Expert: Michael Radi - 11/14/2008

Question
I have a battery-operated SEIKO Westminster-Whittington Quartz mantle clock. It keeps perfect time but chimes about seven minutes after hour, quarter hour, etc. How can I synchronize? Thank you.

Answer
Dear Diana, Seiko has produced a huge variety of movements with all kinds of configurations. Some are very simple, some are complicated.
If your clock movement has a number of push buttons and switches on the back, it is one of the complicated ones. These clock movements will require you to find an owner's manual (perhaps online) because the sequence of pushing buttons and sliding switches is impossible to follow without written instructions.
Having said that: If your clock only has a couple of slide switches and a setting knob it should be easier to do. Here are some options:
1) If the minute hand does not have a nut holding it on, you can simply pull the hand off and put it back on pointing to the time that the chime is sounding.
2) Some movements have a small plastic screw inset into the back of the movement with a + and - (plus and minus) symbol. If this is the movement you have, you turn the screw toward the minus to move the chime back closer to the top of the hour.
3) If none of the above relates to your clock movement, there is one more thing to try. Some movements are made to that you hold the setting knob on the back of the movement and turn the hand toward the time you want the clock to be. In your case you would move the hand backwards 7 minutes.
I hope this information is helpful to you. Michael