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Watch
Winders Guide
 What
exactly is a watch winder?
A watch winder
is a device used to keep automatic (also known as self winding) watches
running when not worn. Automatic watches operate on the principle
of winding themselves using a moving weight inside the watch. The
weight swings or rotates while the watch is worn and turns the winding
mechanism inside the watch. So, fairly obviously, if the watch is
not worn, then it no longer receives power this way and will run down.
While virtually all automatic watches can be manually wound, this
is not always convenient. So the concept of an automatic watch winder
was born.
A watch winder is a device which holds a watch (or often more than
one) and moves it in a circular patterns to emulate the necessary
parts of human motion to operate the self-winding mechanism.
A winder cannot over wind an automatic watch, since all automatic
watches are protected from being over wound by a mechanism that disengages
the winding process when the mainspring is fully wound. But using
a timer-based winder is still very important to prevent excessive
wear on the winding mechanism. There is no need to keep the watch
in motion 24 hours a day when usually only 30 minutes of motion is
necessary to keep it properly wound.
Winders are totally useless with battery-operated quartz watches.
But they do work for the special 'battery-less' quartz watches, such
as the Omega-Matic, Seiko Kinetic, and similar. These automatic/quartz
hybrids use the same weight/rotor principal to generate electric power
to run a quartz movement.
Up until recently, there were no winder devices available to operate
manual wind watches. But Orbita demonstrated such a device at the
Basel 2000 watch exposition, and may be making them available to the
public in the near future.
Do
I need a watch winder?
Well, you didn't need to buy more automatic watches than you can wear
at one time, did you? But don't worry, you are far from alone! Many
collectors and enthusiasts quickly get into this dilemma. Ultimately,
the main function of a winder is as a convenience device.
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 Doesn't
a winder protect my watch by keeping the oils from
clotting?
The oils used in most modern watches and properly serviced vintage
watches are not very prone to clotting or coagulating. While there
are technical reasons in favor of keeping a watch continuously running,
there are also reasons in favor of not unnecessarily overusing a watch.
There is no significant evidence that a good watch winder will either
save or harm your watch. The several watch repair professionals I've
dealt with say they've never encountered a watch that 'would have
been fine, if only the owner had kept it on a winder.
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So
how should I choose whether to get a winder or not?
Choose a winder for your needs based on its convenience value to you.
If you have a watch you almost never wear, simply wind it up every
couple of weeks and let it run down. But for automatic watches you
wear frequently, but not continuously, a winder is a great solution
for keeping them ready to wear on a moments notice. If this convenience
is worth the cost of a winder to you, then go for it!
The single biggest advantage of a winder for seldom used watches is
for those with complex perpetual calendar features that may require
elaborate resetting after the watch has been stopped for a while.
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Why
are watch winders so expensive when they seem pretty simple in concept?
Watch winder manufacturers and sellers emphasize the quality, the
precision, and their knowledgable design to correctly pamper your
watch as the reasons. These do factor in, but only explain part of
the cost of these $200-$8,000 devices.
But the remaining factor in the cost is that these are specialty items
manufactured in relatively low quantities. Although winder manufacturers
keep their sales numbers confidential, it is safe to guess that sales
are a few thousands of units per year. At this level of production,
they cannot achieve the economies of mass production that make items
that sell in the multi-million units (such as blenders and toasters)
so affordable.
So while the prices of the devices may be higher than you might expect,
it is not viable for these manufacturers to produce them at prices
comparable to mass consumer items.
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What
types of winders are available?
There are only a few manufacturers of watch winders. The types of
watch winders currently on the market tend to fall into three main
categories:
Functional: Such winders perform the duties of winding one
or more watches. Generally, these units hold the watch on the exterior
of the device. As such, they tend to need to be on a tabletop or somewhat
tall shelf. Some which handle more than one watch start to resemble
carnival rides, with their merry-go-round or ferris wheel configurations
and multiple rotating watch holders.
Elegant: These winders go beyond pure functionality and offer
a nice form and exterior. Normally they are a completely enclosed
box, often made of nicely finished wood or covered in leather. They
are suitable for display on a desk or dresser, yet many are capable
of fitting inside a drawer or safe deposit box.
Extravagant: As with many luxury items, the sky is the limit
on options. Winders with heaters to keep the watch near body temperature,
built-in storage drawers, and atomic-clock-synchronized time displays
are some of the esoteric and beyond features available on some of
the very high end winders.
Within these are options of a/c and battery powered units. The battery
units are especially nice for use on shelves, in drawers, or in a
safe deposit box.
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Should
I start with a single head unit or go for a multi headed unit?
If you are enough of a collector to want a winder, don't short-change
yourself by skimping on a winder that can only handle one watch. If
you've got the watch 'bug,' it won't be long before you buy another
automatic and be caught short. Consider at least one of the single-unit
watch winders have optional two-watch heads. Or buy a single-watch
unit for starters and plan on adding a multi-watch unit later.
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What
else should I consider?
Don't underestimate the value of manual wind watches for your collection.
They offer the joy of needing to interact with your collection every
day or two to keep them going. It can be nice to be needed. Vintage
manual wind watches are readily available, modern ones are less common
but still made. Not only will you not need a winder, they are intentionally
easy to wind by hand. Many automatics have screw down crowns or are
otherwise not as accommodating for frequent manual winding.
Automatic watches are intended for fairly regular wear. So
concentrate your ownership of automatic watches on those that you
will wear at least a couple of times a week. Winders are a nice convenience
for watches you don't wear daily. But why spin away most of the lifetime
of several nice watches waiting for you to seldom wear them.
A bad watch winder is worse than no winder. Automatic watches
are designed to be worn by people. People move in a large diversity
of manners, causing a fairly even distribution of motion of the watch's
internal winding mechanism. A watch winder is normally limited to
a very finite number of directions and types of movement -- some as
little as one single motion. So a poorly designed winder (especially
the one you tried to make from an old electric drill and spare auto
parts when you first heard that a real winder sells for hundreds of
dollars) might cause undesirable wear of the watch's mechanisms from
excessive and repetitive movement.
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