Watch winder's

[Gingerbread Man]

My girlfriend wants to buy me one for my birthday. I'm all up for it, or I was, but upon reading reviews it seems that they don't last long until a motor gives out.

Is this a simple repair, something that seemingly has to be done every other year??

Recommendations for a good one if possible.

Also, I don't wear my watches daily. If the watches are running 24/7, is that a downside to my current usage?

[PJ S]

More wear and tear due to the watch continually running – whether it really shortens the time before a service will definitely be required, is open to conjecture.
Short of a difficult to set perpetual or annual calendar, there really is no need to buy a winder, since you’ll probably have to set the time anyway, if you want it to be spot on from the moment you start wearing it again.
The better winders have Japanese motors, so less likely to crap out, but over time they will become a bit nosier.

[Cotty]

I got mine in March 2011 and been used every weekend since then. Has run faultlessly.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[bobbybee]

PJ S said:

More wear and tear due to the watch continually running – whether it really shortens the time before a service will definitely be required, is open to conjecture.
Short of a difficult to set perpetual or annual calendar, there really is no need to buy a winder, since you’ll probably have to set the time anyway, if you want it to be spot on from the moment you start wearing it again.
The better winders have Japanese motors, so less likely to crap out, but over time they will become a bit nosier.

That's just wrong, there isn't any more wear and tear. A watch only worn infrequently then it has less wear and tear. The normal level of wear and tear would be calculated as if the watch was worn daily.

As an item designed to run for decades the actual wear and tear differences are negligible

[PJ S]

How can it be wrong?
The movement has more wear if continually working, than if it’s left for a period of days/weeks/months before it’s re-worn again.

[Gingerbread Man]

I will often go without wearing a watch for over a week if I don't go out. I have a few watches that could sit in it, so some will go in wore for a while, while others are chosen.

I get the more wear argument if running 24/7, but is that better than lack of use?

[bobbybee]

PJ S said:

How can it be wrong?
The movement has more wear if continually working, than if it’s left for a period of days/weeks/months before it’s re-worn again.

Simply because of the way you're looking at it.
For example your wearing the same watch everyday,it winds and unwinds as it is worn, correct?
A watch is designed to run continuously, correct?

Therefore that is the normal rate of wear and tear. Keeping a watch on a watch winder mimics daily wearing, so does not add more wear and tear.

If you choose not to use that watch and store it for a while, it has less wear and tear. Get it?

Also as it is a machine that is designed for constant running, the wear rates between constantly worn and occasionally worn are minimal. For any real difference between an always worn and never ever worn watch to be seen would take years even possibly decades.

So, all this 'don't use a winder, wear and tear, it'll need servicing much more often' rubbish is simply that, rubbish

[Neil H]

I'm looking at one too, as I rotate my watches and it's rare for the automatics to keep running until the next rotation. I also have a couple of battery/ solar powered watches so wanted one that has non-rotating storage for those. This is the one I fancy:

http://www.klarstein.co.uk/Modern-Living/Watch-Win...

[PJ S]

bobbybee said:

Simply because of the way you're looking at it.
For example your wearing the same watch everyday,it winds and unwinds as it is worn, correct?
A watch is designed to run continuously, correct?

Therefore that is the normal rate of wear and tear. Keeping a watch on a watch winder mimics daily wearing, so does not add more wear and tear.

If you choose not to use that watch and store it for a while, it has less wear and tear. Get it?

Also as it is a machine that is designed for constant running, the wear rates between constantly worn and occasionally worn are minimal. For any real difference between an always worn and never ever worn watch to be seen would take years even possibly decades.

So, all this 'don't use a winder, wear and tear, it'll need servicing much more often' rubbish is simply that, rubbish

I see you’ve completely ignored the second part of the sentence, rather conveniently.
You’re also focusing purely on the movement, ignoring the fact that the watch’s accuracy and how long left unworn may necessitate the watch being reset to the correct time.
In that regard, for anything but a PC, AC, or moonphase watch, a winder is a complete waste of money and utterly pointless.

[bobbybee]

Neil H said:

I'm looking at one too, as I rotate my watches and it's rare for the automatics to keep running until the next rotation. I also have a couple of battery/ solar powered watches so wanted one that has non-rotating storage for those. This is the one I fancy:

http://www.klarstein.co.uk/Modern-Living/Watch-Win...

I wouldn't they are rebranded many many times, but they are all really cheap chinese rubbish. Just go on eBay and search for 4 watch winder and you'll see what I mean. Then again it all depends on the value of your watches, I always find that the accessories should be a proportional spend of their value. My last winder was around £300, had it 6 years now, starting to get a little noisey, but still working fine, winds four and stores 3-6 depending on the size of watch

[Cotty]

PJ S said:

In that regard, for anything but a PC, AC, or moonphase watch, a winder is a complete waste of money and utterly pointless.

To you they may be utterly pointless, I find them quite handy so I don’t have to set the time in the UK, time in New York and the date every Monday morning

[Neil H]

bobbybee said:

I wouldn't they are rebranded many many times, but they are all really cheap chinese rubbish. Just go on eBay and search for 4 watch winder and you'll see what I mean. Then again it all depends on the value of your watches, I always find that the accessories should be a proportional spend of their value. My last winder was around £300, had it 6 years now, starting to get a little noisey, but still working fine, winds four and stores 3-6 depending on the size of watch

I've seen the ones on Ebay, and maybe some of the cheaper ones are Chinese, but the one I posted is made in Germany.

UserManual said:

Fabricant : Chal-Tec GmbH, Wallstraße 16, 10179 Berlin, Allemagne.

Edited by Neil H on Thursday 25th August 15:06

[bobbybee]

Neil H said:

I've seen the ones on Ebay, and maybe some of the cheaper ones are Chinese, but the one I posted is made in Germany.

UserManual said:

Fabricant : Chal-Tec GmbH, Wallstraße 16, 10179 Berlin, Allemagne.

Edited by Neil H on Thursday 25th August 15:06

No it isn't, it may be shipped from Germany, I've just looked at their dot-com website http://www.klarstein.com/Modern-Living/Uhrenbewege...

All the winders they offer I've seen before identical in all but the rebadging. Then again for the money it's worth a punt and you always have a warranty I guess. And by winder quality and prices you certainly get what you pay for

[PJ S]

Cotty said:

PJ S said:

In that regard, for anything but a PC, AC, or moonphase watch, a winder is a complete waste of money and utterly pointless.

To you they may be utterly pointless, I find them quite handy so I don’t have to set the time in the UK, time in New York and the date every Monday morning

Should’ve bought a GMT with more than 48 hours power reserve then.
Or you could just give it a wind on Sunday morning – 20 turns of the crown would be sufficient to ensure it’s running on Monday morning for you.
Pfft…do I have to do all the thinking for you?

[Cotty]

I already have the winder I might as well use it. Saves messing about on Sunday.

[SimNugget]

Avoid Modalo, had a couple through Amazon and they are shyate.

As some have said with other brands, portrayed as German manufactured but are Chinese budget produced trash.

S

[bobbybee]

PJ S said:

Should’ve bought a GMT with more than 48 hours power reserve then.
Or you could just give it a wind on Sunday morning – 20 turns of the crown would be sufficient to ensure it’s running on Monday morning for you.
Pfft…do I have to do all the thinking for you?

What? Manually wind it once a week? Are you mad? Think of all the extra wear and tear on the stem, crown thread (if screw down) and the winding mechanism. Or the damage you could cause from water ingress by inadvertently leaving the crown unscrewed, or cross threading when trying to tighten the crown up.

[_rubinho_]

I bought one of these. Looks a bit different and is very quiet. Modular too so you can stack a number up for multiple watches running off the same power supply. Comes in a multitude of colours but I bought blue to match my Omega.