Interest in a watch winder?

[Rez Exelon]

You can ask 100 watch people about winders and you'll get 50% pro and 50% against. Here's the nuts and bolts of it though....

Speaking purely mechanically, and in my personal opinion, unless you have a complication that is a PITA to set like an annual calendar, perpetual calendar, etc., a winder isn't really necessary. Back before the development of synthetic lubrication, a winder served a vital purpose. By keeping the watch running constantly, it prolonged the life of the old style (natural animal & vegetable) oils, and kept them from congealing and degrading as quickly. With synthetic lubricants from the 70's and onwards, and especially with the stuff used today, that is absolutely no longer an issue. The oil life is extended and does not break down nearly as quickly or with the lack of use like the old lubricants did. In fact, outside of the convenience factor of always having a wind in your watch whenever you are ready to use it, what they really do is just put additional wear on the watch. Now over a couple of years that doesn't make too much difference, but multiply that by the amount of time we own a watch and it'll likely cause for a couple of additional services needing to be done over the lifetime of the watch. It is just a compromise of not having to wind your watch at the expense of additional wear. Inactivity doesn't hurt a watch like it used to, simply due to the lubricants being used today.

I have 1 simple winder, and only really use it to keep a watch wound after it has been assembled and used to test timekeeping over a period of days or weeks.

Winders are cool though. If I had a perpetual or annual calendar complication on a watch I'd likely keep it on a winder. Since I don't, I haven't seen a need to get one personally. I enjoy the 30 seconds of winding and setting the time when I put on a watch that hasn't been worn in a couple of days.

A fantastic answer. So this would best get rehomed to someone that wants the display aspect or has the complications. A side note that I liked about this is that you can decide individually per slot whether it actually runs and how much run time it gets. I figured since I had the one, I'd run it on low and pick some other fancy ones to put in and show them off a bit more.

 

[thor447]

A fantastic answer. So this would best get rehomed to someone that wants the display aspect or has the complications. A side note that I liked about this is that you can decide individually per slot whether it actually runs and how much run time it gets. I figured since I had the one, I'd run it on low and pick some other fancy ones to put in and show them off a bit more.

They are definitely cool, and certain movements need more wind than others so having programmable slots is certainly a positive. The additional wear isn't too much of a factor if the watch gets serviced every 5-7 years or so. That's ideal, but the reality of it is most people won't get their watches serviced until they see erratic timekeeping and by that time, the wear is significant enough that replacement parts, etc. are needed. It's just like oil changes in your car. Keep it regular and it'll save you big time on repair costs down the road.

 

[kingfish]

Here's my problem with a winder. When I first got my automatic I wore it every day or two. Since I started putting it in a winder about 3 month ago, I think I have gotten it out once since then. Guess I'm just too lazy to get it out of the case and put it back in at night. It's just easier to grab one of my solars or battery powered ones and put it on. Sad really.

 

[okierider]

I switch out watches right before bed time and do the fiddley stuff then.......

 

[dennishoddy]

My old timer wind only has been working great. Good to hear about the difference in the older vs newer lubes. The Seiko Bullhead is a daily wear now after Thor's rebuild. Give it a 30 second wind in the morning and good to go until the next morning.