessity.

You can use WWV by short wave radio or telephone 303-499-7111.

 

It really depends, on my everyday watch I am more anal about time keeping. Both of my daily beater are COSC so as long as it's running no faster than 6 seconds I am okay.

Not all quartz are created equal, my casio is a race horse, about a minute fast per month. I don't bother to have it check because it's worth pretty much next to nothing and it's 16 years old, if it runs i am good.

speaking of mechanical movement, my seagull st19 chrono movement actually keep better time than my "base" non cosc ETA 2824 on my hamilton, it's almost as accurate as my Omega's

 

You guys are hardcore. On a dress watch mechanical, within 15 s/d is fine since I rarely wear one for more than 12 hours at a time.

On an every day mechanical, within 5s/d is fine.

With a quartz I demand within 15s/m on my multifunction watches and 60s/y on my high end just because they're high end.




Will

 

[SUP][/SUP]The following is copied from Wikipedia "ETA 2824"[SUP]One workhorse of the ETA mechanical line is the ETA 2824-2, The 2824 is an automatic winding, twenty-five (25) jewel movement, available in four executions or grades: Standard, Elaborated (improved), Top and Chronometer.[SUP][4][/SUP] The key components which differ at the line of demarcation between Elaborated and Top are the barrel spring, shock protection system, pallet stones, balance wheel & hairspring and the regulator mechanism. In contrast, since the addition of the "-2" at the end of the movement number, there has been no difference between the standard and the chronometer grades in terms of the regulator mechanism, both being Etachron. To illustrate the differences in accuracy garnered by the successive grades, consider the following specifications:

• the Standard grade is adjusted in two positions with an average rate of +/-12 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
• the Elaborated grade is adjusted in three positions with an average rate of +/-7 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
• while the Top grade is adjusted in five positions with an average rate of +/-4 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-10 seconds/day.

The Chronometer grade must meet strict standards prescribed by the COSC. Chronometer grade movements are serial numbered, as that is a requirement of the certification authority. Moreover, it should be noted that the degree of decoration on the movement's parts, generally only an aesthetic improvement, increases as well with the grade.[SUP][5][/SUP]
[/SUP]

 

The following is copied from Wikipedia "ETA 2824"

[SUP]One workhorse of the ETA mechanical line is the ETA 2824-2, The 2824 is an automatic winding, twenty-five (25) jewel movement, available in four executions or grades: Standard, Elaborated (improved), Top and Chronometer.[SUP][4][/SUP] The key components which differ at the line of demarcation between Elaborated and Top are the barrel spring, shock protection system, pallet stones, balance wheel & hairspring and the regulator mechanism. In contrast, since the addition of the "-2" at the end of the movement number, there has been no difference between the standard and the chronometer grades in terms of the regulator mechanism, both being Etachron. To illustrate the differences in accuracy garnered by the successive grades, consider the following specifications:

• the Standard grade is adjusted in two positions with an average rate of +/-12 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
• the Elaborated grade is adjusted in three positions with an average rate of +/-7 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
• while the Top grade is adjusted in five positions with an average rate of +/-4 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-10 seconds/day.

The Chronometer grade must meet strict standards prescribed by the COSC. Chronometer grade movements are serial numbered, as that is a requirement of the certification authority. Moreover, it should be noted that the degree of decoration on the movement's parts, generally only an aesthetic improvement, increases as well with the grade.[SUP][5][/SUP]
[/SUP]

The Wikipedia article is a little misleading...

...is adjusted in two positions with an average rate of +/-12 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day...

This statement makes it sound as if the average movement is +/- 12 s/d, and it will gain or loose a maximum 30 seconds per day.

The actual limits are actually quite different.

- The average of the two positional rates shall be within +/-12 s/d, so if the two rates are CH = -30 s/d and 6H = +42s/d, the average rate would be +6 s/d

- The maximum variation between the two positional rates can be no more than 30 s/d, this means the above spread is out of tolaerance. However, if you play with the math, you can see that you can get a pretty bad spread in positional rates, that probably would not be considered all that good by the average WIS, but be within tolerance...

CH = -3 s/d
6H = +27 s/d

Average rate = 12 s/d
Maximum positional error = 30 s/d

When I time a watch with a wide positional error, I have found that if you weight the rates 65% verical, and 35% horizontal, most of the time you match the average wearer. The above movement would wear somewhere around 16 to 17 s/d, would you consider that "good"?

Then, there is the isochronism error...

The isochronism error can be +/- 20 s/d over 24 hours. Assume the same above movement, so the 6H rate would be at full wind +27 s/d, but after 24 hours the rate could degrade another +20 s/d to +47 s/d.

How many here feel +47 s/d is acceptable?

The same is true for Elabore or Top grades, the actual allowable error the wearer will see can be quite a long way from the listed figures.

For a reader exercise, what is the worst single position error you could see in the Elabore grade (average if three positions, with a max spread of 20 s/d) that would still pass? Top Grade (five positions, max spread of 15 s/d)?

 

i own 3 mechanical watches and all 3 runs within +2 sec per day,maybe just luck?...;-)

 

30 seconds slow or fast is as high as I'd go. But I set all my watches 1 minute advanced anyway. As long as you don't operate trains or make a hobby out of syncing your watch with atomic clocks, a little bit of variation is fine.

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1) -4/+6 (COSC Standards) is acceptable, although I prefer my watches to be on the '+' side.
2) +/- 15-20 sec/day is probably ok
3) +/- 10-15 seconds per month is OK (unless you're talking about a Grand Seiko Quartz, in which case it will be accurate to less than 10 seconds per YEAR)
4) Same as #3

I use a radio controlled digital desktop clock and also a Casio atomic solar G-Shock for my time comparisons. Occasionally I will also use time.gov

Personally, my Rolex Explorer 1 is about +4 seconds/day. I'm perfectly OK with this. The balance wheel in my Rolex "ticks" 8 times per second. This is 691,200 times every day, that means it's only off by 34 ticks per 24 hours, and 34 out of 691,200 isn't bad at all... 4 measly seconds out of 86,400 seconds every day.

 

I imagine if most people got rid of a mechanical watch that was 2 sec per day out there would be a mammoth market for brand new preowned high end mechanicals....and id never buy a new watch again.

Any mechanical watch running within cosc specs is keeping excellent time.

My quartz TAG loses a couple of seconds a month.

 

To be honest I couldn't care less how many "ticks" out a Rolex is.

I wear a watch every day, sometimes the same watch for days/weeks on end.
I change the time on my watches every six months when winter/summertime ends.
Some of you say that for an auto then +/-4 seconds (or even +/-2 seconds) is acceptable per day.
After six months the watch would therefore be more than 10 minutes out.
If you are accepting +/- 20 seconds a day, then you are expecting your watch to be an hour out after sixth months.
Of course some of you will re-adjust the time within six months (which will mean continually unscrewing/screwing the crown on your expensive auto).

If I've just spent thousands of ££ or $$ on a watch, I'd be very annoyed if my cheap kitchen clock kept better time. I couldn't care less what COSC say.
With all the technology available today I am still stunned that an expensive Swiss watch is not as accurate as a quartz.

Lets face it, in this day & age, after sixth months of non-adjustment, any watch should be less than a minute out.

 

...some of you will re-adjust the time within six months (which will mean continually unscrewing/screwing the crown on your expensive auto)....

Unless your inexpensive quartz is a perpetual calendar, or a no-date, you will be unscrewing the crown every other month to reset the date as well...

Quite honestly, even though I have.in the past continously worn watches that were not all that accurate, (remember when pin levers were the only cheap watch available?) I don't seem to remember resetting the time being a nusance, in fact I can't really remember doing it regularly....but I must have, those Timex pin levers were rarely better than 15 to 20 s/d....

... Lets face it, in this day & age, after sixth months of non-adjustment, any watch should be less than a minute out...

Many quartz modules are only spec'ed out +/- 0.5 s/d, so after 180 days, these would be 1-1/2 minutes out..... And that's if they keep the temperature at a constant 25 C....

 

Just to keep it simple...

What I WANT is within +2s/d.

What I WOULD SETTLE FOR is +5s/d.

This goes for any mechanical watch, regardless of cheap/high-end, because I the most accurate watch I have happens to be my cheapest (Orient +1s/d), the least accurate is my so-so priced Swiss (ETA 2893 standard +15s/d), and the one that falls somewhere in the middle is my most expensive (5K+) watch.

 

You guys are true strict about accuracy.

The IWC Grand Complication (sold for around $200,000) is based on the 7750, so technically speaking it won't be more accurate than a COSC certified 7750, and none of the lucky owners of this watch would care about accuracy like us.

 

you really think he was awaiting your answer for 2 years????

 

You never know.

 

My personal experience so far.

Mechanical:
Omega Aqua Terra 15,000 Gauss +0.5 sec/day
Mido Multifort Power Reserve +2 sec/day
Ball Red Label +2sec/day on table but +10 sec/day on my wrist
I had a few other Balls shortly but forgot the names and those were +2 to +5 sec/day


Quartz:
I don't really check my quartz so I'm not sure. However I think expectations are 10-15 seconds per month on normal quartz. On higher end quartz, I would expect anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds per year.

 

Any watch off 30 minutes a month is an expensive bracelet!

 

That's a minute a day

 

If it causes me to be late for a meeting, it is not acceptable.

 

I just got a Seiko 5 military type automatic and it's doing around +4 seconds per day. I am leaving it on it's side with crown up at night to lose some seconds.. I'm happy with this pretty cheap watch so far...I know this is an old thread but "Worth the Wrist" have you had the Citizen regulated or is it still at that rate.....Lenny..............

 

I couldn't edit my post , just wanted to add about my really cheap casio f-91w which is running about +4 sec. a month...

 

A quartz, even a cheap one, should do.

 

I'm quite strict. An average of a few seconds a day is perfectly achievable. So any expensive watch should achieve such standards. Because it's an expensive watch. The fact that a mechanical watch can't compete with quartz is irrelevant. Part of the fun of a mechanical watch is how precise it can be persuaded to be. Not because it 'matters', but because it's a fun target.

 

For me, up to 20 seconds is ok as long as it's consistently the same.

If it goes +5 today then -20 tomorrow, I'm having it cleaned, demagnetized and regulated. Haha

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