Running late

I recently observed that my Omega Speedmaster was losing time on a consistent and measurable basis.

I originally attributed it to my habit of changes watches every now and then depending on my mood on that day and the attire I would wear. This would mean that I would not be wearing the Omega for a day or so and that must be the cause for the loss of time. So I did an experiment where I wore the watch every single day for three months...did not even take it off during the night as is my usual practice.

Guess what? It lost 15 minutes over those 3 months. That's 5 minutes every month. 20 seconds every day. That sounded completely unacceptable to me. So I went to Rodeo Drive where I bought the watch in the first place and asked their service center to have a look at it. It was indeed 20 seconds off and they very kindly reset it for me. But here was the surprise for me. I was told that even a very good quality Automatic Chronometer has a +6/-4 second tolerance!

I did not know that! To confirm, I went hunting on the Internet to check if that was the case. And it turns out, it is indeed the case. So I have to get used to the idea of correcting the time on my watch every few months.

Felt a little disappointed after the whole deal. Oh well...the choices we like to make!