Is it ok to shake your automatic?

[nitsypee]

Bit of a newbie question, really - I'm sure you guys can answer it. I was in a Goldsmiths today (trying on various Omegas...) and I happened to mention that I shake my automatic watches to make them start, rather than wind them. Cue a sharp intake of breath from the salesman, as he proceeded to tell me that doing that could easily damage a watch, and I shouldn't do it.

Is this true?

[nitsypee]

Ta!

[bry1975]

You will only damage the watch if you shake it violently.


Bry

[RemainAllHoof]

Gently shaking an automatic watch is recommended for some as a means of winding it up as the crown can't be used to wind them up!

I suspect, like most salesmen in watch shops, he knows less than my sister who has zero interest in watches.

[sneijder]

More of a swing from side to side than a shake if it's an Asian 21J bargain basement watch though. Don't want to end up with a noisy rotor.

[andy tims]

Loads of Seiko's don't hand wind at all, so a side to side shake is the way to get then going.

[Ikemi]

Sometimes I shake my Glycine to feel the 7750 rotor 'wobble'

[tuffer]

I Don't wear mine to play golf, figure that would be excessive. My IWC Pilot Chrono spins like a top with the slightest flick of the wrist, you can feel and hear it. My IWC Da Vinci you can see the movement and it takes a lot to get the rotor to do a full revolution yet alone spin, no idea how that thing keeps wound when wearing it.

[KP328]

I do the swing thing,like Seve Ballesteros practise putting.

[Gizmo!]

For my Seiko the instructions said hold it flat and swing it from side to side.

Rattling it up and down (against the axis of the weight thingy) is probably a bad move.

[Pesty]

Ive done that for years

how would it damage it, its just winding up the spring with the rotor which is sure what it is designed to do?

[Disco You]

Ikemi said:

Sometimes I shake my Glycine to feel the 7750 rotor 'wobble'

7750s are like a washing machine on the spin cycle aren't they?!

[LukeBird]

It's fine to do it.
If you can shake your watch in excess of 50g I would worry, but other than that it's a bit of scaremongering!
Ask the salesman how he would start a non-handwinding automatic... is it broken when it winds down?!

[Ikemi]

Disco You said:

7750s are like a washing machine on the spin cycle aren't they?!

Shadowninja on TZ said:

You say it's great but the 7750 wobble caused me to accidentally grab a female friend's heaving bosom with my left hand. The judge wouldn't believe it was down to the watch and that I had no control over what my hand was doing... and that due to severe OCD, I was forced to grab her other breast with my right hand.

[RemainAllHoof]

I was going to post that over here but it did feel a bit "attention we" so thanks for posting it on my behalf.

[Ikemi]

I properly laughed out when I read it, so thought I'd post it here

[tonytifoso]

Ikemi said:

Disco You said:

7750s are like a washing machine on the spin cycle aren't they?!

Shadowninja on TZ said:

You say it's great but the 7750 wobble caused me to accidentally grab a female friend's heaving bosom with my left hand. The judge wouldn't believe it was down to the watch and that I had no control over what my hand was doing... and that due to severe OCD, I was forced to grab her other breast with my right hand.

A utomatic
S elfwinding
B anning
O rder

[RemainAllHoof]

Very good.

[tickious]

tuffer said:

I Don't wear mine to play golf, figure that would be excessive. My IWC Pilot Chrono spins like a top with the slightest flick of the wrist, you can feel and hear it. My IWC Da Vinci you can see the movement and it takes a lot to get the rotor to do a full revolution yet alone spin, no idea how that thing keeps wound when wearing it.

wow! What a name dropper. Nice! The 7750 spins freely in one direction, because it only winds in the opposite direction. On the other hand Some watches wind in both. A light tap on the hand is the way to go with the seiko i'd say.

[tuffer]

tickious said:

wow! What a name dropper. Nice! The 7750 spins freely in one direction, because it only winds in the opposite direction. On the other hand Some watches wind in both. A light tap on the hand is the way to go with the seiko i'd say.

I didn't mention the Ingenuir