Ginault 7275 Operation Manual

Over the past months, we have received many inquiries on how to operate the movement properly lengthening the movement’s lifespan. We have decided to write a simple operation manual and some tips on the DOs and DON’Ts for our users.

Manual Winding:

Cal.7275 is an exact clone of the ETA 2824. It is designed for daily use. We DO NOT recommend manual winding the movement frequently. Unlike a pure manual wound movement, 2824’s design although robust is not without flaws. The gear chain from the crown to the spring barrel on this movement is fairly weak. This means long-term stress done through constant manual winding will cause the movement to fail sooner.

When the Ocean Rover is shipped out to you the crown is fully locked, and watch is in a hermetically sealed condition. To wind the movement, first unlock the crown by turning it counterclockwise. The crown should pop out to its first position. Sometimes this pop may not be complete; the crown may still be stuck in between locked position and the first position. After you feel the first pop, turn the crown clockwise half turn and you may feel the second half releasing fully. Now you know the crown is correctly seated in the first position, you may turn the crown clockwise to wind. A full wind takes about 16 to 20 turns. As you turn of the crown to power up the movement, the resistance from turning the crown will increase. This is because the mainspring is now getting tighter.

Now some members asked if the movement can be over-wound and break? The answer is yes. Although the movement has a slip-clutch designed to prevent over-winding sometimes it may fail to function correctly. We have worked on repair cases in the past where the slip-clutch failed to function. When you feel the resistance while turning the crown increases, it is a good indication to slow down or stop.

Some members have also reported to us that they tend to hear the rotor noise when the power reserve is low. This is because when the power reserve is low, the mainspring is loose, the rotor in the back turns more easily. When the power reserve is healthy or full, the rotor in the back also turns less due to a tighter mainspring.

Wearing the watch daily:

If you wear the watch daily for 10 hours or more you shouldn’t ever need to manually wind the movement and the movement should be running on a healthy power reserve consistently.

If you only plan to wear the watch once every 2-3 days or less:

1. Give the movement a gentle shake to start up and just let the wrist movement power up the rest. The upside of this method is that you reduce the wear and tear on the crown, stem, and most important of all the winding gearbox of the movement. The downside is it will take a while for the movement to reach a healthy power reserve hence will suffer some accuracy issue (isochronism) before reaching so.

2. Some suggest to manually wind the movement a few turns, (around 5-10 turns) to get it started before wearing and let the automatic winding power up the rest while on your wrist. Although manual winding will help the movement reach a healthy power sooner, the downside is any manual winding will still cause stress and wear on the movement’s gearbox.

If you wish to leave the Ocean Rover on a winder, please be sure to double check your winder making sure it is 100% magnetization free. In theory most winder on the market today are shielded properly to prevent against the magnetic field generated by the electric motors magnetizing your watches. However, in reality, we have seen a great number of “inferior” boxes being made which are price driven and not quality driven. If your winder does in fact magnetize your timepiece, it can be a costly repair and often isn’t covered by the warranty.

Quick Date Adjust:

From the winding position, pull the crown outwards half clutch, this should put the crown into the Quick Date Adjust position. Turn the crown clockwise to adjust the date.

Do NOT change the date while the watch is in the 8PM to 2AM time zone (red zone). Changing the date while the hands are in the red zone has a very high chance of destroying the date changing gears inside the movement. If you are not sure whether your hands are in the in the AM or PM zone, play it safe and turn the minute and hour hands all the way until you are sure the hands are out of the red zone.

Minute/Hour Hands Adjust:

From the quick date adjust position, pull the crown outwards one full clutch, this brings the crown to the hand adjusting the position or hacking position as we call it. The second hand stops while in this position. You can turn the crown clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the minute/hour hands.

When pulling out the crown, it is important to make sure you pull it out straight. Try to avoid any lateral force up or down while pulling. This puts the stem of the movement under duress and may cause damage over time.

It is also important to make sure to lock the crown back in tightly after making any adjustment. A crown that is not fully locked down voids the waterproof ability.

Final Note:

Cal.7275 is prone to magnetism. If a movement is magnetized it will run wildly. Try to keep the watch away from magnets. There are many hidden magnets inside electronics such as cell phones, speakers, laptops, and airport scanners.

If you own mechanical watches, it is always a good idea to learn to check if the watch is magnetized (properly, not with a cell phone app) and how to demagnetize the watch properly. It’s easy to learn and a handy skill to have.

Ginault 7275 Operation Manual

Over the past months, we have received many inquiries on how to operate the movement properly lengthening the movement’s lifespan. We have decided to write a simple operation manual and some tips on the DOs and DON’Ts for our users.

Manual Winding:

Cal.7275 is an exact clone of the ETA 2824. It is designed for daily use. We DO NOT recommend manual winding the movement frequently. Unlike a pure manual wound movement, 2824’s design although robust is not without flaws. The gear chain from the crown to the spring barrel on this movement is fairly weak. This means long-term stress done through constant manual winding will cause the movement to fail sooner.

When the Ocean Rover is shipped out to you the crown is fully locked, and watch is in a hermetically sealed condition. To wind the movement, first unlock the crown by turning it counterclockwise. The crown should pop out to its first position. Sometimes this pop may not be complete; the crown may still be stuck in between locked position and the first position. After you feel the first pop, turn the crown clockwise half turn and you may feel the second half releasing fully. Now you know the crown is correctly seated in the first position, you may turn the crown clockwise to wind. A full wind takes about 16 to 20 turns. As you turn of the crown to power up the movement, the resistance from turning the crown will increase. This is because the mainspring is now getting tighter.

Now some members asked if the movement can be over-wound and break? The answer is yes. Although the movement has a slip-clutch designed to prevent over-winding sometimes it may fail to function correctly. We have worked on repair cases in the past where the slip-clutch failed to function. When you feel the resistance while turning the crown increases, it is a good indication to slow down or stop.

Some members have also reported to us that they tend to hear the rotor noise when the power reserve is low. This is because when the power reserve is low, the mainspring is loose, the rotor in the back turns more easily. When the power reserve is healthy or full, the rotor in the back also turns less due to a tighter mainspring.

Wearing the watch daily:

If you wear the watch daily for 10 hours or more you shouldn’t ever need to manually wind the movement and the movement should be running on a healthy power reserve consistently.

If you only plan to wear the watch once every 2-3 days or less:

1. Give the movement a gentle shake to start up and just let the wrist movement power up the rest. The upside of this method is that you reduce the wear and tear on the crown, stem, and most important of all the winding gearbox of the movement. The downside is it will take a while for the movement to reach a healthy power reserve hence will suffer some accuracy issue (isochronism) before reaching so.

2. Some suggest to manually wind the movement a few turns, (around 5-10 turns) to get it started before wearing and let the automatic winding power up the rest while on your wrist. Although manual winding will help the movement reach a healthy power sooner, the downside is any manual winding will still cause stress and wear on the movement’s gearbox.

If you wish to leave the Ocean Rover on a winder, please be sure to double check your winder making sure it is 100% magnetization free. In theory most winder on the market today are shielded properly to prevent against the magnetic field generated by the electric motors magnetizing your watches. However, in reality, we have seen a great number of “inferior” boxes being made which are price driven and not quality driven. If your winder does in fact magnetize your timepiece, it can be a costly repair and often isn’t covered by the warranty.

Quick Date Adjust:

From the winding position, pull the crown outwards half clutch, this should put the crown into the Quick Date Adjust position. Turn the crown clockwise to adjust the date.

Do NOT change the date while the watch is in the 8PM to 2AM time zone (red zone). Changing the date while the hands are in the red zone has a very high chance of destroying the date changing gears inside the movement. If you are not sure whether your hands are in the in the AM or PM zone, play it safe and turn the minute and hour hands all the way until you are sure the hands are out of the red zone.

Minute/Hour Hands Adjust:

From the quick date adjust position, pull the crown outwards one full clutch, this brings the crown to the hand adjusting the position or hacking position as we call it. The second hand stops while in this position. You can turn the crown clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the minute/hour hands.

When pulling out the crown, it is important to make sure you pull it out straight. Try to avoid any lateral force up or down while pulling. This puts the stem of the movement under duress and may cause damage over time.

It is also important to make sure to lock the crown back in tightly after making any adjustment. A crown that is not fully locked down voids the waterproof ability.

Final Note:

Cal.7275 is prone to magnetism. If a movement is magnetized it will run wildly. Try to keep the watch away from magnets. There are many hidden magnets inside electronics such as cell phones, speakers, laptops, and airport scanners.

If you own mechanical watches, it is always a good idea to learn to check if the watch is magnetized (properly, not with a cell phone app) and how to demagnetize the watch properly. It’s easy to learn and a handy skill to have.