Which watch winder?
Discussion
I had a cheap one from amazon (around £50), did the job for 5 years then one day just stopped. Think how many you could have for your budget.
Time Tutelary Dual 2 Automatic Vertical Tower KA015 Watch Winder New £55.63
Been honest i preferred it to the Wolf I have now! Watches are more secure and have dust protection. Base Wolf though!
Time Tutelary Dual 2 Automatic Vertical Tower KA015 Watch Winder New £55.63
Been honest i preferred it to the Wolf I have now! Watches are more secure and have dust protection. Base Wolf though!
Edited by thehawkswoops on Tuesday 15th May 10:49
As a few people have said, Time are a good winder, but the quality ones they do are out of the budget.
The other ones to look at are Axis, they do a good double winder for about £55 and its quite good.
We've had one in the Workshop for about 11 years and its still going well.
Obviously, we don't put certain watches in that one, as dependent on which watch is being put into it, one would need to look at winding direction and length of wind, otherwise you could be wasting your money and damaging your watch.
We have Wolf winders for the Luxury watches, as they are great for setting up the exact requirements that the watch needs, but they are pricier, starting at about £150
The other ones to look at are Axis, they do a good double winder for about £55 and its quite good.
We've had one in the Workshop for about 11 years and its still going well.
Obviously, we don't put certain watches in that one, as dependent on which watch is being put into it, one would need to look at winding direction and length of wind, otherwise you could be wasting your money and damaging your watch.
We have Wolf winders for the Luxury watches, as they are great for setting up the exact requirements that the watch needs, but they are pricier, starting at about £150
Both the Time and Axis ones I had become noisy (the Time one only last week) within 2 days and the Axis one stopped inside a year.
I now have a dual Aevitas which is good and a chiyoda single (from amazon) - mainly because they use mubachi motors that last are quiet and cheap to replace.
I bought a wolf which expired just after the warranty ran out and they offered 50% off a new one. I wasn't impressed due to the initial price.
I now have a dual Aevitas which is good and a chiyoda single (from amazon) - mainly because they use mubachi motors that last are quiet and cheap to replace.
I bought a wolf which expired just after the warranty ran out and they offered 50% off a new one. I wasn't impressed due to the initial price.
RiggaTheMighty said:
As a few people have said, Time are a good winder, but the quality ones they do are out of the budget.
The other ones to look at are Axis, they do a good double winder for about £55 and its quite good.
We've had one in the Workshop for about 11 years and its still going well.
Obviously, we don't put certain watches in that one, as dependent on which watch is being put into it, one would need to look at winding direction and length of wind, otherwise you could be wasting your money and damaging your watch.
We have Wolf winders for the Luxury watches, as they are great for setting up the exact requirements that the watch needs, but they are pricier, starting at about £150
Thanks Rigga. Excuse my ignorance but how do I tell direction and length of wind? I didn't realise this could be an issue.The other ones to look at are Axis, they do a good double winder for about £55 and its quite good.
We've had one in the Workshop for about 11 years and its still going well.
Obviously, we don't put certain watches in that one, as dependent on which watch is being put into it, one would need to look at winding direction and length of wind, otherwise you could be wasting your money and damaging your watch.
We have Wolf winders for the Luxury watches, as they are great for setting up the exact requirements that the watch needs, but they are pricier, starting at about £150
The idea is to buy something that helps to keep my watches in a good condition! I don't mind spending more money to get the correct winder for my watches.
Basically, you need to be able to replicate the daily wear of your watch.
So if you have a standard Automatic, which winds in both directions and has a 40hr power reserve, you want a bi-directional winder that will wind for a couple of hours, three or four times a day.
If will wind clockwise, then anti-clockwise and so on.
Left on the winder for a long period, the watch would be fine, as it is only winding intermittently and will never be fully wound.
If you have an Automatic Chronograph, chances are your movement is one directional winding.
In that case, you don't want a winder that you cant control the winding direction on.
Otherwise, for instance, if your watch winds for 2hrs, 4 times a day it will only actually be winding for half of that, as it is not winding when the watch is going anti-clockwise.
The other thing is the fully wound scenario, which is where a lot of people go wrong.
If your watch is winding too much, it will be fully wound all the time.
This means that the mainspring will be slipping all day every day, which will not only damage the Barrel wall, but will reduce the time that the mainspring will last.
On some watches, you can get in and replace the mainspring relatively easy, but most of the time a full stripdown is required to get to the Barrel, so you would have to pay for a full service, when all that is wrong is a broken mainspring.
Hope that makes sense.
So if you have a standard Automatic, which winds in both directions and has a 40hr power reserve, you want a bi-directional winder that will wind for a couple of hours, three or four times a day.
If will wind clockwise, then anti-clockwise and so on.
Left on the winder for a long period, the watch would be fine, as it is only winding intermittently and will never be fully wound.
If you have an Automatic Chronograph, chances are your movement is one directional winding.
In that case, you don't want a winder that you cant control the winding direction on.
Otherwise, for instance, if your watch winds for 2hrs, 4 times a day it will only actually be winding for half of that, as it is not winding when the watch is going anti-clockwise.
The other thing is the fully wound scenario, which is where a lot of people go wrong.
If your watch is winding too much, it will be fully wound all the time.
This means that the mainspring will be slipping all day every day, which will not only damage the Barrel wall, but will reduce the time that the mainspring will last.
On some watches, you can get in and replace the mainspring relatively easy, but most of the time a full stripdown is required to get to the Barrel, so you would have to pay for a full service, when all that is wrong is a broken mainspring.
Hope that makes sense.
Unless you have a watch with loads of complications that takes a long time to set and isn't worn daily, a winder is pointless. If it stops, wind it with the crown and put it right.
Leaving an automatic watch unwound for a few days or weeks won't hurt it. It'll probably need less frequent servicing than if it was kept on a winder.
I can see a case for a single winder if you only have 2 automatics with screw down crowns which you wear for 2 days each at a time. Unscrewing the crown 3 or 4 times a week will eventually wear the seals (and maybe the threads).
I built a couple of winders when I first started collecting watches. I mostly used them for testing watches after servicing them. My unworn watches just sit in watch boxes.
Leaving an automatic watch unwound for a few days or weeks won't hurt it. It'll probably need less frequent servicing than if it was kept on a winder.
I can see a case for a single winder if you only have 2 automatics with screw down crowns which you wear for 2 days each at a time. Unscrewing the crown 3 or 4 times a week will eventually wear the seals (and maybe the threads).
I built a couple of winders when I first started collecting watches. I mostly used them for testing watches after servicing them. My unworn watches just sit in watch boxes.
Thanks guys. Both watches are automatic chronographs without screw down crowns. I rotate wearing them every two or three months, winding and setting them once maybe twice per week. Messing about with cars and engines means I don’t wear one day to day. Is this much winding not doing any harm would you say?
Both are ten years old so could probably do with a service. Where are you based Rigga?
Both are ten years old so could probably do with a service. Where are you based Rigga?
Edited by Little Pete on Friday 18th May 22:16
Expecting a flaming here,but I don't think winders are a good idea. A watch is a complicated machine with many moving parts, which gradually wear over time if running. If you like shortened service intervals go for it by all means, but my car engine will last longer if I switch it off after using it.
eta. I can see the logic if the watch is only unworn for a short part of each week however.
eta. I can see the logic if the watch is only unworn for a short part of each week however.
Edited by fausTVR on Saturday 19th May 10:02
I can see where Faus is coming from.
However, most people wear a watch all day every day, like myself.
My watches get serviced at around 10year intervals. Not really ever had a watch that needed a service before that. Seeing as im a wathmaker, i dont believe in servicing unless it is neccesary.
Many of my friends only wear their watches for dress and they are always contacting me about issues.
A watch worn all day every day will work better than one left in a drawer.
Hence the watch winder was born.
Ps. Im in newcastle
However, most people wear a watch all day every day, like myself.
My watches get serviced at around 10year intervals. Not really ever had a watch that needed a service before that. Seeing as im a wathmaker, i dont believe in servicing unless it is neccesary.
Many of my friends only wear their watches for dress and they are always contacting me about issues.
A watch worn all day every day will work better than one left in a drawer.
Hence the watch winder was born.
Ps. Im in newcastle
Little Pete said:
I am going to go with a winder. I obviously need to make sure I get the right one.
Tip - have a look on eBay before purchasing. I bought a Wolf Roadster single winder with storage tray for 3 further watches last week. Picked it up for £157 which I thought was acceptable. The RRP is £439, a price I would not contemplate.Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff