Can anybody suggest a good inexpensive automatic watch winder?

I have a Brookstone dual watch winder that just died on me. I need a quad watch winder. I was not too happy with the durability of the Brookstone (which I got as a gift). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I found this one on Amazon. But the price is pretty cheap which scares me a little, but then again I don't want to spend hundreds on a watch winder. Thanks in advance.

I used to use watch winders until I met a technician from Swatch and he pretty much told me to ditch the thing. He told me it is the worst thing one can do to an automatic movement.

The brand I used to use was Wolf, very cool winders.

hrfdez said:

I used to use watch winders until I met a technician from Swatch and he pretty much told me to ditch the thing. He told me it is the worst thing one can do to an automatic movement.

The brand I used to use was Wolf, very cool winders.

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But I find myself getting married to a particular watch if it has a date function. It's a bit of a hassle to keep resetting the date on different watches so I just keep wearing the same watch. And if the automatic has a day function too it's even worse. So it is a shame my watches don't get more use.

Some watch winders allow you to control the number of spins per day which I would think would keep the damage to a minimum. But I don't want to cause lots of extra wear to my watches.

GlennConti said:

But I find myself getting married to a particular watch if it has a date function. It's a bit of a hassle to keep resetting the date on different watches so I just keep wearing the same watch. And if the automatic has a day function too it's even worse. So it is a shame my watches don't get more use.

Some watch winders allow you to control the number of spins per day which I would think would keep the damage to a minimum. But I don't want to cause lots of extra wear to my watches.

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I get it totally

Leave the crowns unscrewed if necessary and wind them in the morning at the same time. I used to have a winder, but I found it an unnecessary accessory.
I would recommend Wolf winders as well.

I've got a Wolf. I bought it second hand off ebay so it was very reasonable. One watch winder and a space up the top for two more watches.

Orbita Sparta 2 Executive http://store.orbita.com/product_p/e07350.htm

Tape it to your dog's leg.

^^^^^^^^^

ouch said:

Tape it to your dog's leg.

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But, I don't have any pets! I used to have an aquarium, but I don't think that would work too well - it may weigh down the poor fish.

PS I like it when your avatar is a hot chick.

hrfdez said:

I used to use watch winders until I met a technician from Swatch and he pretty much told me to ditch the thing. He told me it is the worst thing one can do to an automatic movement.

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Any more info on why that is? First time I've heard that...

If it has fuzzy logic (programmable winding patterns, rests, etc) should be fine.

There is nothing wrong with using a winder, just as there is nothing wrong with letting an automatic run down. One theory is you should not hand wind an automatic too much as it puts undo stress on gears. This is pretty much untrue, you should wind a watch completely then let the rotor maintain the fully wound mainspring. They tend to run with more accuracy this way.

don

I have a Techswiss watch winder which has been brilliant, has multiple winding patterns and is fairly quiet, seems well built.

I bought it on amazon a few years ago for $90, but the price has shot up a lot since then.

I used to have my Omega, Christopher Ward, and the wife's Oris on there all the time. I moved last year and didn't bother with it since. It's not a reflection of the machine which is great, just not sure I really need to use it anymore.

There is a lot of debate about if a watch winder is better or not for the movements. Which side of that is right I don't know.

Cuttingboard said:

Orbita Sparta 2 Executive http://store.orbita.com/product_p/e07350.htm

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That's a great price on a well-regarded brand!