Girard Perregaux Sea Hawk

[Mysterion]

I am fortunate enough to have my father's G-P Sea Hawk watch, a graduation present from his parents. Family legend has it that he wore it during his service in the European Theatre, and it's the watch he wore throughout my youth. It's engraved on the back with his name, and the date--June 8, 1943.

I'm very hard on watches, and I only wear it on special occasions when I want to remember my dad. Should it be wound (or otherwise "exercised") periodically, or is it OK to wind it only when I use it? Any other info on this piece is appreciated.

He had a few very nice watches, including a lovely Hamilton, and his father's Vacheron (my brothers have those,) but this one has the most sentimental value for me.

Thanks in advance for any insight...

[TimmyBoston]

I've always heard that's best to keep all watches wound so the parts stay lubricated, but I'm far from an expert on the subject, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

[Doc4]

I've always heard that's best to keep all watches wound so the parts stay lubricated, but I'm far from an expert on the subject, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Do not try to lubricate your watch with a grain of salt, though!!

[Buzz]

I've always heard that regularly winding and wearing a watch was best to keep it running well.

If you've never had this watch serviced, it would be worthwhile to find a good watchmaker to give it a good cleaning & lubrication. A bit of preventative maintenance might save you an expensive repair.

[MotoMike]

An old mechanical watch should be serviced every 5-10 years if I remember correctly. The jewels that the pivots turn in have a very minute drop of watch oil in them. The oil is specially formulated for this purpose but will dry out eventually. As it changes from a lubricating viscous liquid to a gel, it starts to grip the pivots and loose its lubricating qualities and eventually go to the other extreme and gum up the works. even if the watch is clean and lubricated, if you let it sit for a year, the very surface of the oil can become a dry film and connect the outer edge of the jewel to the pivot and grip it a bit. Periodic winding keeps it stirred up and will break the grip thereby prolonging the interval before cleaning and lubricating. It is not a good idea to push it though. I have had old watches that did not work when I got them that the only problem was that the oil had turned to glue.

I am not a watchmaker, but when I lived in San Diego I had a couple of friends who were. I would fix the old 400 day clocks for them and they would in turn overhaul watches I had acquired.

Regards,

Mike