Watch winders? ANY suggestions?

[tacotaco]

Hi gang,

Was wondering if anyone has had experiences with watch winders? Make and Model that won't hurt the taco budget would be ideal. Robustness, aesthetics and durability are key factors

thanks,

taco

[ShneaSIG]

I've been using an Orbita with the rotowind action. I have this one: http://store.orbita.com/product_p/w07013.htm

[KarlS]

Loads of threads. Just do a search. Chers

[77T]

Wolf winders are good too.

[T. Ferguson]

I don't have use for one but the two already mentioned, Orbita and Wolf, seem to come up most often around here.

[Speed]

I prefer the winder connected to my arm - just before my hand. I.e. My wrist. 😁

[Sublover2166]

Middle of the road good quality and reasonable price=Wolf

Higher end and much more expensive=Orbita

Mine is an Eilux, but unfortunately they are no longer imported into the US, so when I can no longer fix it I will purchase a Wolf.

[Rocket_Man]

Originally Posted by tacotaco

Hi gang,

Was wondering if anyone has had experiences with watch winders? Make and Model that won't hurt the taco budget would be ideal. Robustness, aesthetics and durability are key factors

thanks,

taco

Whenever this topic comes up, expect half the replies to be 'you don't need a winder' which is true. But I use a winder for convenience. So if you choose to use a winder, buy a good one. Cheaper ones can magnetize your watch. Good winders aren't cheap but you can find them on the used market. I use Orbital Rotowind. I bought it 2nd hand and it is like new. Very quiet. I have it in the bedroom and it is silent. There are other good brands but I'm sticking to Orbita. Just my choice.

[jnelson3097]

Originally Posted by ShneaSIG

I've been using an Orbita with the rotowind action. I have this one: http://store.orbita.com/product_p/w07013.htm

Just got one of these as well and love it

[MonBK]

Orbita is the only one that counts.

[Howie]

I went through a number of relatively lower priced winders from eBay; while they looked ok the motor would always die within a year. Then I bought an Orbita and it has been running silently and perfectly for years now.

[Racerdj]

I have been using a Wolf Designs 6 bay without any problems.

[Speed]

Do you really want a winder - assuming you have a Rolex or two - and the only complication you have is a Date - or perhaps a GMT?

[Tony64]

Hard to beat a Wolf for the money. Make sure that whatever you get that it's programmable.

[Sublover2166]

Originally Posted by Howie

I went through a number of relatively lower priced winders from eBay; while they looked ok the motor would always die within a year. Then I bought an Orbita and it has been running silently and perfectly for years now.

The Mabuchi motors that power the majority of the medium grade winders can be had on Amazon for less than 10 dollars a piece. If you are slightly mechanically inclined, these winders can be fixed and maintained very easily.

[Pangit]

I have a wolf single watch winder which I use for my GMT. I have been using for about 8 months. Very pleased with it.

[KarlS]

Wolf is a great brand and their service is fantastic

[Rock]

I have a "no-name" brand off eBay ($90. in 2013) which works really well (Mabuchi motor) and looks like a lot more expensive. I will be buying another one when this one fails.

[KarlS]

Top end is Buben, SwissKubik, Scatola, and a few others, many of which can cost more than the watches! I did a review on the Chrono Vision but if the Wolf Modular 4.1 had battery it would be my favourite

[1William]

I have owned both expensive and less so winders. In the end the motors on all of these winders go out. Save yourself some money and look at the winders at Brookstone. I have owned two now and at what is a reasonable price they are deposable. My first one made it almost 4 years and the second one is starting year 3. I would rather save the money and put it toward another watch.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by 1William

I have owned both expensive and less so winders. In the end the motors on all of these winders go out. Save yourself some money and look at the winders at Brookstone. I have owned two now and at what is a reasonable price they are deposable. My first one made it almost 4 years and the second one is starting year 3. I would rather save the money and put it toward another watch.

If that's true, there's the most compelling reason against winders I've heard in the "Winder Wars", LOL! I'm surprised to hear this though and I'm guessing many are going to come in here and disagree with your overall assessment. Though I'm not a winder guy, I'd think a decent electric motor could last awhile. I had a cheap Hotpoint refrigerator that only recently quit after 25 years of trouble free service. I think those motors work a lot harder than one that winds watch and they are pretty quiet. Cost-wise, most of these winders go for what a small refrigerator goes for.

[Sublover2166]

The motors that run these winders can be found on Amazon for less than 10 dollars a piece. If you have basic soldering skills and are mechanically inclined it is very simple to take the winder apart and disassemble the motor/gearbox assembly and install a new motor. I have already had my winder apart to service it. These motors are small and have barely any magnetic fields to magnetize the watch. They sit behind an all plastic gearbox housing and an all plastic rotating barrel (the part your watch on it's mount sits in). On my winder the motor is so far away from the watches and isolated there is no chance of being magnetized. Now would I use a very cheap winder? No. These usually rotate constantly 600-800 turns and then remain idle for the rest of the day. My winder's circuits are programmed to rotate the watches for 10 minutes every 2 hours. This cycle happens throughout the day. This is the difference between the cheap junk and the better quality winders.

[Rock]

Uh no, the cheap winder I have (see above) has several modes. The mode I use runs 2 mins (14 rotations) and rests 6 mins. I use that for about 10 hours a day and it sleeps when I sleep. (It also does the 10mins every two hours cycle)
As you say, it doesn't magnetise the watches.

[Speeding911]

Originally Posted by 1William

I have owned both expensive and less so winders. In the end the motors on all of these winders go out. Save yourself some money and look at the winders at Brookstone. I have owned two now and at what is a reasonable price they are deposable. My first one made it almost 4 years and the second one is starting year 3. I would rather save the money and put it toward another watch.

[R1@160@alltimes]

Another non watch winder owner here. I prefer to hand set and wind my watches when it's wrist action time.

[Brenngun]

Boxy (link below). Been running a set of 4 on a power strip base for 5 years with absolutely no problems of any kind. You can pick it up on Amazon for $200.00 and have enough cash left over for an extra taco. Singles also available for $60e. You can thank me later.

http://www.watchwinder.com.tw/products/

[rebel_1]

Orbita Sparta for me. I have (4) total. Always works great on watches with movements that wind in both directions. On movements that only wind in one direction like a 7750, it doesn't work very well. Many will chime in saying you don't need a winder. I personally like having them.

[Rockrolex]

I've got thee Brookstone quad winders, two of which having been running great for about 5 years. They are all silent and each motor (12 in total) is separately programmable to run CW, CCW, or bi-directional with at least 4 settings. The quad winder runs slightly more than $200 at brookstone.com. I'm thinking of getting a fourth one so I can keep all my automatics on winders.

[Sublover2166]

Originally Posted by Speed

Do you really want a winder - assuming you have a Rolex or two - and the only complication you have is a Date - or perhaps a GMT?

Yes! Some days especially weekend projects I don't wear either of my Subs and it is nice that my winder keeps them going when I am ready to strap one on the next day. Not a fan of constantly hand winding and setting the time/date when the watch has run down and stopped.

[Speed]

Originally Posted by Sublover2166

Yes! Some days especially weekend projects I don't wear either of my Subs and it is nice that my winder keeps them going when I am ready to strap one on the next day. Not a fan of constantly hand winding and setting the time/date when the watch has run down and stopped.

You may enjoy a Quartz.
😬