# Bremont MBiii GMT hand alignment problem



## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

Just received a pre-owned MBiii. gorgeous watch, love the way it looks. problem is alignment of GMT hand. attempted settings using the Bremont documentation. The GMT hand jumps in 1 hour increments but jumps to a position between the hours. For example, with the local time set at 0600, the GMT hand is somewhere between 0100 and 0200. Followed the instructions numerous times with no success. the GMT function is the reason i bought the watch (frequent international traveler).

Internet search reveals this occurs on this model. Watch is under warranty and within return parameters. really like the watch. if it is a quick watchmaker fix, OK. if it will plague the watch for its life, no deal.

advice and experience on this much appreciated.

GT


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## vexXed (Sep 15, 2015)

Last week I moved on my MBII and it had the misaligned hands issue too. I only noticed it after a couple of months and I sent it away to get it fixed as it was still under warranty. Came back in 2 months with the hands lined up perfectly. They included a free pair of cufflinks for the trouble.

If it does bother you, send it away to get it fixed. Especially since it is still under warranty. Otherwise it will all you'll be thinking about when you look at the time.


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

I took my MB3 to the local Bremont dealer. As i took the watch out to show them, i noticed that the GMT hand was now aligned. WTF?? Regardless, the regional Bremont rep was in the store. He merely shrugged when i described my situation. He demonstrated how to set the watch and all now seems to be good. my MB3 is working as advertised. i hope this continues. GT


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

after wearing the watch for a few days, i am convinced it has issues. i wore yesterday and last night, the GMT hand lost a couple of hours??? while the local time was perfect. i will return. disappointing at best.


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## awildermode (Mar 23, 2015)

galvestonokie said:


> after wearing the watch for a few days, i am convinced it has issues. i wore yesterday and last night, the GMT hand lost a couple of hours??? while the local time was perfect. i will return. disappointing at best.


That is odd. The GMT should be in sync with the hour hand (I assume) via gears. Have you tried just cycling through a full 24-hours and see if that 'resets' this?


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## vexXed (Sep 15, 2015)

Try set the GMT hand to the same local hour just to avoid any confusion later. Leave it for a day or two so you can take note if it deviates. The GMT hand moves at half the distance compared to the local hour hand as it has to get through 24 markers instead of 12. Apologies if you already know this but just checking to see if you know as I've seen others not realize how the GMT hand moves in comparison to the local hour hand.

If you noticed the GMT hand was misaligned even though the local hour hand was lined up perfectly with an hour marker then that is an issue that would bug me to no end.


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

i will try those things and see. thanks, GT


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

galvestonokie said:


> Just received a pre-owned MBiii. gorgeous watch, love the way it looks. problem is alignment of GMT hand. attempted settings using the Bremont documentation. The GMT hand jumps in 1 hour increments but jumps to a position between the hours. For example, with the local time set at 0600, the GMT hand is somewhere between 0100 and 0200. Followed the instructions numerous times with no success. the GMT function is the reason i bought the watch (frequent international traveler).
> 
> Internet search reveals this occurs on this model. Watch is under warranty and within return parameters. really like the watch. if it is a quick watchmaker fix, OK. if it will plague the watch for its life, no deal.
> 
> ...


A GMT hand would go in half increments between the indexes since it needs to indicate 24 hours between 12 marks, or am I missing something (picture would really help).


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## awildermode (Mar 23, 2015)

samanator said:


> A GMT hand would go in half increments between the indexes since it needs to indicate 24 hours between 12 marks, or am I missing something (picture would really help).











There are two rings of indicators, a traditional 12H, and a 24h GMT.

The time in image shows 10:09 (local). Using the outer indicators, the alternate time zone or GMT shows 9 (hand with red triangle between 4 and 5), which means it is 9:09AM somewhere.

I have a TAG Heuer with GMT, to set the GMT, pull crown to position 1 and rotate one way, GMT will snap to hour. It only moves forward. Still in position 1, turning the other way changes the date. Again, this only moves forward. Pull crown to position 2 to adjust time, GMT will will advance as 'local' hour advances. Not sure how Bremonts with GMT work, my guess is they work similar.

Hope that kinda explains it.


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

Actually the GMT hand is showing about 8:55 when it should just be showing close to a quarter past the 8. Yes this is either too far past the 8, or too much in front of the 9. These do not snap between each hour but move proportionally from the hour based on how many minutes have passed. It need to be adjusted.


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## awildermode (Mar 23, 2015)

samanator said:


> Actually the GMT hand is showing about 8:55 when it should just be showing close to a quarter past the 8. Yes this is either too far past the 8, or too much in front of the 9. These do not snap between each hour but move proportionally from the hour based on how many minutes have passed. It need to be adjusted.


I meant my TAG Heuer, the GMT hand 'snaps' during adjusting. Whilst running, the GMT hand moves proportionally between the markers. Apologies for the confusion. Here is another image:









Local time 12:16, second time zone 11:16AM.


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## Siimo1971 (Dec 11, 2015)

I have noticed this on my MBIII. I will try your solutions, but what i have also noticed as you cycle your normal time pointers around... say 12 or 24 hours then set them to 12 o'clock. Then adjust the GMT hand the alignment inaccuracy changes slightly. So cycling the time over a few 24 hour periods may bring it back into line. 
Gorgeous watch though and i'm a huge Bremont fan


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

i waited a few days, closely observing the GMT hand position, and taking notes. i waited because i wanted to make sure in my mind that the trend i report here continues. about 4 days ago, i decided just to let the watch run and not be too troubled by the GMT seemingly out of position with regard to the minute hand. i was on a business trip and couldn't do much until the weekend anyway. also, i was in contact with Bremont and received a very fast response to send the watch in and they would check it out since it is under warranty.

what i now report is that, about 72 hours ago, the GMT hand had somehow become aligned with the minute hand. Again, bafflement. but baffled in a good way. And i just checked again, GMT continues to be aligned with minutes. i have no idea how this happened. i had assumed there was some direct, linkaged mechanism for this alignment, since the GMT moves incrementally between hours. not sure now.

if you don't hear from me again on this post, assume the GMT continues to work as advertised, just like MB seats. maybe the geniuses at Bremont figured out a way to idiot-proof the watch from operator error from newbies. i am just happy that this sorted itself in a positive way--at least so far.

Bob


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

Bremont watches just beg to be worn! When they sit for a long time, at home or in store, the movement can get slightly out of adjustment especially if they are handled not fully wound! And most of the time if you wind them up and wear them they will adjust on their own! When setting the the time and date I will set the watch to two days late then slowly advance the time to watch the day/date cycle at midnight and let the movement sync properly! This technique has worked well for me on all my mechanical watches! But sometimes stuff happens and a service is your only option. I am glad all is well with your MB111 and I know you are going to find it a great choice! Cheers Jim. . :-!


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## watchcollectio (Mar 30, 2015)

You got your answer there :



vexXed said:


> Last week I moved on my MBII and it had the misaligned hands issue too. I only noticed it after a couple of months and I sent it away to get it fixed as it was still under warranty. Came back in 2 months with the hands lined up perfectly. They included a free pair of cufflinks for the trouble.
> 
> If it does bother you, send it away to get it fixed. Especially since it is still under warranty. Otherwise it will all you'll be thinking about when you look at the time.


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

Capt Leslie: i now believe the answer is in your post just above. i think that, until a few days ago, the watch was never "fully" wound. Didn't apply Occam's Razor here. all is good now. thanks to all for suggestions. Rob


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## filternozzle (Dec 19, 2015)

awildermode said:


> View attachment 6265882
> 
> 
> There are two rings of indicators, a traditional 12H, and a 24h GMT.
> ...


Thanks for this explanation - I wasn't aware of how it worked and you have made it crystal clear.


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## vipereaper30 (Sep 12, 2009)

CaptLeslie said:


> And most of the time if you wind them up and wear them they will adjust on their own!


Jim, you must have a very special Bremont! Or mine just need to be trained.


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

vipereaper30 said:


> Jim, you must have a very special Bremont! Or mine just need to be trained.


On my MB1 if I leave it unwound for a long time sometimes the first time I try and wind it and set the time all works normal but it will only wind about 10 turns and then feels like it is over wound. If I just wear it a few hours then try winding again she now winds normal. This has happened a couple of times, but I have had numerous watches that when left a long time unworn they do weird things when it comes to time, date or day setting. What I then do is wear it awhile then go thru the procedure to reset everything and this has saved me from the service center more than once! Obviously if something is broke this won't fix it , but sometimes all you need to do is take her out on the highway and blow the carbon out! Cheers Jim


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## galvestonokie (May 26, 2007)

Dear all:

i want to close this story. after some time being unhappy with the watch, i returned it to Bremont for a check. it made no sense to me that the GMT/zulu hand would not track (at least very often) the minute hand. this is what caused me to begin this thread. also, the longer i kept the watch, the GMT hand began losing an hour or two some evenings. just offended my sense of order.

luckily, the watch was still under warranty. Since i am now living in the USA again, i was instructed to send the watch to Bremont's US office, in New York. they promptly forwarded the watch to the UK. what i learned is exactly what i had suspected all along. and, this was mentioned in a few posts in this thread. in short, with the watch freshly returned from Bremont, the GMT/zulu hand tracks very closely, IMHO, the minute hand. the GMT hand also adjusts properly. also, regarding the service work:


i also had them replace the anthracite barrel/case since it had a slight ding (not inexpensive);
they replaced the GMT wheel in the watch, i assume this is what fixed the problem;
the return postage was paid;
i did not receive a free pair of Bremont cuff links as some others mentioned;
it took about 4 months as i recall;
the workmanship was excellent and the watch keeps immaculate time now;
i am quite happy with the watch now, it is my keeper, and am selling off some others.

here is a recent pic of the watch showing the position of the GMT (red/white triangle)hand.










bob


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