Watch winder recommendation

[cinque]

Just bought son a nice 18th b'day watch and want a cheapish winder so he can store it overnight and keep it topped up

Any recommendations upto £100 would be appreciated

[Wallace12R]

cinque said:

Just bought son a nice 18th b'day watch and want a cheapish winder so he can store it overnight and keep it topped up

Any recommendations upto £100 would be appreciated

If he’s going to wear it daily you won’t need to put it on a winder overnight.

[PushedDover]

I bought one from Ebay £25 (as it happens it came as two, so I have one on left surplus if you want it.....)

[Fiedka]

Your wrist is the only winder your son will need.

[cinque]

Appreciate the replies (PusheDover PM'ed)

He's currently at college learning construction, so it won't be worn every day, hence the need.

[PushedDover]

Replied :-)

[Wills2]

I have a single wolf watch winder, runs silently not sure on the cost as it was "free" with a watch purchase, I think they are around £150-£200 retail

[gregs656]

cinque said:

Appreciate the replies (PusheDover PM'ed)

He's currently at college learning construction, so it won't be worn every day, hence the need.

If you want one that's fine, but it won't do it any harm to leave it not running.

[Drl22]

Not sure why there are so many salty replies. They are very useful for watches such as annual calendars and moon phases etc, he also (shock horror) may have more than one watch now!

Plenty to be had online, my experience around that budget is to buy a cheap one from Amazon, they all break and fail after a while (4 years or so) and it’s cheaper to just replace it rather than spend more on the super expensive ones.

[Louis Balfour]

cinque said:

Just bought son a nice 18th b'day watch and want a cheapish winder so he can store it overnight and keep it topped up

Any recommendations upto £100 would be appreciated

Don't waste your money. Cheap watch winders aren't very good and, anyway, the jury is out regarding whether it is wise to keep an automatic watch permanently wound. I don't keep my watches wound any more than I keep my cars running, in case I want to use one of them.

[geezerbutler]

If you are buying one you may as well buy a cheaper one. I have a triple Wolf winder which was very expensive. When one of the winders stopped working out of warranty they told me they couldn't repair it and just offered me 10% off buying a new one.

[PushedDover]

Louis Balfour said:

Don't waste your money. Cheap watch winders aren't very good and, anyway, the jury is out regarding whether it is wise to keep an automatic watch permanently wound. I don't keep my watches wound any more than I keep my cars running, in case I want to use one of them.

Mine - second hand ebay - is on year 6 I think

Odd to say " the jury is out regarding whether it is wise to keep an automatic watch permanently wound" as it is no different to wearing surely 24/7 which I have always done for 30 plus years

[stevewak]

Wills2 said:

I have a single wolf watch winder, runs silently not sure on the cost as it was "free" with a watch purchase, I think they are around £150-£200 retail

Plus one. Worth every penny. Probably more than that now. The plastic cube ones.

[gregs656]

PushedDover said:

Mine - second hand ebay - is on year 6 I think

Odd to say " the jury is out regarding whether it is wise to keep an automatic watch permanently wound" as it is no different to wearing surely 24/7 which I have always done for 30 plus years

But it is different to not having it running constantly.

[PushedDover]

gregs656 said:

But it is different to not having it running constantly.

I don’t understand- are you saying Automatics shouldn’t be 24/7 ?

[gregs656]

PushedDover said:

I don’t understand- are you saying Automatics shouldn’t be 24/7 ?

No? I am saying having them run constantly probably means more regular servicing, so it may be preferable not to use a winder.

I wouldn’t mind one just to have a second watch ready to go, and I see the value for complicated watches, but I wouldn’t bother for a weekend watch for example.

[Doofus]

Fiedka said:

Your wrist is the only winder your son will need.

Although, given the watch is for your son, perhaps he could use his own wrist.

[Nurburgsingh]

You’d just have it on a timer plug and set it to give it a jiggle for a couple of hours a day, no?

[Louis Balfour]

PushedDover said:

gregs656 said:

But it is different to not having it running constantly.

I don’t understand- are you saying Automatics shouldn’t be 24/7 ?

If you're wearing it 24/7 fine. But, if you aren't, why would you put additional wear on the movement?

It's a debate that has gone on for years on watch forums.

Personally I may be tempted to keep wound a watch with a lot of complications, that is slow to set up, if I was wearing it regularly but not every day.

[Wills2]

Louis Balfour said:

cinque said:

Just bought son a nice 18th b'day watch and want a cheapish winder so he can store it overnight and keep it topped up

Any recommendations upto £100 would be appreciated

Don't waste your money. Cheap watch winders aren't very good and, anyway, the jury is out regarding whether it is wise to keep an automatic watch permanently wound. I don't keep my watches wound any more than I keep my cars running, in case I want to use one of them.

Watch vs car comparisons rarely work as you've proven above, a daily worn watch will always be moving, a daily driven car won't be for obvious reasons, one is designed to be moving 24/7 you don't hack the movement when you take it off as an example.

If you want the convenience of having a watch that is not worn everyday (but perhaps every week) ready to wear showing the correct time then there is nothing harmful about a decent watch winder.