Blog - ONVA Watches Blog - ONVA Watches Mitchel Thompson
Hand setting is done by hand— but that’s not why we call it hand setting. It’s because we’re setting the hands of the watch… 🤓
The hand setting tool helps ensure alignment and that the setting force can be controlled gradually— hands are friction-fit onto their posts that turn within the movement. They turn mechanical movement into a visual display to tell the time.
The hand setting movement holder features an adjustable jewel-support, to hold the position of the jewel for seconds wheel while the seconds hand is set. As jewels are also friction-fit, they are easily pushed out of place during this step from the forces. An aperture is cut into the side of the movement holder to verify the position of the jewel support. The hour hand (mounts to hour wheel) and minute hand (mounts to cannon pinion) are supported within the movement’s structure and do not require external support.
Multiple checks must be made during hand setting. The checks are the following:
•Is the dial flush and securely attached?
•Are the hands clean and in good condition?
•Is the movement fully wound? This affects hand alignment if there is tension on the gear train or not.
•Has the jewel support been set up correctly?
•Where is midnight….? Advance time setting until the date jumps to find it…
•Select the correct pusher and partially set the hour hand. We then verify date jump, adjust hand position as needed, then bring the hand to full seating (flush with post). Verify flatness (parallelism) to dial, adjust hand as necessary. Repeat for minute hand and seconds hand.
•Verify hand parallelism relative to each other. No two hands can be touching.
•Check total vertical travel of seconds hand to ensure it does not touch the crystal in dial-down position. Set accordingly…
•Check hand alignment— at ONVA, we check that hands align at 6:00, 7:38, and 12:00.
•Date jump tolerance is within -3/+5 minutes of midnight during time setting.
This is before final casing processes, but hand setting quality is something we take very personally. The hands are what give watches their purpose and they should be set beautifully.
