So, I got me a watch winder. I'm still not sure where I'm headed with this, but I did decide chainable single winders would work better for me than a box type with storage for other watches. I've done a bit of research (YouTube) and consulted my barber. Boy, I had no idea that the use of winders was just a controversial topic in the online watch world. I have decided I'm not going to put all my automatics on winders, but other than that I'm not sure. Here's where I'm at.
Overwinding - It seems that on vintage watches this could be a concern, but I don't have vintage watches. Modern watches this seems to be not so much of a concern. I can agree that having a watch on a winder all the time is different than wearing it 12-18 hrs a day, but getting a winder that allows you to regulate how many turns it makes in a day negates this issue. And if you happen to have one watch you wear all the time, you're constantly overwinding it just by wearing it.
Additional wear and tear - One thought is if you have several automatic watches, then some of them are getting a break from use after they wind down. If they are on winders, then they are all always in use and all wearing at the "normal" level without a break. BUT, it seems this wear is somewhat negligible or at least up for debate. The other side of this is additional wear on watches from having to reset the time/date every time you use them if they are always dead. The part of this that makes sense to me is for watches with screw-down crowns. Instead of occasionally unscrewing the crown, it's being done every time the watch is used. Thus, putting more wear on the threads.
Good to keep them moving - This also makes sense. The concern is if you let your watches just sit, the oils can dry and become sticky. Listening to a watch service guy, his opinion is once a month to wind up a watch that hasn't been used just to keep everything loose and functional. This seems to make intuitive sense to me. He thinks that's a good use for a winder. You can throw on a watch you don't normally wear for a day and then put it away again.
So I got one winder just to see how I like it and how loud it is. Right now my thinking is maybe having a few and keeping a few watches on them to wear for a while so I'm not having to reset the time every day, and then swap them out for others. I'm also thinking of leaning towards keeping those with the screw-down crowns on them to reduce wear on the threads. Time will tell. Get it?
Overwinding - It seems that on vintage watches this could be a concern, but I don't have vintage watches. Modern watches this seems to be not so much of a concern. I can agree that having a watch on a winder all the time is different than wearing it 12-18 hrs a day, but getting a winder that allows you to regulate how many turns it makes in a day negates this issue. And if you happen to have one watch you wear all the time, you're constantly overwinding it just by wearing it.
Additional wear and tear - One thought is if you have several automatic watches, then some of them are getting a break from use after they wind down. If they are on winders, then they are all always in use and all wearing at the "normal" level without a break. BUT, it seems this wear is somewhat negligible or at least up for debate. The other side of this is additional wear on watches from having to reset the time/date every time you use them if they are always dead. The part of this that makes sense to me is for watches with screw-down crowns. Instead of occasionally unscrewing the crown, it's being done every time the watch is used. Thus, putting more wear on the threads.
Good to keep them moving - This also makes sense. The concern is if you let your watches just sit, the oils can dry and become sticky. Listening to a watch service guy, his opinion is once a month to wind up a watch that hasn't been used just to keep everything loose and functional. This seems to make intuitive sense to me. He thinks that's a good use for a winder. You can throw on a watch you don't normally wear for a day and then put it away again.
So I got one winder just to see how I like it and how loud it is. Right now my thinking is maybe having a few and keeping a few watches on them to wear for a while so I'm not having to reset the time every day, and then swap them out for others. I'm also thinking of leaning towards keeping those with the screw-down crowns on them to reduce wear on the threads. Time will tell. Get it?
