Watch Winders

Most watch collectors have a wide array of automatic wrist watches that they wear. However, since the watch collector can’t wear all of their watches at once, they will not maintain time as they sit idle. As a result, many collectors look to purchase an automatic watch winder that they can rely on to keep their automatic watch properly wound.

This is important as an automatic watch should kept wound as much as possible to maintain the lubricants. If a watch is left unwound for an extended period of time it can cause the lubricants to dry up and cause the accuracy of the watch to diminish.

When a collector is wearing their watch, the regular movements of their wrist cause the rotors of the watch to pivot back and forth allowing the watch to rotate in a circular motion and wind the mainspring. As the spring is wound, it creates energy that allows the watch to maintain accurate time for 1-3 days.

A watch winder is a device that will automate the process of keeping the watch wound and will mimic the movement generated by the natural movements of the wrist. A good watch winder will come equipped with programmable motors that allow the user to adjust the timing of the watch winder to work with their particular brand. Different automatic watch brands require different settings.

Common settings that will maintain the majority of brands are:

Mode 1: time interval is 12 minutes for every 33 seconds winding.
Mode 2: time interval is 15 minutes for every 33 seconds winding.
Mode 3: time interval is 18 minutes then reverse rotation. While in this
mode, motor will turn clockwise or anti-clockwise for 33 seconds.
Mode 4: time interval is 24 minutes for every 33 seconds winding.

So, having a good watch winder with reliable program settings is critical for properly maintaining an automatic watch and not over winding the valuable timepiece.