What Does a Watch Winder Do?

Contents

Definition of watch winder

The practicality of the watch winder

Applicable person for the watch winder

Points to buy a watch winder

Conclusion

FAQS

Nowadays, many people prefer mechanical watches for wearing or collection. Compared with the quartz watch, it reduces the steps to replace the battery. But the mechanical watch needs to wind it, mainly relying on the movement of the wearer's wrist to provide energy for it. Sometimes due to insufficient exercise, short wearing time, and other reasons, the watch will have errors or stop and go, then at this time, the watch winder came into being.

Definition of watch winder

A watch winder, usually referring to a watch box equipped with a motor, is used for the automatic winding of high-end mechanical watches. This kind of watch box contains a rotatable small dial, which is slowly rotated under the drive of a micro motor, and the mechanical watch is placed in this dial to achieve the effect of automatic winding. A winder gently replicates your body's motion, by rotating the watch in a period of intervals, to maintain the energy and tension in the mainspring, allowing a continuous and accurate display of time. 

The practicality of the watch winder

The lubricants inside your mechanical watch that reduce friction between its many moving parts will, if left dormant, become dried up or coagulate. This, in turn, could cause damage to the movement and, thus, the watch should be kept moving to avoid this degradation of your watch’s lubricating oils. The winder will be battery operated or one that’s plugged into an outlet. The winder is designed to replicate the movement of the watch worn on the wrist, oscillating to keep the mainspring wound.

Applicable person for the watch winder

1. Your watches with complex functions, such as calendar and perpetual calendar, need to be returned to the factory when the perpetual calendar is adjusted.

2. You have two or more watches that can be replaced.

3. If the power reserve of your watch is less than 40 hours, it will stop for 1-2 days if it is not worn on weekends.

If you meet one of the above three, it is recommended that you use a watch winder.

Points to buy a watch winder

There are many types of watch shakers on the market, and the quality varies. When you buy a watch winder, you need to pay attention to the following points.

1.winder space

This will depend largely on your collection size and your usage patterns. Some winders are designed to hold a single watch, while others can hold two, four, or more. If you only have 1-2 watches, a single or dual watch winder will likely suffice. You can even buy enormous watch safes that open like a wardrobe and feature dozens of winders, plus secure storage for watch accessories and other jewelry. However, if your collection is larger, you might need to consider buying more than one watch winder. If you’re tight on budget, you don’t have to buy a winder for each watch that you have. In fact, you can buy a winder only for those watches you rarely wear.

2.Direction of rotation

Most watches are clockwise. You should read the recommendations in the owner's manual for your watch. CW means clockwise setting for optional winding, CCW means counterclockwise rotation winding, and two-way winding can be set to automatic.

3.TPD

A good watch winder will allow you to adjust how many times per day it turns (TPD), and is designed for intermittent rotation rather than constant. Some watch winders even let you manually set how many times they turn per day and whether you want the rotation direction to alternate.

4.Quality

Using a low-quality watch shaker can be more harmful than not using a watch shaker at all. If it's a cushion or pillow, make sure it's plush enough to not overly expand your watch band. Many cheaper watch winders feature cheap wood veneers and low-quality plastics. cheap pleather materials internally or externally that will wear poorly over time, losing shape or peeling.

5.Fashionability

The exterior of watch winder boxes can be made from various substances including leather, metal, and various kinds of wood. A good winder should coexist with your watch collection and act as an effective piece of home decor when not in use. The very high-end winders are hand-crafted exquisitely out of the most beautiful and rare materials, making them showpieces in themselves.

Conclusion

A watch winder is a device used to keep an automatic watch running when not worn. Watch winders are most frequently recommended for collectors who happen to own watches with complex calendar displays. If you own an automatic watch but only wear it every so often, a winder could be a good idea, especially if it has several complications that will all need resetting each time you want to wear it.

FAQS

1.Will using a watch winder damage my watch?

The answer is, generally, no. Set the correct winding direction and the number of revolutions per day according to the movement, without causing damage to the mechanical watch. A common misconception is that the winder keeps the watch mainspring fully wound and that damage could be caused by constantly feeding energy into it. This is incorrect on a couple of counts. Simply make sure the winder is compatible with your watch, and the rate at which it rotates can be adjusted, and you will be fine.

2.Will it cause the mechanical watch to be magnetic?

Quality watch winders are equipped with a shield that absorbs the magnetic field, making the chances of magnetization slim. The watch winder uses a magnetic shield for the motor to prevent magnetic diffusion, and the watch is placed outside the magnetic field of the motor in terms of design. On the other hand, most high-end watches also come with some sort of magnetization protection. Using a quality watch winder, with the added protection, you can rest easy knowing that your winder will probably not magnetize your watch.