Asia 7750 movement questions ....

[stang]

Apologies if this belongs in the "Repair & Upgrade" section, but it's not technically a repair or upgrade Question.

With regards to the NEW Asia 7750 movement ....

1) How do I adjust the rate of the watch? I believe there is a lever attached to the balance wheel which can be used to adjust the rate. Is this true and how do I adjust to make it run faster/slower?

2) Which way does the rotor rotate to wind the mainspring? With the dial facing up ... does the rotor wind in a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction? I often wind the watch following inactivity by "swirling" it clockwise for 40-50 rotations, then counter-clockwise for the same amount. Which way is actually winding the spring?

3) How quickly can I "swirl" the rotor to avoid damage (I swirl very quickly, approx 2-3 rotations per second)

4) How often can I set the time/date without damaging the movement. The Zigmeister wrote that the crown is connected to the gear train via a "clutch" which can get worn by setting the time on the Asia 7750. (This will (apparently) cause the time to be displayed incorrectly even though the gears are moving correctly).

5) Is there a way (fast, medium or slow speed. smooth or abrupt motion. long turns or short turns) to operate the crown to prevent damage/wear to the movement? I often have to reset the time or date and don't want to damage the movement.

6) Is there a way to oil the movement without having to disassemble it (i.e. a few tiny "." size drops placed strategically after removing the caseback? Also, is this required for a new Asia 7750 movement? (do they come sufficiently oiled?)

Thank you very much, in advance, for any feedback experienced members care to share.

Sincerely,

Jeff

[crystalcranium]

Apologies if this belongs in the "Repair & Upgrade" section, but it's not technically a repair or upgrade Question.

With regards to the NEW Asia 7750 movement ....

1) How do I adjust the rate of the watch? I believe there is a lever attached to the balance wheel which can be used to adjust the rate. Is this true and how do I adjust to make it run faster/slower?

2) Which way does the rotor rotate to wind the mainspring? With the dial facing up ... does the rotor wind in a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction? I often wind the watch following inactivity by "swirling" it clockwise for 40-50 rotations, then counter-clockwise for the same amount. Which way is actually winding the spring?

3) How quickly can I "swirl" the rotor to avoid damage (I swirl very quickly, approx 2-3 rotations per second)

4) How often can I set the time/date without damaging the movement. Ziggy wrote that the crown is connected to the gear train via a "clutch" which can get worn by setting the time on the Asia 7750. (This will (apparently) cause the time to be displayed incorrectly even though the gears are moving correctly).

5) Is there a way (fast, medium or slow speed. smooth or abrupt motion. long turns or short turns) to operate the crown to prevent damage/wear to the movement? I often have to reset the time or date and don't want to damage the movement.

6) Is there a way to oil the movement without having to disassemble it (i.e. a few tiny "." size drops placed strategically after removing the caseback? Also, is this required for a new Asia 7750 movement? (do they come sufficiently oiled?)

Thank you very much, in advance, for any feedback experienced members care to share.

Sincerely,

Jeff

I'll take a stab at a few of these but Ziggy is the definitive authority. I believe the Asian 7750 mechanically is a 1-1 copy of the ETA so winding turns should be the same. The Swiss ETA is 800 TPD Clockwise. I'm not sure what you mean by swirling the watch to wind it but your best bet to keep an asian 7750 running is to put it on a winder. The winding crowns can be balky and unscrewing a screw down crown daily can lead to stripping problems with the crown and case tube. Vigerous shaking is never a good idea with a replica watch.

A little nomenclature corection. You do not want to regulate the rate of your watch. You can do some limited adjustments to how fast or slow the escapement train runs by legnthing or shortening the balance spring using the adjustment arm, but you do not want to mess with beat rate. Unfortunately for novice watch caseback crackers, the levers for doing both are stacked on top of eachother. I haven't had an Asian 7750 open in front of me for months so I'm not sure which one it is. (I think it's the bottom one with two dots on it.) If you move the beat rate adjustment arm, you can damage the watch. Messing with beat rate changes how the palet arm and wheel contact eachother and can cause a bunch of secondary wear problems.

Great article from Walt Odet at TZ on this subject

http://www.timezone.com/library/horologium/horologium0037

Don't try to oil your watch. Oiling is a precision operation with precision materiels best left to the craftsmen.

It sounds to me like you are chomping at the bit to get inside your new 7750 and get it running accurately and smoothly...because you love it...and that's fine. I love passionate owners, but I can tell you that the tales of enthusiastic novices ruining their precious acqusitions far outnumber the stories ending well. If you really want this new toy to run in tip top condition, bite the bullet for another $175 and send it off to Ziggy. That's really the only way to get this asian copy of the iconic Swiss 7750 as close to the real thing as possible.

[rek001]

Great advice, CC.

As for loosening & tightening the crown, using a slow and careful touch is the key.

When screwing down the crown, I first turn it counter-clockwise while applying gentle but firm presure until I feel the threads "seat" themselves into the tube, then I carefully screw it down clockwise.

I also occasionally apply a drop of fine machine oil to the crown stem when pulled out to keep those thread nice & lubed.

[stang]

CrystalCranium,

Thank you very much for replying to my post. Your experience & insight is very much appreciated.

I believe the Asian 7750 mechanically is a 1-1 copy of the ETA so winding turns should be the same.

The Zigmeister wrote an article (mechanical watches 101, I believe) where he mentioned that the Swiss ETA 7750 was a bi-directional winding arrangement, while the Asia 7750 was uni-directional winding. Not sure if he meant the older A7750 and/or the new A7750. Bi-directional meaning that the rotor will wind the mainspring whichever direction it turns (clock/counterclock). He said the A7750 rotor only winds in 1 direction(?).

I'm not sure what you mean by swirling the watch to wind it

Basically, I take the watch off, hold it in my hand and make short circles in the air (swirl?) to get the rotor to spin around in the case. I'm using inertia to make the rotor turn but I didn't know which way to make the rotor turn to wind it.

You do not want to regulate the rate of your watch. You can do some limited adjustments to how fast or slow the escapement train runs by legnthing or shortening the balance spring using the adjustment arm, but you do not want to mess with beat rate.

I don't know what "regulation" means & I don't want to mess w/ the beat rate. I was referring to the arm which adjusts the balance spring (hairspring?) to (hopefully) make the movement run a little slower. Right now it's running about +2-3 min/week off ... so, I'm resetting the time every couple weeks when it's about 5 min off. I read that it's not good to set the time too often, thus the desire to adjust the rate.

Again, thank you very much for the advice and link. I didn't want to screw up my watch through ignorance + enthusiasm which is why I asked. Good to stuff know...

Sincerely,

Jeff

P.S. how often is *too much* for resetting the time or date? The Zigmeister said to avoid doing it w/ the Asia 7750 cuz of the "clutch" arrangement connecting the crown and hands/movement.

[crystalcranium]

CrystalCranium,

Thank you very much for replying to my post. Your experience & insight is very much appreciated.

Ziggy wrote an article (mechanical watches 101, I believe) where he mentioned that the Swiss ETA 7750 was a bi-directional winding arrangement, while the Asia 7750 was uni-directional winding. Not sure if he meant the older A7750 and/or the new A7750. Bi-directional meaning that the rotor will wind the mainspring whichever direction it turns (clock/counterclock). He said the A7750 rotor only winds in 1 direction(?).

Basically, I take the watch off, hold it in my hand and make short circles in the air (swirl?) to get the rotor to spin around in the case. I'm using inertia to make the rotor turn but I didn't know which way to make the rotor turn to wind it.

I don't know what "regulation" means & I don't want to mess w/ the beat rate. I was referring to the arm which adjusts the balance spring (hairspring?) to (hopefully) make the movement run a little slower. Right now it's running about +2-3 min/week off ... so, I'm resetting the time every couple weeks when it's about 5 min off. I read that it's not good to set the time too often, thus the desire to adjust the rate.

Again, thank you very much for the advice and link. I didn't want to screw up my watch through ignorance + enthusiasm which is why I asked. Good to stuff know...

Sincerely,

Jeff

P.S. how often is *too much* for resetting the time or date? Ziggy said to avoid doing it w/ the Asia 7750 cuz of the "clutch" arrangement connecting the crown and hands/movement.

Here's the link to the Orbita watchwinder database. Every 7750 powered watch in it is a 800 CW/Day movement

http://www.orbita.net/pages/17108.htm

If your watch is losing a few minutes one week and gaining a few minutes in another.....service might be a good idea. Falling on one side of the knife edge or the other of perfection is the ideal, but not to the tune of minutes per week on either side. If your watch is slightly out of adjustment one way or another, the gains or losses should be more consistent. A watch that is out of adjustment +30 second/day for 7 days shouldn't suddenly be losing 30 sec/day over the next 7 days. EDIT: Just re read your post......I took a dash for a minus. Looks like your watch is consistantll gaining 2-3 minutes/week....and that's pretty much SOP for these watches out of the factory.

There has been much discussion about the benefits or potential problems with keeping a mechanical watch running. Chronographs should be fully wound before operating the chronos so it's either take the risk in winding by hand...or get a winder. Unless you want to swirl through 800 turns daily...I'd bite the bullet for a cheap one. You might have to replace it every 12 months but they are pretty inexpensive.

I had 4 Asian 7750 chronographs, all of which I kept on a winder, adjusted to about +- 10 sec/day. This cat and mouse game of adjustment took several days and that's about as good as you can expect. I have a genuine SMP Chrono Diver that's a year and a half old and I was able to tweek the factory adjustment so it's +- 1-2 sec/day and it falls on both sides of perfect so at week's end, it's generally spot on. Don't expect any asian movement to get to this point. It's just not in the materials. If you can tweek your 7750 to around +10-15 sec/day....that's sort of ideal. All you have to do then is pull the stem out every few days to stop the mechanisim and let real time catch up to your watch.