Owner’s Guide
Congratulations on becoming the proud owner of a TRASKA watch! Your watch was made to last a lifetime. Treat it well, and it will be keeping your wrist company for decades to come. A bold claim indeed, but we use some of the finest materials available for a reason. We obsess over the engineering and design of every component in order to create heirloom-grade pieces that can withstand the test of time — both in terms of their aesthetics and functionality. In this brief guide, we’ll explore a few things you will need to be familiar with in order to keep your watch in the finest working condition for years to come.
Meet Your Automatic Movement
The engine that keeps your piece ticking is a self-winding mechanical movement, commonly referred to as an automatic movement. Powered by the movement of your wrist, this little miracle of engineering doesn’t rely on anything as pedestrian as a circuit board and battery to function. No need for visits to a watchmaker for a battery replacement with this watch – just strap it on, shake your wrist, and it’ll start right up… like clockwork. Heh.
Configuring Your Watch
Step One: Get it Ticking
Your watch is just as excited to meet you as you are to meet it, though it may be a bit shy when you first take it out of the box. To get the second hand moving, just give it a few good shakes — that should be enough to get it ticking.
Step Two: Unscrew the Crown
Unscrew the crown until it “pops” out. Your watch is now in the ‘winding position’. If you’re around other people and worry that vigorously shaking your watch around to get it started will make you look like a lunatic, you may opt to instead wind it by hand to charge up its power reserve. To do this, simply rotate the crown clockwise when it’s in this position. Five rotations should be enough to get it started, and 40 should give you a full tank. No need to worry about over winding.
Step Three: It’s a Date
If your watch has a date function, you’ll want it to be accurate. Otherwise you may end up missing important things like anniversaries, which can have fatal consequences. To adjust the date, gently pull the crown out one nudge further than the winding position and rotate clockwise. IMPORTANT: Do not set the date within three hours either side of midnight (i.e between 9PM and 3AM.) Changing the date too close to its natural change point risks breaking the mechanism. Best play it safe and adjust the date while the sun is shining, okay?
Step Four: The Time
Yes it’s beautiful, but let’s not get distracted from your watch’s job description. To set the time, pull the crown out to the furthest position (position #2 or #3 depending on whether or not your watch has a date function) and turn it clockwise.
Step Five: Screw Down the Crown
To make sure your watch is fit for weathering the elements, make sure you firmly screw the crown back down after you’re done adjusting the date and time — otherwise water can and will find a way to get in. It’s tricky like that.
Step Six: You’ve Got to Move!
After a full-day of active wearing, your watch will keep ticking for 42 hours. Should you leave your watch unworn for more than 42 hours (how could you!) you’ll most likely need to repeat the steps above. If you’re particularly sedentary on a given day or you happen to be living in a zero gravity environment, consider hand winding your watch every now and then to supplement its power reserve.
Sizing Your Bracelet
If you’re actually reading this guide, there’s a good chance you’ve never done this before. In which case, please go to your nearest jewelry store or watchmaker — they should be able to size it for a nominal fee. It’s not really difficult to do it yourself, but we’d rather not encourage you because we have no idea how good you are with little screws and screwdrivers. If you lose a screw because you’re clumsy, we’ll have to send you a new one for free to demonstrate our dedication to top-tier customer service. And while we do welcome the opportunity to prove ourselves, it would be a real hassle if we had to do this on a day-to-day basis.
However, if you’re well versed in sizing bracelets:
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We’re very surprised you made it this far into the guide.
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Use a 1.6mm flathead screwdriver.
TRASKA Care 101
Your TRASKA watch is a robust miracle of modern engineering, forged from the finest materials known to man to be impervious to pretty much anything a mere mortal existence could introduce it to. That said… there are still a few things you’re gonna want to be careful around.
Water: Oceans, Pools, Bathtubs!
Let us reiterate: Get your crown screwed down properly before even thinking about getting in the water. With that done, you should be fine for splashing or even scuba diving. If you’re going into salt-water, please remember to rinse your watch off with fresh water after the fact to avoid corrosion.
Magnetic Fields: Not As Attractive As You Think
Your house is full of ‘em — your phone, speakers, tablet, even your laptop. Don’t put your watch right next to one of these if you can avoid it, as prolonged exposure to magnetic fields can wreak havoc on your watch’s timekeeping abilities.
If your watch is keeping terrible time all of a sudden, it’s probably because it’s become magnetized. But have no fear, a watchmaker can demagnetize it for a very small fee. If you’d like to fix a magnetized watch yourself, just buy a $15 watch degausser online, spend a few minutes on YouTube and you’ll be well on your way.
Corrosive Chemicals: Let’s Be Sensible Here
It goes without saying but… harsh chemicals can have damaging effects. Keep them away from your TRASKA.
Five-Year Check-up: The Watch Doctor Will See You Now
To ensure accuracy and watertight integrity, you should send your TRASKA watch to a servicing professional approximately every five years. Contact us and we’re happy to make a recommendation.
Timing and Regulation: Every Second Counts
Because a mechanical movement relies on springs and cogs to function, its timing accuracy is affected by gravity. To mitigate this, we regulate all of our movements in four positions, fine-tuning them so that they run as accurately as possible. If you live a fairly “normal” lifestyle and avoid extreme temperatures, magnets and other hazardous environments, your watch should run between -10 to +20 seconds every day.