Thought's on watchwinders.
Discussion
Ok as the title say's I am thinking of getting a quad watchwinder. Due to the recent addition to my collection, see below:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I do find that every time I go to wear a watch I have to set the time and date and I wonder is this actually harming the watch?
I have heard stories of watchwinders doing more harm than good, so my question is what is best for my watches, a watch winder or setting the time and date manually every three or four days or so.
Also would a watchwinder decrease service intervals.
Thanks in advance.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I do find that every time I go to wear a watch I have to set the time and date and I wonder is this actually harming the watch?
I have heard stories of watchwinders doing more harm than good, so my question is what is best for my watches, a watch winder or setting the time and date manually every three or four days or so.
Also would a watchwinder decrease service intervals.
Thanks in advance.
I bought my watch winder off ebay for about £80 - IIRC it came from a store in North Wales. Holds 4 watches and is really quiet - but has blue LED's which dont half glow bright at night!
I had been told that it was never a good thing to leave an automatic to run down - the hairspring should always be tensioned. All i know is when i fancy a change, apart from may be changing the date, the watch is ready to wear.
Graham
I had been told that it was never a good thing to leave an automatic to run down - the hairspring should always be tensioned. All i know is when i fancy a change, apart from may be changing the date, the watch is ready to wear.
Graham
tuskkev said:
Ok as the title say's I am thinking of getting a quad watchwinder. Due to the recent addition to my collection, see below:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I do find that every time I go to wear a watch I have to set the time and date and I wonder is this actually harming the watch?
I have heard stories of watchwinders doing more harm than good, so my question is what is best for my watches, a watch winder or setting the time and date manually every three or four days or so.
Also would a watchwinder decrease service intervals.
Thanks in advance.
Taking this to an ludicrous level, thinking about wear and tear over a significantly long period of time, my personal thought is that having a watch run continuously for 50 years via a winder versus using the watch a few days a week and then letting it sit for a few days before another usage would be worse (assuming both would get proper maintenance and cleanings). Moving parts will wear and my guess would be that the one with less use would last longer.http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I do find that every time I go to wear a watch I have to set the time and date and I wonder is this actually harming the watch?
I have heard stories of watchwinders doing more harm than good, so my question is what is best for my watches, a watch winder or setting the time and date manually every three or four days or so.
Also would a watchwinder decrease service intervals.
Thanks in advance.
Sort of relating to watch winder usage, I have just watched a video detailing an overhaul service carried out by breitling (approx £450). It is very intense and they pretty much replace everything that is worn, could wear or may wear in the future in the whole of the watch, cogs, springs, the hands the whole lot. About the only thing's that aren't replaced are the braclet, face and case.
Now I know this is expensive but I think if you budget for one of these every 10-15 years(with an oil service at 5 years) there would be no worries with wear from a winder.
Anyway I hope this is the case as I have just bought a quad winder so we'll have to see.
Now I know this is expensive but I think if you budget for one of these every 10-15 years(with an oil service at 5 years) there would be no worries with wear from a winder.
Anyway I hope this is the case as I have just bought a quad winder so we'll have to see.
EdJ said:
Just realised that I don't actually know what a "winder" is. Can someone explain? Does it plug into the mains? Is it noisy? Is it wife friendly?
1/ you put your watch on it and it spins round so the rotor continually "charges" the spring2/ yes, it's mains driven
3/ shouldn't be
4/ no, it doesn't vibrate
Some say that he has skin like a badger... oh, wait a sec, wrong thread.
Some say that if you don't use a mechanical watch the oil sinks to one end under gravity, gets all stodgy and the cogs and levers then work without any lubrication. Wearing your automatic watch would mean that there is no up or down as it's always in motion and the warmth from the skin means that the oil never dries up and goes stodgy. Thing is, wouldn't that mean that a watch winder, unless heated, means the oil dries up but stays where it should? Also, isn't the oil applied locally to individual points so wouldn't just run to one place anyway? Maybe this need to keep the watch heated and moving only applies to expensive watches.
Some say that if you don't use a mechanical watch the oil sinks to one end under gravity, gets all stodgy and the cogs and levers then work without any lubrication. Wearing your automatic watch would mean that there is no up or down as it's always in motion and the warmth from the skin means that the oil never dries up and goes stodgy. Thing is, wouldn't that mean that a watch winder, unless heated, means the oil dries up but stays where it should? Also, isn't the oil applied locally to individual points so wouldn't just run to one place anyway? Maybe this need to keep the watch heated and moving only applies to expensive watches.
Hi guys.
Long time lurker on this board, but first post.
I suspect that this question is a lot like religion. Firmly held opinions backed up with anecdotal evidence, and nobody likely to change their mind, but fun to discuss anyway.
I do not have a watch winder, but I do have an Omega Constellation which used to belong to my grandfather. The watch dates from the mid to late 60's and I got it for my 21st birthday, which was more than 20 years ago. The watch has never been on a watch winder, and has only once been serviced (about a years ago) in the time that I have owned it. For various reasons the watch has also had long periods of inactivity, ranging from months to years.
It keeps excellent time and is worn anywhere from once a month to a few times a week. When I asked a watch retailer (of Omega, Breitling, Rolex, TAG Heuer and others) whether a watch winder was a worthwhile thing, the advice that I got was that it was just another thing to worry about.
Like religion, I guess it comes down to personal preference. If you find setting the time and date when you wear the watch a hassle, get a winder.
Otherwise, don't.
James
Long time
lurker on this board, but first post.I suspect that this question is a lot like religion. Firmly held opinions backed up with anecdotal evidence, and nobody likely to change their mind, but fun to discuss anyway.
I do not have a watch winder, but I do have an Omega Constellation which used to belong to my grandfather. The watch dates from the mid to late 60's and I got it for my 21st birthday, which was more than 20 years ago. The watch has never been on a watch winder, and has only once been serviced (about a years ago) in the time that I have owned it. For various reasons the watch has also had long periods of inactivity, ranging from months to years.
It keeps excellent time and is worn anywhere from once a month to a few times a week. When I asked a watch retailer (of Omega, Breitling, Rolex, TAG Heuer and others) whether a watch winder was a worthwhile thing, the advice that I got was that it was just another thing to worry about.
Like religion, I guess it comes down to personal preference. If you find setting the time and date when you wear the watch a hassle, get a winder.
Otherwise, don't.
James
I got bought a winder but never really got on with it as it's little noisy.
Could be tempted to treat myself to something better and bigger (it's only a single and I've got 5 autos
aprepag
Any links to the ones people are liking?
My other worry is most of my autos also live in the safe and it's not big enough to house a big winder, but I guess they should just be worn more and not locked away.
Could be tempted to treat myself to something better and bigger (it's only a single and I've got 5 autos
aprepagAny links to the ones people are liking?
My other worry is most of my autos also live in the safe and it's not big enough to house a big winder, but I guess they should just be worn more and not locked away.
I'm not sure about the longer term benefits / disadvantages to automatic movements but they're really useful if you want to alterate a couple of daily wearers (eg GMT / SD /DJ)
FWIW -I bought a cheap one from fleaBay ( black leatherette cube –mains only) It worked (noisily) for about 9 months then gave up the ghost.
I was given a slightly more expensive one also sourced through the ‘bay (wooden mains/battery with bright blue LED) and it’s quiet and reliable.
Cheers
JP
FWIW -I bought a cheap one from fleaBay ( black leatherette cube –mains only) It worked (noisily) for about 9 months then gave up the ghost.
I was given a slightly more expensive one also sourced through the ‘bay (wooden mains/battery with bright blue LED) and it’s quiet and reliable.
Cheers
JP
My ebay winder rotates for about 20 secs one direction, reverses direction for 20 secs and does this oscillating for about 5 mins then stops and repeats the process about an hour later.
Wife hates the look of it - its in dark wood with a clear top and 'felt' lined. She actually thinks it looks like a miniture clear topped coffin! Hence it's hidden and covered with an old t-shirt (to stop the light shining through!)
It has a plug-in transformer supply and provision for loading with batteries. It does the job and practically silent!
G
Wife hates the look of it - its in dark wood with a clear top and 'felt' lined. She actually thinks it looks like a miniture clear topped coffin! Hence it's hidden and covered with an old t-shirt (to stop the light shining through!)
It has a plug-in transformer supply and provision for loading with batteries. It does the job and practically silent!
G
I'm fed up buying gadgets, so I'll go with the 'manual wind' option and just service the beggar if it acts up. Then I don't need to buy a winder, find somewhere for it, take the watches out of it and 'safe' them whenever I leave the house for an extended period.....etc, etc. :grumbleb
hmoan:
hmoan:andy_s said:
Looks interesting, if not a touch expensive!Maybe they should spend some of their profits on spell checking software for the website
Bernie-the-bolt said:
andy_s said:
Looks interesting, if not a touch expensive!Maybe they should spend some of their profits on spell checking software for the website
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