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Tell me I'm not the only one who does this......


dak244

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So I was talking with a fellow member the other day and he told me he was having trouble getting the crown to push back in after setting the time on his 111. After discussing it further, I realized he was trying to push it in by hand after setting the time.

I told him that wind my watch, then pull it out and set the time, then close the crown guard lock and it pushes it back in for me. Well he thought that was just crazy, he said I am going to scratch it all up and mess up the crown.

So, I am not Panerai expert, but is this not how everyone else closes their crown as well? I mean that is what its made for correct....... :mellow:

Wrist shot of my new Davidsen 177h

213974-16139.jpg

And my old range holland and holland... oh how I miss her.. she was like a Panerai, limited edition 1 in 75..

213974-16140.jpg

Edited by dak244
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Yah - in fact the lever is the only way I can push in the crown on my 092. It wont go in any other way

umm...i just close the lever.

you should ask your friend -- when he opens the lever, does he hold the crown in place, then open the lever, then let go of the crown so it can 'release' without being scratched? :Jumpy:

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Guest avitt
Same thing here, wind or set time, push in crown, close and lock lever. This would make for an interesting poll.

...or, rather, a mind-numbingly boring poll :rolleyes:

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I usually push the crown before closing the lever.

But sometimes I feel that the crown does not push-in properly, and only on those occasions I try with the lever too.

Honestly, I do not think this is an issue.

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I dont think it should make such a big difference if you use the lever to close the crown, since one does not set the watch very frequently.

However, even if not setting the watch very frequently, you still have to open and close it every day to wind the watch. It is possible that opening and closing it every day, in the long term could wear out the top of the lever and/or the center of the crown. Does anyone have any experience from this? And also, do you guys think it could be a difference between titanium and steel watches? Titanium appears to get scratched very easily so maybe on can wear out the top of the lever faster?

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However, even if not setting the watch very frequently, you still have to open and close it every day to wind the watch. It is possible that opening and closing it every day, in the long term could wear out the top of the lever and/or the center of the crown. Does anyone have any experience from this?

Yes, it does.

Much better autos.

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Yes, it does.

Much better autos.

Do you have any idea how quickly it goes to wear out the middle of the crown and/or the top of the lever? And do you know any way of fixing it?

The only thing I can think of to prevent/delay the problem is a little bit of oil etc at the centre of crown where the lever will scratch it, will significantly reduce the friction and delay the life of both the crown and the lever.

What suprises me a litte about all of this is that one never read anything about it related to gen Panerais. This model with a lever pushing the crown has been out on the market for a pretty long time, but I have never heard anything on discussion forums. The same is for the screw down crown for the Radiomir. No one with a gen seems to have problems with it.

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Do you have any idea how quickly it goes to wear out the middle of the crown and/or the top of the lever? And do you know any way of fixing it?

According to my small experience, some tenths opening & closing is enough. A little less on Lello's crowns (which appear to be the softest of all), a little more on PVD crowns. It also greatly varies depending on how strongly or weakly the lever pushes the crown.

The wearing seems to affect just the crown, not the lever. Or on the lever it is negligible.

And it is essentially an aesthetic effect, it does not compromise the functionality of the crown & lever ensemble. Maybe it is because this actually is a self-limiting process: the more the lever wears down the crown, the less the pressure on next movements.

In reality, noone really cares about it as the wearing stays confined to the center of the crown. It is invisible unless one closely looks into the opening of the guard, between the guard and the crown, with the lever in the open position.

The only thing I can think of to prevent/delay the problem is a little bit of oil etc at the centre of crown where the lever will scratch it, will significantly reduce the friction and delay the life of both the crown and the lever.
I doubt this would sensibly modify the issue, as it is not only a matter of friction but especially of pressure. I would also get a little worried by something oiled so close with my shirtcuff. ;)

If you really are concerned with it, I think your best option is to finely trim the pressure between the lever and the crown. Naturally in this case your action points are: the lever shape, the crown gasket, the crown tube, and the guard feet.

What suprises me a litte about all of this is that one never read anything about it related to gen Panerais. This model with a lever pushing the crown has been out on the market for a pretty long time, but I have never heard anything on discussion forums. The same is for the screw down crown for the Radiomir. No one with a gen seems to have problems with it.

As far as I know, also on reps this is not perceived as a real problem -- see above.

I only talked about Luminor. I wear a Radiomir only on occasions, so I can't speak about its crown shelf life. But I heard of problems only on a specific rep model some time ago (maybe the Black Seal?), whose thread was defective (or at least poor) from the manufacturer.

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Thanks SSSURFER for your second long answer. I think I misunderstood your first answer as if you meant that one wears it out fairly quckly.

I dont know if I am a bit odd here at the forum since I am concerned with the quality and durability of the watches I like. I dont care so much about a detail at the font or other very minor design issues. For me getting my watch serviced is rather easy but if something really breaks and requires spare parts it will give me headache since I am currently working abroad and have difficulties ordering stuff. If it is possible to find at all. And even if 250-350 usd is not so much for a watch, it is still quite a lot if you buy a couple of them and they end up in the drawer after a short time. And if it is in the drawer, well then it does not matter how nice the fonts are.

QUOTE(mrnixon @ Mar 10 2007, 07:17 PM)

However, even if not setting the watch very frequently, you still have to open and close it every day to wind the watch. It is possible that opening and closing it every day, in the long term could wear out the top of the lever and/or the center of the crown. Does anyone have any experience from this?

Yes, it does.

Much better autos.

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Thanks SSSURFER for your second long answer. I think I misunderstood your first answer as if you meant that one wears it out fairly quckly.

You are welcome. It was my 1st answer that was too short to be clear. My fault.

I dont know if I am a bit odd here at the forum since I am concerned with the quality and durability of the watches I like. I dont care so much about a detail at the font or other very minor design issues. For me getting my watch serviced is rather easy but if something really breaks and requires spare parts it will give me headache since I am currently working abroad and have difficulties ordering stuff. If it is possible to find at all. And even if 250-350 usd is not so much for a watch, it is still quite a lot if you buy a couple of them and they end up in the drawer after a short time. And if it is in the drawer, well then it does not matter how nice the fonts are.

I may assure you that I am quite picky on my watches :) -- but sincerely the aesthetic wearing of the crown, that we talked about, is no real concern as it is substantially invisible.

Much worse the mechanical wearing occurring when the lever is not properly centered and lined up with the crown, but that is a completely different matter.

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