Winder thoughts...

[jcgs]

I'm thinking of getting a winder because I don't wear any of my automatic watches on a daily basis and I'm not crazy about setting the time everytime I want to use one.

Should I?

Some people say it adds wear, others say it help the lubricants...

What do you think? Is it harmful or not?

[TheVTCGuy]

Let me know what kind you get, I'm looking too....

[Autobot]

+1, I am always in the market for a new winder. I had one a few years ago but it was so loud that I got rid of it in the first week.

[Dylan Wade]

I don't think a good quality watch winder really impacts watches as polled either way, as long as you get your watches serviced as per supplier's recommendations you won't should not notice either:

Here's a rough picture of mine:

[Rippin]

Originally Posted by Dylan Wade

I don't think a good quality watch winder really impacts watches as polled either way, as long as you get your watches serviced as per supplier's recommendations you won't should not notice either:

Agreed. A good winder should put no more wear on a watch than if you were to wear the watch daily. But if you did wear the watch everyday there would be no need for a winder. Also, the modern lubricants in watches should not dry if left still over an extended period of inactivity. Many people use winders because they own multiple watches and enjoy the convenience of being able to pick up a watch and go. One possible disadvantage of winding your watch daily using the crown is that you might accidentally strip the threads, but that's fairly easily repaired.

[Autobot]

What kind of winder is that?

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by jcgs

I'm thinking of getting a winder because I don't wear any of my automatic watches on a daily basis and I'm not crazy about setting the time everytime I want to use one.

Should I?

Some people say it adds wear, others say it help the lubricants...

What do you think? Is it harmful or not?

Unless you have very complicated watches which incorporate many features, I wouldn't really bother with a winder for our standard Rolex models most of which only have a date to worry about.

Takes only a few seconds to set date and time...........and even if the watch is left STOPPED for a month or so, no harm will come to the movement.

Most AD's have watches in STOPPED mode for months on end - nothing happens!!

JJ

[karmatp]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Unless you have very complicated watches which incorporate many features, I wouldn't really bother with a winder for our standard Rolex models most of which only have a date to worry about.

Takes only a few seconds to set date and time...........and even if the watch is left STOPPED for a month or so, no harm will come to the movement.

Most AD's have watches in STOPPED mode for months on end - nothing happens!!

JJ

X2. Winders are good for watches with many complications, other than that, they are a waste of money.

[G.J]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Most AD's have watches in STOPPED mode for months on end - nothing happens!!

JJ

My thoughts exactly..

[juani]

Iv just ordered one, can some one tell me in what way it mite add wear?

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by juani

Iv just ordered one, can some one tell me in what way it mite add wear?

Well, a lot does depend on the quality of the winder; but one thing's for sure - no winder can replicate the natural movement of your wrist!!

So if you have only 3 or 4 automatic watches, I don't see any benefit in buying a winder.

Just my 2 cents since I have 4 self-winding watches and have never found the need for a winder.

JJ

[juani]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Well, a lot does depend on the quality of the winder; but one thing's for sure - no winder can replicate the natural movement of your wrist!!

So if you have only 3 or 4 automatic watches, I don't see any benefit in buying a winder.

Just my 2 cents since I have 4 self-winding watches and have never found the need for a winder.

JJ

Morning JJ, i only wear my watch for a couple of hours during evening Monday to Friday and find i have to wind it every day to keep it going, witch surely is likely to add more wear?

[Boadicea]

I think getting the wrong winder can cause problems. I got a cheap one off ebay and soon realised it was not going be good for the watch. It wound only one direction and pretty quick and to top it all off, no matter how you fitted the watch, it touched the gass/plastic. Needless to say, I learned the lession and it was binned. I got a rapport with nice and slow, dual direction, timed rotation and to top it off, it runs on batteries so no cable running out of the safe. It cost about 10 times more, but it is worth it.

I don't expect to use it much. I let my DJ run down when not in use but whenever I take off my Explorer (my every day watch) it will go in the winder.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Rippin

Agreed. A good winder should put no more wear on a watch than if you were to wear the watch daily. But if you did wear the watch everyday there would be no need for a winder. Also, the modern lubricants in watches should not dry if left still over an extended period of inactivity. Many people use winders because they own multiple watches and enjoy the convenience of being able to pick up a watch and go. One possible disadvantage of winding your watch daily using the crown is that you might accidentally strip the threads, but that's fairly easily repaired.

Well I did think about one once then decided the best winder was my own wrist and saved my money.No harm whatsoever to rest a watch for a month or longer all thats needed if stored a small manual wind say once a month.And if needed to wear just a full wind reset etc now that must take all of 30 seconds to do.Many manual wind Rolex oyster watches get wound almost daily for decades with out any problems.The crowns tubes etc in all Rolex watches are normal serviceable items and are often replaced at normal service.And for the risk of cross threading well on watches without crown guards like the manual Rolex oysterhave not heard of many major problems.Now with watches with crown guards to cross thread would be very much more difficult to do.

[Rippin]

What, first you reply , then you edit your reply, then you edit it again to quote me....are you stalking my replies?

[imono]

This is a beautiful winder from ebay.
One day I'll get it... $769.99

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Orbita-Tourb...item33566a45e7

[Cru Jones]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Unless you have very complicated watches which incorporate many features, I wouldn't really bother with a winder for our standard Rolex models most of which only have a date to worry about.

Takes only a few seconds to set date and time...........and even if the watch is left STOPPED for a month or so, no harm will come to the movement.

Most AD's have watches in STOPPED mode for months on end - nothing happens!!

JJ

Originally Posted by karmatp

X2. Winders are good for watches with many complications, other than that, they are a waste of money.

not doubting this advice at all, just wondering why this is the case?

thanks....

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

not doubting this advice at all, just wondering why this is the case?

thanks....

Because, quite frankly, I wouldn't want my other 3 watches which I'm not wearing, moving around all the time.

I would much rather have them sitting in my safe in a STOPPED mode saving on a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the movement.

And, like I've already said, it takes just a few seconds of my time to set the date and correct time on the one I choose to pull out of the safe and wear for that week or whatever.

For example, it's the long Easter Weekend here in NZ........so I have on my TT GMT-IIC. I'm sure the other 3 are dead STOPPED............so who cares? When I decide to wear the one I want, I just pull it out of the safe and set it up for instant wear.

Easy-peasy!!

JJ

[Cru Jones]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Because, quite frankly, I wouldn't want my other 3 watches which I'm not wearing, moving around all the time.

I would much rather have them sitting in my safe in a STOPPED mode saving on a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the movement.

And, like I've already said, it takes just a few seconds of my time to set the date and correct time on the one I choose to pull out of the safe and wear for that week or whatever.

For example, it's the long Easter Weekend here in NZ........so I have on my TT GMT-IIC. I'm sure the other 3 are dead STOPPED............so who cares? When I decide to wear the one I want, I just pull it out of the safe and set it up for instant wear.

Easy-peasy!!

JJ

Thanks very much, JJ...I couldn't agree more.

I thought some people had said that one needn't bother with a winder for a watch with just a date function, but that one might consider using one if one's watch has more complications.

Just wondering why that might be.

Thanks.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Thanks very much, JJ...I couldn't agree more.

I thought some people had said that one needn't bother with a winder for a watch with just a date function, but that one might consider using one if one's watch has more complications.

Just wondering why that might be.

Thanks.

Because some of the complicated watches can be really very complicated and also very, very expensive..............especially the high-end Swiss brands like AP, VC, IWC, Patek, etc.

The real complicated ones would have the moon-phase, day and date, and several other features not commonly found on most watches. To set up all these is very time-consuming and can also be very tricky.

So it's best to keep such watches going all the time to prevent the watch from stopping. Not sure whether this is a good thing or not; but, thankfully, the only complication I like on my watch is a DATE.................and, of course, the second time-zone feature on my GMT-IIC and Exp-II!

Cheers - JJ

[train-time]

I have heard arguments on both sides of the fence regarding winders and have come to the conclusion that they are just a convenience that keep your watches ready and running while not in use.

At one point I had three 6 head winders lined up winding a bunch of watches, now I have none and I set my watches like JJ said, whenever I am ready to switch to a different one.

[mfer]

The biggest thing is to service them regularly!!!!!!!!!!

Winder or not, don't wear your watch until it breaks. 5-7 years depending on manual v. auto and other conditions.

I have a winder just b/c I like it. Looks cool and is dead quite as it only runs once every 10 min.
Oribita Spart 2 (the diamond metal one) that operates on 4-D batteries for 2 years between changes.

[Daytonamania]

Rolex Jubilee Winder.
Looks Great , Quiet and Genuine Rolex..
Go on you know you want one ..

[SLS]

Ask yourself this, two identical watches are for sale. Each of them is five years old, one has spent its entire life on a winder, the other sitting in a safe completely idle. The choice for me is obvious. Winders do not harm the watch, but they certainly do cause wear. IMO, save your money and put it towards a nice watch storage box or another watch. As far as keeping the watch lubed, you just fell victim to the marketing of the companies who sell winders!
Scott

[diversified]

I used to always have my winder on, but lately I only turn the winder on when I know I'm going to be changing watches frequently. Now I basically the winder as a display case most of the time.

[sakuraba]

If it's a matter of precision, I don't think winders impact a watch's performance by much. I keep 4 of my watches on a winder, and the 5th on my wrist. All of them maintain COSC all the time.

As for servicing, I think you can stretch the servicing time from 5 to 7 years if you don't wear a watch that often. But if you keep it on a winder, then Rolex's 5 years service interval should be prudent.

I guess that's the cost of convenience.

[Rippin]

Originally Posted by sakuraba

I guess that's the cost of convenience.

Exactly, and that's probably the real reason people have winders.

Sure, it does cost a bit for the convenience, but how many people here drive cars when it's not necessary? Now THAT'S a lot of money put towards convenience. How about those who buy pre-packaged foods? You've just paid for convenience.

Originally Posted by SLS

Ask yourself this, two identical watches are for sale. Each of them is five years old, one has spent its entire life on a winder, the other sitting in a safe completely idle. The choice for me is obvious.

Sure, the choice is obvious, but given the choice between a watch that spends it's entire life in a winder to one that spends it's entire life on someone's wrist - I'd take the one on the winder. No external wear and tear. In the bigger picture, the majority of watches that are purchased are worn, not safe queens.

[Johny]

Hi. Next week I will be listing in the for sale section a new genuine Rolex green leather single watch winder with glass door. What is a fair price to charge for it? It will not be offered for sale anywhere else at this time. This is not an attempt by me to sell my watch winder. I really do need to know what the forum thinks is a fair price as you must state a price when you advertise. Thank you.

Johny

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Johny

Hi. Next week I will be listing in the for sale section a new genuine Rolex green leather single watch winder with glass door. What is a fair price to charge for it? It will not be offered for sale anywhere else at this time. This is not an attempt by me to sell my watch winder. I really do need to know what the forum thinks is a fair price as you must state a price when you advertise. Thank you.

Johny

Hi Johny,

Just a suggestion.......you might want to post this question via PM to some our very reputed sellers here on TRF. I'm sure they will give you a ballpark figure which you could then use in your sales pitch.

Good luck - JJ

[ESKO]

Originally Posted by SLS

Ask yourself this, two identical watches are for sale. Each of them is five years old, one has spent its entire life on a winder, the other sitting in a safe completely idle. The choice for me is obvious. Winders do not harm the watch, but they certainly do cause wear. IMO, save your money and put it towards a nice watch storage box or another watch. As far as keeping the watch lubed, you just fell victim to the marketing of the companies who sell winders!
Scott

I'm buying the cheaper of the two everytime!