How I regulate my watches (Seiko NH Series)

I have had plenty of times with brand new watches where they just do not run very well out of the box and the accuracy really spoils that 'new watch feeling' - this San Martin being a great example. This can be very frustrating, so I wanted to show my current method to regulate watches.
As I have said in the video, I am not a watch maker - this method works well for me on NH series movements. Like with anything I would spend time learning from a variety of different sources and getting a good mix of opinions and techniques before attempting it for the first time, but hopefully there is something useful in this video.
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[@nextonthewrist]

Thank you for all the comments and feedback so far, the watch community is a great one! Just to confirm, as I don't demonstrate it, but only talk about it on commentary - for ultimate accuracy you should regulate across multiple dial positions. I don't bother with this as I'm just wanting to be somewhere good enough for me - not spending time for ultimate accuracy. Secondly, I must give pegwood another go, it's been a few years and maybe I rushed to write it off as a regulation tool. 🙂👍

[@timeandnourishment1961]

I've ruined a couple of movements with metal tools; using a plastic - ended hand pusher is a great idea. Thanks for the, er, tip. Cheers! 🍻

[@theWaltVegas]

My Baltany Explorer homage showed up running slightly positive but not even +1 s/d. They had to have regulated it at the factory. I love that watch. It looks so good. It's so well made. And I can wear it anywhere and not worry about it.

[@nextonthewrist]

Either regulated or you hit the movement jackpot 😆 ...I did have a Baltany a while back, lovely pieces. Enjoy 😎🍻

[@jorgeolguingarcia]

One of the best and straightforward DIY videos I have seen. Thank you so much for the visual example.😊

[@m.l.679]

Quick tip with the Bergeon ball : at the same time you unscrew whit the right hand holding the ball, screw with the left hand holding the watch. This will double the torque. I barely use my case opener now.

[@nextonthewrist]

I will try this next time, thank you 😎🍻

[@icyhot9783]

You don’t want to use a toothpick to regulate. It leaves shards of wood inside the movement which find their way into the moving parts. If you don’t believe me, try it under a microscope.

[@N7492]

Good comments and techniques. I too found out the hard way that it's remarkably easy to slip and permanently damage that ultra delicate hairspring. Go slowly and deliberately and you'll be OK. I use my spring bar tool to push the regulating arms around, FWIW.

[@garyshepherd9226]

Same method for me - and you can then regulate by the position you leave it at night - as the positions cause variance in seconds per day gain or loss.

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

That's the thing with a lot of these high-spec low-price watches. The movements are only coarsely regulated from the factory, and the watch companies don't do any additional regulating when they assemble them into watches. If they did, they would have to charge more. Throw in a bumpy airmail ride from China, and it's not surprising that these watches don't always have the best accuracy. I think anyone who collects these watches needs to invest in a timegrapher and learn how to regulate them. I have had really good luck with NH35 movements. One in particular arrived very badly out of regulation (losing over a minute a day) but after regulation, it is now one of my most accurate watches.

[@owenlaprath4135]

I find it much better to either regulate with a half-wind, OR set it several seconds fast (+5 to +9) with a full wind, because as the watch winds down, it slows down! My 6 automatics (2 Chinese NH35A in Tandorio, 2 Malaysian NH35A in Invicta Pro-Diver, 2 Sellita SW330-2 in my Glycine Airmen) all do NOT wind to full reserve just with wrist shaking or putting them on a winder! My 2 Glycine Airman (a "classic" in 40mm with DC-4 style dial, and a black PVD 42mm with an eye popping yellow dial) are the most expensive watches I ever bought, so I do not fiddle them. They came from factory running a bit fast when fully wound, but both settled down after 1/2 year, and when I wear them, hold time almost like a quartz piece! Interestingly, I find the Malaysian NH35A in my Invictas much "looser" and with a greater variance, while the Chinese Tandorio MoD W10 style watches (a 70's style 36mm Hamilton tonneau, and a 40mm round case, both with Flieger-A dial as spec'd by UK MoD after WW2) with their likely Chinese made calibres are much "stiffer", and hold better, more reliably consistent time.

[@nextonthewrist]

Very interesting and not something I had considered, I always assumed my nh35 watches will maintain a full wind as they have a clutch assuming I'm wearing them and active all day. I don't specifically track time on wrist, as long as it's not needing daily adjustments im happy enough but good points of consideration and could easily confirm with actual daily 'on wrist time tracking' if my winding over compensates on these. Thanks for the feedback and comments 😎🍻

[@L233233]

I've made a different observation. As the watch winds down, it runs faster. A less wound watch loses amplitude so it takes less time for the balance wheel to oscillate, hence it runs faster.

[@skycrafts5140]

Enjoyed the video, thanks. I'm not an expert, but most what I've picked up with regulating some of the same movements, appears in the video. So I must have done some right 😊. If I can't get a +/-0 secs, I prefer just a few seconds gain per day. That's because when the time is adjusted, it's a case of pulling out the crown, waiting for the real time to catch up, then push crown in. No need to move hands. Simpler. Also when I put silicone on the gasket, I put a small amount on, then pretty much wipe it off. A trace/film on the gasket is enough, I think. Thanks again for the video. Very clear and well made. l

[@nextonthewrist]

Excellent points you make, and thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, appreciated 😎👍

[@userw-f7c]

Many thanks for the video. This is something that I've been meaning to look into for a while. Great looking watches by the way.

[@roadgent7921]

A great advert for buying a quartz watch 👍

[@nextonthewrist]

😆😆😆 👍

[@truxton1000]

Not at all, we like to tinker.

[@joescola7498]

Great video! I have a Laco Valencia that runs +5s/d. I like my watches to run a touch fast so that when I do adjust it's just a matter of pulling out the crown, waiting a few seconds and pushing it back in. I would certainly try this with a watch that runs slow though.

[@nextonthewrist]

Actually a really good point, I never thought of that but I might ensure mine all do the same in future 🙂👍

[@ShiroArctic]

Another tool you can use for the regulator is plastic-tipped tweezers. I think Dumont used to make some with replaceable tips, and I know HoroTec does. I've also used a bit of pegwood in the past. I'll have to give the hand pushers a go, though.

[@haping1]

Nice watch 👍 First of all, the watch is within Seiko specs. Also the low amplitude normal for a Seiko movement. Has nothing to do with cheap movement... Some tips: 1. After demagnitizing, check if the watch really is denagnetized (with a compass?) 2.use a piece of pegwood for regulation. Shape it as a screwdriver blades. Much more safe than the handpushers for regulation. First set the beat error, than the time. Also check in other positions, since you're not wearing the watch dial up most of the time...

[@nextonthewrist]

Hey thanks for the comments, I googled NH35 specs and had +40/-20 so I believe just out - but that said regardless its too far for me. Most NHs arrive something around +10 so I don't bother in those instances. Personal preference. 🙂👍 Great advice on the compass. I must get one. 👌👌 R.e.. Pegwood I am uneasy about the fod risk and something splintering. Maybe that's not fair as I've heard it seldom happens and is pretty tough. I have tried it and didn't feel as comfortable but happy to try again 👍 I did suggest beat error then time, just wanted to demonstrate as I describe in the video the relationship and how they affect the timegrapher. Final point, I'm not regulating for ultimate accuracy just quickly pulling it closer to where I feel comfortable. I did also lay out clearly that for ultimate accuracy you should regulate in multiple positions. If I get bang on in dial up with the variance taken into consideration I'm happy enough for a cheap movement. Thanks for stopping by and hopefully you don't mind me answering your points directly, I'm not an expert but I did try to point some of these out in the video 😎🍻

[@blackwell68]

Watched another channel replace the spring to increase amplitude. It involved a whole lot of other mods to compensate for the increased power. Seiko knew what they were doing when they designed it as a whole movement.

[@dennisallport5704]

Beautiful watch. Do you see the little space on the black plastic spring loaded portion of your timegraph microphone? This is where the crown of the watch should go, not laying pressed against the metal portion. Just a heads up.

[@nextonthewrist]

Ah yes I put them the wrong way round deliberately - I've found there's a stronger signal by having the crown against the metal portion (tape protected) and some really really chunky dive watch cases struggle to read if it's the case against the mic. Good spot though 🙂

[@chrisp.5272]

My PD AirKing NH35 is running at +10 seconds per day. I was going to attempt with a tooth pick.

[@blackwell68]

Gasket lubrication is good, but use just enough to make it shiny. More is not better.

[@a0r0a7]

NH amplitude is always a bit low compared to say another cheap alternative a Miyota 82 series movement. I have a Rotary super 7 with a 8215 and its amplitude is over 300. My Seiko 5 diver is similar to this SM NH. Great job and you have a NH hopefully working near chronometer spec. These NH movements run for a decade with no issues or even longer. That's why they are used, cheap, reliable and can be perfectly accurate for a mechanical.

[@alexf7377]

Is +/- a minute a week acceptable? Seems okay to me. Not at all triggering. I wind and set my clock every Sunday and have added my new Cestrian automatic to that weekly routine.

[@nextonthewrist]

All down to personal preference.... but I'd be content with that on an affordable movement 🙂👍

[@Mat-tg4fk]

I got a watch with an NH38 movement. Sadly it was roughly +10 with a beat error of 2.0. On my second attempt I got it down to (dial up) +0 and B.E. 0.2 Didnt timeograph other positions but on wrist its been averaging 0 or +1 seconds a day!

[@nextonthewrist]

That's great, perfect result 😎🙌

[@tuberaider]

For wristwatches, focus on regulating DU, DD and CD. If there's desk work going on during the day, look also at 12D. I usually try to have a position straddle the zero. For NH35 specifically, I regulate dial down rate to be anywhere between +4 to +6, and I usually find 12-up and 3-up to be just around -2 or -3.

[@rickykneebone2623]

I'm loosing 6 minutes a day on a seiko 7s26 movement, its in a field watch that I have put through the end of the world, would the same process help with something that bad?

[@truxton1000]

Probably would help, get a timegrapher as it will tell you the general health of the movement.

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

It might help if the inaccuracy was caused by it receiving a shock that knocked it out of regulation. It might just be that it's time for a service though.

[@theWaltVegas]

I use a toothpick. It's a great solution for someone that doesn't have tools.

[@raupenbolzenraupenbolzen7094]

Thank you for this video. I never dared before even to think about opening a watchcase because you are always confrontend with the terms and conditions in with a warranty which is no longer valid if you open the watch by yourself. One question I have regarding the waterproofness: Do you check it after screwing down the case or do you just rely based on your experience the watch is fine now?

[@nextonthewrist]

It's a good question. So I'm less concerned about it in the sense that I don't go swimming or deep diving or anything taxing with any of my watches, so I don't pressure test often. That said, I assume my reinstallation of the caseback with a lubricated gasket and similar torque will reassume the water resistance and I'd have no problem taking this watch swimming. As its my own watch and an affordable piece - if I make a mistake I'll just be there cursing myself! So far it hasn't happened but it will if I remove enough casebacks...then maybe I'll motivate myself to pressure test everything 😆 Two extra points to this - for my more expensive watches under warranty, I'll send back to the manufacturer if I have an issue to maintain the warranty. Secondly if I'm assembling a watch for someone else I will pressure test it, albeit only a basic leak check.

[@raupenbolzenraupenbolzen7094]

@@nextonthewrist Thank you for your detailed answer. According to my research its seems advisable to let this the watchmaker do. The devices you need for this are beyond a cheap chinese equipment.

[@happinesscompilation5252]

Normal for a Seiko watch. Unlike luxury brands, Seiko will not regulate it's movement out of the factory. It costs a lot of man hour to regulate every single movement so to keep the price low, they just ship the movements as is.

[@nextonthewrist]

Oh absolutely, I don't dispute that - it's not anyone's fault but I still can't enjoy a watch running like this. For what it's worth, this one actually falls outside Seikos own tolerance. 🙂👍

[@tkindschi]

I'm convinced that's why Seiko quotes such a wide tolerance for the NH35 (and others)! I think the "accepted" range for the NH35 is something like +45 to - 35 seconds. Which is obscene. But if you get a watch losing 20 s per day, "Hey, it's within tolerance!", and they can ignore your complaint. Reality is that you shouldn't have a problem getting an NH35 to within +/- 5 seconds when they are new and/or in good shape..

[@rodrigocatelli]

Agree. I Have a NH39 and a NH35 watch, the 35 is +16 per day (will regulate it, just waiting tools come from china 😁) The 39 one is insanely precise (+1 on timegraph, maybe 5 seconds a week wearing it daily). For the price, those movements are trully incredible!

[@roberttai646]

Thank you!

[@nigelbryant5932]

I sold my Wise Hitman after a week. That awful NH35 was running around 15 seconds fast per day. Glad I got rid of that movement. It’s too cheap

[@johnlacroix1639]

WOW great info. ,keep up the great work.

[@NickW90]

Where did you get your watch?

[@nextonthewrist]

Ordered from their AliExpress store.

[@Cueseca]

Weird mine is on the money with the atomic clock its only +1 seconds fast a day.

[@nextonthewrist]

Perfect 😎🙌... They all ship running differently so consider it a lottery win 😆

[@DiveWatchesUncut]

Very nice content. Thank you.

[@lmt200ish]

On a cheap movement a basic oiling may have changed it.

[@nextonthewrist]

True, plus you never know how long it's sat on a shelf even if it's a nice movement. Could be 5-10 years old 👍

[@G0ATHR0B]

A wooden chopstick works in a pinch too.

[@truxton1000]

Better with peg wood as other wood could leave tiny chips.

[@Kwr34538]

Thank the gods for time graphers ! No watch movement should be in the negative ...especially a new watch Try always buying from a reputable jewllers Btw....Great regulation considering you're not a watchmaker !!! I bought a Hamilton pilots watch 2nd hand from a jewllers and when i got it home (it was made in 2014 and had never been serviced) i put it on my time grapher and it had from lift angle at 52 ' .... 4 Hertz .... amplitude 295... +1 second per day ...a beat error of 0.1 br and i waa shocked how good an old 2824 movement was !!

[@nextonthewrist]

That's a great result bud. I had heard somewhere that the expected limits on modern watch lubricants were something around ten years, so nearly 300 on amplitude I guess shows it doesn't seem to have a lot of friction... and is beating strong... I'll hope for the same from my Hamilton at ten years haha🤞😎

[@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv]

Shouldn't you wait a few months before regulating a new watch to give it time for the movement to 'bed in'?

[@nextonthewrist]

Personally I've not noticed any changes on newer movements - and I do check a few times per year. Only once I've lost regulation over a few months and that was a 6R. Was this advice not more applicable to days gone by when the lubricants used to move around a bit? 🤔... Would be good to know 🙂

[@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv]

​@nextonthewrist I must confess being 62 my experience harkens back to the 70s - 90s. In those times it was advisable to give a new watch time to circulate the oils . Also it needed time to establish a pattern with the wearer. Once a pattern had been firmly established the watch could then be regulated with more degree of accuracy. Also in those times the consistency of the regulation was governed by the quality of the movement. A high quality watch like an Omega or Rolex would stick to the regulated time for years. However a cheaper watch would likely deviate from it. Also one had to bear in mind that if you bought a watch off someone you couldn't expect it to keep the same time for you as it did for them as the individual wearer affected the accuracy. However things must have changed markedly if even a fairly cheap seiko movement like this one here can be regulated from new.

[@pauldby1479]

Pegwood is good

[@marcob.7801]

My San martin doesn't work after 2 days!

[@nextonthewrist]

Sorry to hear, hope you get it sorted bud 🤞

[@truxton1000]

You have to wind it 🤣

[@s8nke]

Not a good start when the Timegrapher is worth more than the watach

[@nextonthewrist]

😂

[@B0B0LlN00]

Use peg wood in the future. And remove the bracelet, so it is out of the way. If you don't adjust the watch in DD/DU/CU/CD/CR positions, then it is pointless to do the things you just did. You must get the delta rates as tight as possible, otherwise your watch will always be off when you actually wear it. Get a microscope and practise on a junk movement. Also everything under 1.0 ms of beat error does not affect time keeping, keep that in mind.

[@nextonthewrist]

I honestly don't like peg wood, have tried it. I think it's more likely to splinter and leave fod, personal preference. As I'm only doing DU and DD for a quick time calibration I leave the bracelet on, if I was doing multiple positions I'd remove it. I did also state clearly in the video you can do multiple positions for accuracy but I just want to not lose 30 seconds a day - which was achieved here. Good to know about the beat error, thank you 🙂

[@B0B0LlN00]

You can use any tool you want, nothing wrong with that. Whatever works, I just gave you a suggestion. However removing the bracelet and everything that might distract you is always a good idea. Having a clean, organized and quiet workspace is a must, especially when you work on the balance. I destroyed a hairspring, because my phone rang while I was messing with the regulator curve. Anyways, great video you made. Good luck in the future !

[@nextonthewrist]

Thank you, an I appreciate all the ideas 👍 And I also agree on the clean and organised workspace - I think it's better practice to have just the watch head. Whenever I assemble watches for someone else I'm far more meticulous than with my own watches, weirdly 😅 I don't want to come across as an expert as I'm absolutely not I'm just a hobbyist. Appreciate the view and comments 😎🍻

[@JesusChrist-iz7fl]

why are you telling people to do this....if you dont know what you are doing you are more likely to ruin the watch hayai

[@nextonthewrist]

I'm not forcing anyone to do anything, I'm demonstrating my own technique for regulation and how I resolve this. Do as you please with it, discard it if you want, I'm good either way...but we all started somewhere with this kind of thing so what's the issue? 😆

[@Robert-vw3od]

Sadly, this is sekio.

[@jontpt]

The thing that's wrong is the cheap NH35 movements they use...

[@nextonthewrist]

Pretty sure you can buy other movements on a lot of their watches.... but personally I think the NH series are great movements for the money, never had one fail on me 🙂👍

[@jontpt]

@nextonthewrist Actually, very few of their models offer other movements, and considering what they charge you'd think they could do better than an NH35, regardless of its reliability.

[@stephenmundane]

@@nextonthewrist Too right -- bombproof and can be regulated to a be very precise as you've shown here. I use the handpress tool too.

[@4211Rob]

Excellent video, thank you! I appreciate the wisdom it takes to arrive at a setting that averages out the inaccuracies created by the various angles a watch goes through in a day. If it is possible, a study to find the average angle your mechanical watch exists at and adjusting the watch when at this mean angle, it could refine the setting more. Some movements have a minutely adjustable set screw in what I believe is called a gooseneck fitting. I would love to see the mechanical rival the quartz and keep the more romantic origins in horology competitive with regard to accuracy. Cheers and Bravo!

[@Wallace_Tan]

@@nextonthewrist Honestly I wish that a lot of aliexpress brands used miyota movements instead. Especially for their higher end watches, the miyota 9000 series is just amazing for the budget you are paying. Generally if a watch costs more than $250 and uses a NH movement, I just dont even consider buying it.

[@GEMSofGOD_com]

San Martin? Throw it in the bin. Cr-minals!

[@nextonthewrist]

Haha I like it.

[@180ballybollock]

Just get a atomic click watch

[@nextonthewrist]

I have - check out the full metal G-Shock review on the channel 😉