If you’re lucky enough to own multiple watches and one or more of them are automatic watches, you need a watch winder. It is going to prove itself a worthy companion when you’re a collector.
If you don’t have any idea about watch winders and how they work, then this article is going to clear everything up for you. We’re diving into the pros and cons of owning a watch winder so you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to invest in one.
Most automatic watches are equipped with a rotor that receives energy from the wearer’s wrist movement. This rotation keeps the watch wound and, if it remains in motion, it can continue to run. The rotor is capable of storing energy that can keep watch wounds when not worn constantly and after that, it requires manual winding to work in order. This power reserve can vary, but a regular amount of stored energy is about 48 hours.
If the watch stops working, the watch must be wound manually using the crown to bring it back to functioning (or you should start wearing it). It is the problem often faced by individuals having a great affinity for timepieces and owning a larger collection of watches.
A watch winder is an electronic device that performs the simple yet most important function that keeps your automatic watch fully wound even when it’s not being worn.
As a result, there’s no need of having to set the watch to the correct time after you have not worn it since it has run out of power. Most qualitative windes work with different settings and intervals so that your watch will stay perfectly wound and on time without unnecessary overwinding.
If you are the owner of even 1 automatic watch, it is a good enough reason for owning a watch winder. Here are four reasons why that is:
1. It gives you peace of mind and saves you time. You don’t have to manually charge your watches, nor will you find your watches set at the wrong times ever again.
2. It might benefit your watch’s health. That’s right, a good winder can actually be good for your watch. The oils inside the movements can dry out and clog, which thus can have a negative effect on the movement’s accuracy. Therefore, leaving your watch sitting still all the time might be worse for your watch than the potential negative effects of constantly letting it run.
3. It’s majestic to look at. Watch winders come in different shapes and forms, most have in common that their movement is very calming. The mesmerizing motions of some winders can feel almost hypnotic to look at.
A good watch winder does not harm your watch in any way. The common reasons why SOME low quality and cheap winder can hurt a watch is due to magnetism and overwinding. Some of these poorly made winders may have certain magnetic fields from the electric motor. This magnetic field can cause damage, especially to mechanical watches, since it will cause the mainspring to stick, resulting in a less accurate movement.
If you have a well-made winder, there will be plenty of ‘modes’ to select from. Automatic watches are made so that you cannot overwind them: they have a mechanism that detaches the winding gears from the mainspring. However, the element that causes this detachment, can get damaged by excessive usage.
Here comes the most important question. How do you know which watch winder is best suitable for your collection? In order for you to understand and know the answer to this question, we will discuss some important specifications of a valuable and worth buying watch winder that you must take into consideration.
Following are some features that must be considered:
There are a number of watch winders available in the market and there are big differences between them. It is important for you to understand which one is suitable for your watch collection, perhaps taking into acount your available budget. If you have a large number of watches in your collection you can buy a watch winder that is capable of holding multiple watches.
It is the most important feature to consider: most of the automatic watches require little movement to stay wound. Therefore, a watch winder that is adjustable and capable of winding the watch in the most natural way will make sure that your watch stays for long with you.
All the watches cannot be wound using the same winder. Some watches require single reciprocating rotation while some of them require double reciprocating rotation. So, while purchasing watch winders you must be very careful about this specification. Either go for a watch winder that can specify the type of rotation or purchase two separate winders for each rotation.
It is very essential for the winder to have a reliable power source. Therefore, it’s be to select a winder that comes with an auxiliary power source or ac power.
Generally, poorly-made winders are not designed to have a resting period feature, while the qualitative winders have this built-in feature. The resting periods are very important for the watch’s health.
Knowing what you know now, you will be much better informed when making the decision whether or not a watch winder would be good for your collection.
Hope you find this article interesting and useful!
