More about 'watch winders'

In a thread below, home.watchprosite.com , John, aka ei8htohms, wrote a well balanced argument why one should NOT use a watch winder on a regular basis.

Though I respect John both for his knowledge and articulate writing I would like to point out that my earlier remarks in the mentioned thread were not meant to emphasize the "urgency" of having a winder but rather the "benefits" for certain people who fall in one of the categories listed.

The subject of how many turns it takes to wind a watch is one that comes up often on many watch forums. I don't think there's a definitive answer and to reply properly would take a real expert in physics and which detail answer would be too long to post here.

But one thing to keep in mind is that the key parameter is TURNS PER DAY of the oscillating weight aka rotor and not turns of the arm or shaft of the watch winder.

An automatic watch needs to have its rotor turned a minimum number of revolutions in a day to make up for the power reserve expended in a day's running of the gear train and escapement. This varies from watch to watch, but is generally on the order of 500-800 turns per day,

These numbers are only a MINIMUM requirement and, by no means, any exact parameter as it's nearly impossible to gauge the right number due to so many external or internal considerations of the automatic mechanical movement.

Therefore, a published databank can at best only provide a clue but not real solid information and certainly not a standard which can be used across the board with all types of watch winders on the market.

I have found from experience that the best advice for anyone inquiring about numbers of turns required for any given timepiece is to try on their own with a programmable appliance type timer.

Don't be afraid to run the watch an hour or so longer than a suggested number because automatic watches are purposely designed with a clutch type mechanism to prevent overwinding. So, in essence a professional quality watch winder is an extension of the human wrist and no two people have the same daily activity level. It would be foolish to advise a very active person with an automatic watch to cut down in order to prevent so-called wear-and-tear of the automatic mechanism in his watch due to excessive turns.

This is why, all but one, leading watch winder manufacturers have not seen it important to incorporate settings for turns per day (TPD) in their winders. And, last, but not least, which is why watch manufacturers will not tell you an exact number of TPD's required but only suggest a MINIMUM needed.

A very respected and knowledgeable watch collector who has close ties with prestigious Swiss luxury watch companies said the following about wwatch winders:

"There's nothing wrong with winders --they won't hurt a watch and they can be convenient, especially for complicated watches that require lots of work with resetting. But in my opinion the "revolutions per day" theory for "minimum winding" is primarily a marketing device by one company that makes winders.

If a watch is worn on the wrist --and most are, except for the relatively small sub-segment of collectors who have multiple watches-- it is wound constantly. There would be more than the "minimum winding" and the max revolutions per day. Yet no one worries about those watches. There essentially is no difference in servicing costs, resale value, function, etc.

The reason is more than there's a clutch with prevents overwinding. What the clutch means is that the winding doesn't occur and the parts don't wear. However, the clutch's operation might create some wear on the bearings. That is, the "wear" by overwinding really doesn't exist or, to the minute sense it does, it's nominal and easily resolved.

Now one winder company decided about 10 years ago to market programmable winders. Before then no one did (and most winders using in testing at watch manufacturers are not programmable). This company makes excellent winders and many people have bought their revolutions per day theory. A few other companies have added programmable winders since then.

All this is OK --there's nothing wrong with these winders, but I wouldn't sweat whether your winder winds a watch to 6.5 versus 7 day or watchever. No harm will fall. Honest."

Once again, I don't advocate getting a watch winder to save money on service costs for expensive timepieces etc. but only suggest one when there is a need for it as listed in my initial post. I think that in those circumstances John would agree that the "benefits" outweigh any negative concerns over using a watch winder. I hope my additional comments and insights here prove useful.

Regards,
Jack Freedman

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