Discussion
As I now have a little collection of automatic watches building 
I am in need of winder. I have found some utter tat, but cheap, on the 'Bay but would like some advice from you knowledgable fellows.
It need to wind 4 watches and it would be good if it had space to store my non-automatics too.
Any suggestion on price, where to look, things to be aware of etc?
Many thanks gents, much appreciated.
I am in need of winder. I have found some utter tat, but cheap, on the 'Bay but would like some advice from you knowledgable fellows.It need to wind 4 watches and it would be good if it had space to store my non-automatics too.
Any suggestion on price, where to look, things to be aware of etc?
Many thanks gents, much appreciated.
Why keep an engine running (and particularly in the case of watch winders, subject it to shocks) when you're not wearing it?
Just wind it up when you decide to choose it for the day. Never been a problem for my collection.
Then again.... if you've got a collection of Seiko Monsters then it *can* be a pain letting them run out, since the movement in the Monster (and all Seiko 5s?? would appreciate knowing this) doesn't allow manual winding and you have to fling it around like a loon to get the thing started from the auto rotor.
Of course, running with a virtually-dead mainspring will reduce balance amplitude and make the watch run fast to begin with, so you've got to adjust a Monster twice if you wear it from dead. Does anyone know if all Seiko 5 movements do the same?
Not a problem for most auto movements though, just wind them up as you put them on, set the time and it'll be more accurate than if you'd left it in a winder for 2 months, most probably...
If it's just for show and display, there are plenty of nice presentation cases for watches.
Just wind it up when you decide to choose it for the day. Never been a problem for my collection.
Then again.... if you've got a collection of Seiko Monsters then it *can* be a pain letting them run out, since the movement in the Monster (and all Seiko 5s?? would appreciate knowing this) doesn't allow manual winding and you have to fling it around like a loon to get the thing started from the auto rotor.
Of course, running with a virtually-dead mainspring will reduce balance amplitude and make the watch run fast to begin with, so you've got to adjust a Monster twice if you wear it from dead. Does anyone know if all Seiko 5 movements do the same?
Not a problem for most auto movements though, just wind them up as you put them on, set the time and it'll be more accurate than if you'd left it in a winder for 2 months, most probably...
If it's just for show and display, there are plenty of nice presentation cases for watches.
Lil' Joe said:
So is this the consensus from the PH watcg collective, that winders add unnecessart wear and tear to the watch's egine, as it were?
I wouldn't say that it was the consensus exactly, no! I don't have a watch winder but my one automatic gets enough wear for that not to be necessary. I think that those in the pro camp would argue that a winder is necessary for keeping the lubricants in a watch from gumming up the workings through inactivity, and there is also a school of thought which says that a movement performs at its best/most accurate when it has "bedded in" for a period of time, much like a car engine.I think that you could get away with it if you were getting a days wear per week out of each watch, but think about a winder if it'll be longer than this.
I have 4 watches I wear regularly. 2 autos (Omega and Rolex), 1 quartz (Tag) and a manual wind (Panerai).
Both my autos live in a watch winder when not in use, the manual I wind once a day regardless of whether I'm using it and the quartz sits in its box 99% of the time as its only worn for gardening, cleaning / working on the car.
The autos keep perfect time in the winder (within 1 or 2 seconds per week of each other and from GMT/BST amazingly), the winder is timed to come on for 10 minutes every hour on a security lamp timer plug thingymabob. The Pam111 loses aroung 20 seconds a week and the Quartz Tag gains around 2 minutes a week (and its just been serviced!!) as it has for the last 16 years. I check the accuracy (purely out of interest) most Sundays by dialing 123 on the phone.
HTH
My double winder was about £80 from Amazon and is as good as any I've seen for far more money in any jewellers/watch dealers.
Both my autos live in a watch winder when not in use, the manual I wind once a day regardless of whether I'm using it and the quartz sits in its box 99% of the time as its only worn for gardening, cleaning / working on the car.
The autos keep perfect time in the winder (within 1 or 2 seconds per week of each other and from GMT/BST amazingly), the winder is timed to come on for 10 minutes every hour on a security lamp timer plug thingymabob. The Pam111 loses aroung 20 seconds a week and the Quartz Tag gains around 2 minutes a week (and its just been serviced!!) as it has for the last 16 years. I check the accuracy (purely out of interest) most Sundays by dialing 123 on the phone.
HTH
My double winder was about £80 from Amazon and is as good as any I've seen for far more money in any jewellers/watch dealers.
I started off with a Modalo winder I bought on Ebay, however, heavier bracelet watches tended to move on that which resulted in scratching of the case back. I then bought an Official Time 6 watch winder from Ebay. Can't recommend them enough, even though they come from Hong Kong, price, delivery and level of service was fantatstic, they even included a hand written card of thanks!
Recently one of the winders started to stop intermittently, the company very quickly shipped a complete new motor and gearbox with full instructions.
I went for the Van Gogh series in the light copper wood colour, quality is very good indeed. http://cgi.ebay.com/OFFICIAL-TIME-OAK-WOOD-WATCH-W...
I wouldn't go for Rapport winders though, I nearly did and thankful to the advice and experience of others as they are very expensive and poor reliabilty.
Stef
Recently one of the winders started to stop intermittently, the company very quickly shipped a complete new motor and gearbox with full instructions.
I went for the Van Gogh series in the light copper wood colour, quality is very good indeed. http://cgi.ebay.com/OFFICIAL-TIME-OAK-WOOD-WATCH-W...
I wouldn't go for Rapport winders though, I nearly did and thankful to the advice and experience of others as they are very expensive and poor reliabilty.
Stef
cyberface said:
Then again.... if you've got a collection of Seiko Monsters then it *can* be a pain letting them run out, since the movement in the Monster (and all Seiko 5s?? would appreciate knowing this) doesn't allow manual winding and you have to fling it around like a loon to get the thing started from the auto rotor.
The only Seiko auto that I've had that could be hand wound was a 6138 dual register chronograph, all the others need shoogled.It doesn't take much to get them running and they settle down quite quickly unless you sit very still...
Lil' Joe said:
So is this the consensus from the PH watcg collective, that winders add unnecessart wear and tear to the watch's egine, as it were?
No, it's not.I use a number of winders to keep my watches ready for wear. The best is a Scatola del Tempo.
The purpose is two-fold; keeping the watches wound and in a safe place and also having my collection on display (to me) rather than storing them in the safe.
blueg33 said:
I have vintage watch that doesn't have a quickset date. Without a winder I would never waer it as it takes ages to set the date.
Bingo - that's why I use them. Also, with vintage watches I feel better not having to regularly unscrew the crown and potentially cause additional wear and tear.Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff