The Breitling Watch Source Forums

My automatically wound watches sit in a case until the power reserve is zero. When I decide to wear the "dead" watch, it's pretty much the same routine. Put on the dead watch, pack a lunch, drive 30 minutes to work, get to my desk and open http://time.gov to set the watch. It seems that some of my automatics will be ticking away on their own when I get to my desk, while others will not.
Is there any rhyme or reason why some will self wind from a dead stop and others won't? Once the dead ones are wound, I can wear them for a week without rewinding them, so the self winding feature does work once they get moving.

Thanks,
Mike

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Breitling Navitimer: Black Dial
OMEGA Speedmaster Professional
Steinhart Nav.B-Chrono II
Elgin-Hamilton 37500 (Aircraft Clock)

Different watches need a different number of turns per day, and different watches need a different minimum reserve before starting. Additionally, whether it starts or stops is going to be dependent on position, amount of friction in the running train, age of the mainspring, atmospheric conditions, whether the watch is perfectly in beat, etc. Numerous variable factors.

or you can have a Jaeger LeCoultre Futurematic - that only runs down to a minimum power reserve of about 6 hours when stored, then immediately start ticking away when you pick it up. Quite surprised none of the current "state of the art" calibers offer that function developed more than 60 years ago.

+1 on the futurematic Fred, describing it as ahead of its time is not even close.

I had the same thing with an old Seiko Kinetic I received as a high school graduation gift. Held a power reserve and if picked up anytime within a year I believe it would move to the correct time. Would still have to set the date but was a cool feature on a $400 watch