[66.]What Five Position Adjusting Consists of—Detailed Allowances.
Five position adjusting consists of a further refinement of the condition of the watch. The fact that a very close rate is shown in the first three positions is not an indication that the watch will be an excellent timepiece under all conditions.
In fact there are instances where there may be an excellent three position rate and a further test in the pendant right and left positions may disclose some error that would positively prevent close timing in service. Even under the five position test the limit of allowance must be reasonably close or unfavorable conditions may exist and cause irregularity in timing.
A popular allowance for very fine watches among Swiss and some American manufacturers is six seconds variation for the five positions as an extreme limit, and for medium high grades ten seconds extreme variation is considered a fair allowance. These allowances are graduated, however, and a six seconds extreme allowance watch would have an allowance not exceeding three seconds in the horizontal positions, with two seconds additional in the pendant up position and one second additional in either the pendant right or pendant left positions.
Watches having an extreme allowance of ten seconds may be permitted to have not more than five seconds variation between the two horizontal positions, with two seconds additional for the pendant up position and still three seconds additional in either the pendant right or left positions.
It will be noted that there is considerable difference between six or ten second allowances of this description and straight limits of six or ten seconds.
Some manufacturers have greater limits of allowance, sometimes as great as twenty-five seconds for the five positions, but as a rule the first three positions are required to rate within seven seconds and the difference of eighteen seconds is divided between the right and left positions.
Under limits of this description a watch that would not be tolerated under the six or ten seconds class would be considered as good. Watches having such large allowances, however, and rating close to the limit are hardly justified in being considered as adjusted to five positions. The fact that they are so considered however, is the reason why watchmakers will sometimes fine wide variation in new watches before they have been damaged or mishandled. The following five position examples were selected with the same care as were the three position specimens and will be found to cover a wide field of variation for comparison with rates that the adjuster may desire to correct.
[67.]Example No. 5.
Hamilton, No. 248027; Open Face, 21 Jewels.