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Keeping Automatic Watches Wound

I've got a question for all you automatic watch owners out there. I have an Invicta automatic watch which I pretty much only wear on Sundays and other special occasions. The problem is, it won't stay wound for a full week, so I find myself having to reset the watch every time I wear it. What methods do you gentlemen use to keep your automatic watches ticking between uses?
 
If you want it always wound, you need an automatic watch winder. Either that or wear it more frequently. Watch winders are not inexpensive (for the good ones at least).
 
Unless it's a watch with complications that make it a pain to set I don't think setting is such a big deal. You can get a watch winder but cheap ones aren't always good for the watch and really good ones are luxury items and are priced accordingly.
 
I switch among a number of automatics - and I don't worry about keeping them wound between wearings.

(have you seen the price of winders?????)
 
I switch among a number of automatics - and I don't worry about keeping them wound between wearings.

(have you seen the price of winders?????)

I'd looked at winders online, and the good ones seem to cost as much or more than a lot of decent watches! I suppose I could just break down and wind it by hand every day, but where's the fun in that?:lol:
 
If you don't want to spend the bucks for a winder, you could always pick the watch up each day and gently shake it in a circular motion. This gets the rotor moving which winds the watch.
 
A winder is the solution.

There are two schools of thought on winders. Some people say you need a fancy expensive one. Others (and I am one of them) believe that an inexpensive one will do and, given how automatic watches work, cannot possibly do any damage.
 
I also have a number of automatic watches and I don't bother with winders. I simply re-set the watches when I wear them. If it's just for the day, I don't bother with changing the date. I've collected watches for about 25 years and have never seen the point (or suffered any damage) from leaving watches unwound. Modern oils, which are usually synthetic, don't bind up the way natural oils will.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Cheap vs expensive winders is a no-brainer for me. If cheap winders are bad for your watch, then maybe wearing it isn't so good for it, either, right? Are you restricted from making certain movements of your hand or arm while wearing your watch? No. So what difference does it make exactly how a winder moves a watch?

When it comes to winders vs just letting it wind down, I say if it takes less than 5 minutes to set your watch, I say don't bother with a winder at all. Will this affect the accuracy of the watch? Hmmm... maybe... but I am thinking not enough to worry about. If accuracy is a big deal to you, then maybe you should stick with an under-$100 digital, anyway.
 
Watch winders assist in ensuring that the lubricants in the watch are distributed as though the watch were being worn in addition to keeping the watch wound. A quality watch winder can be purchased for around US$60 for a dual watch mains powered winder.

They are worth the investment.
 

Legion

Staff member
I have one auto watch that I wear regularly enough that it doesn't often stop. The others I let wind down.

I have never understood the problem with cheap watch winders, though. People say they are rough on the watch. Rougher than being on the end of somebodies flailing arm all day? I doubt it.
 
seems like a reasonable point re cheap v. expensive winders - why wouldn't a cheap one be as effective as the higher priced model? Hey, wouldn't it be cool to make & market a winder that looked like flailing arms?

anyway - I've wondered about this: I'm not a watch collector, but I've managed to accumulate a bunch of automatic watches - cheap ones (really cheap!) and tool watches and one quite nice one - where would I have room for winders for a dozen (and more) watches? do collectors who believe in winders keep all of their watches wound all the time?


...I like the man-machine interface of setting a watch - (and flailing my arm to keep it wound).
 
Better winders are programed so they only work on a schedule. When you wear a watch your arm isn't in motion 24/7. Cheap winders work continuosly and that rotor is forever in motion. The rotor is a mechanical part and with enough wear will fail. Also if you rotate watches and you park one it's not being used which means no wear on parts extending service intervals. Keep it running all the time and costly maint. will come up way more often.
 
If you buy a cheap winder make sure you don't have it anywhere near your bed. It will keep you up at night.

+1.

I have a watch winder that holds two watches. It rotates clock wise and counter clock wise at set intervals. However, it is noisy and is now relegated to a guest room.
 
seems like a reasonable point re cheap v. expensive winders - why wouldn't a cheap one be as effective as the higher priced model? Hey, wouldn't it be cool to make & market a winder that looked like flailing arms?

I can see it now. I little statue of a smiling person with two mechanized arms that you can strap your watches onto, and he just stands there and swings them all day. Come to think of it, why not just hire a real person to wear all of the watches you aren't using?
 
I can see it now. I little statue of a smiling person with two mechanized arms that you can strap your watches onto, and he just stands there and swings them all day. Come to think of it, why not just hire a real person to wear all of the watches you aren't using?



we could hire otherwise unemployable English majors!

(I'm one... I raised two... you do the math!)
 
I only have one auto watch at the moment, I never wore it since I'm waiting for a strap, but I did a test. I took the watch in my hand, and swung my arm like if I was country skiing (30 times back and forth). Then I left the watch on my desk. It kept running for over a week (to my surprise).

I don't think I have an amazing watch, paid under 100$ for it, so maybe you could look dumb for a few minutes like I did and it would solve your problem.
 
we could hire otherwise unemployable English majors!

(I'm one... I raised two... you do the math!)

What a great idea! But then, if those otherwise unemployable English majors started showing up to interviews wearing fancy watches, they might appear successful, subsequently finding employment!
 
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