# Cold & Quartz ?



## ETCHY (Aug 3, 2004)

Hello

A couple of weeks ago we went way on holiday & I put all my watches in my safe.

Today i've checked my quartz ones & they all seem to have lost in the region of 10-15 seconds









As we didn't have the heating on in the house whilst we were away, is the cold likely to have had an effect on their accuracy ? (the house was bloody cold when we got back & the safe is bolted to an outside wall, so it's even colder).

Also, will they return to normal timekeeping ? & will this have done any damage ?

Any answers / help would be appreciated as i'm more than a bit worried









Cheers

Dave


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Since I aquired a couple of higher value quartz Omegas I have been reading about this subject on and off and have found, yes......it will make a difference depending on the quality and design of the mechanism.

Some cheaper quartz really do loose a noticable amount in a short time and other better designed have temperature compensation designed into the mechanism.

When the temp returns to normal operating parameters the timekeeping will be as before....ableit at the wrong time!

Best regards David


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## Synchrohow (Nov 15, 2006)

Yes, there is a difference in the performance of a Quarts Crystal based on the temperature.Ones left in the cold will run slower and the same goes if it is in high temperature.There will always be a difference in accuracy for one being worn versus the same watch rarely worn.The grinding process and mounting assemly can leave stresses,which will be releived with time and operation.High quality Quarts Crystals have been pre-aged by thermal cycling to relieve stress.This is called the aging process for quarts crystals.Changes due to aging usually reduce to their smallest effects within one or two yars of use.

My two cents--- Howard p-.s If there is a quote above this post,sorry I did't mean to quote anyone.


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