

Watch winders are pretty cool in and of themselves.You can save a lot of time winding a watch with a winder if it has complications (more on this later).Your automatic watch is wound for you without you needing to do the work of manually winding it yourself.Here are some of the advantages of using a watch winder: The answer is, “Not if you have had it serviced.” It should have synthetic oil by now protecting the movement. “Can’t the oils in that type of watch end up coagulating?” “But wait-I have a vintage watch,” you might point out. So while this may have been a value of watch winders in the past, it isn’t really applicable in the present. 8-piece watch winder by Wolf / Source: īut can a watch winder prevent this from happening? Unfortunately, the answer is no. So yes, your movement will eventually get dry. Instead, what they do is simply evaporate. They are not prone to thickening in this manner. There is a common misconception that if the movement is not running, the oils will coagulate, and you need a watch winder to prevent this.īut here’s the thing. What a Watch Winder Doesn’t DoĪ watch winder can wind your automatic watch, but one thing it cannot do is keep the mechanisms inside the watch lubricated.

Plus, if you leave a watch in a winder too often for too long, the movement can also get worn down. But the watch winder itself will function better for longer if you do not overuse it. It isn’t that there is any risk of over-winding (there isn’t, just as there isn’t when you wear the watch). Indeed, more than that is not a great idea. How long do you need to leave the watch in the winder for it to do its job? About half an hour should be sufficient (some winders can be programmed to only wind your watch for about half an hour / 24 hours). This motion substitutes for the movement of your wrist when you are not wearing your watch. With a watch winder, you set the watch inside, and then the device rotates it. Either you can wind the watch by hand (assuming the movement allows it), or you can use a watch winder. If you do not wear your automatic watch for some period of time, this feature does not function. Automatic Watch Movement (here, a Seiko 6117 World Time) They harness the motion of your wrist as you walk in order to swing a weight that in turn winds the watch. The purpose of a watch winder is, naturally, to wind a watch, namely the automatic variety.Īutomatic watches wind themselves when you are wearing them (some of them can also be wound manually, but in some cases it’s not recommended). That way, you can make an informed decision regarding whether or not to buy one. We will then talk about situations where a winder might be useful. In this article, we will explain to you what a watch winder is and what it is used for. Is a watch winder a necessary accessory, or can you live without one? Do you have some automatic ( “self-winding”) watches? If so, you have probably run into a lot of references to watch winders.
