Isnt it hard on the rolex not to be on a watch winder when not in use? I see some in

[Tony64]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

I've yet to walk into an AD and see any, much less all, the watches on winders. Instead they all seem to just be sitting there, deteriorating I guess.

I've considered the example of the AD as well to explain the folly of winders.
True I've never seen a watch on a winder at an AD, but the watches aren't exactly motionless either. They are probably picked up and handled several times a day and for sure each morning and evening they are taken from their display case and secured in the safe. That 'activity', however limited it may be, is not the equivalent of a watch sitting motionless in your dresser drawer and must impart some kinetic energy to activate the movement and circulate the oils.

For what it's worth I went years adamantly opposed to winders, even returning a beautiful one that my wife got me one year for my birthday. I'm since a convert and now keep many of my watches on winders when not on the wrist. For me at least, any of my watches with screwdown crowns or with complications beyond a basic date, are kept at the ready on a wolf winder.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by MariettaMike

When winding a stopped automatic watch, how many turns do you make when setting your watch? I'm afraid of over winding my stopped watch and think using a watch winder will be less stress on the main spring.

A modern Rolex automatic cannot be overwound, so wind away to your hearts content.

[liuk3]

Let's be real. The vast majority of guys don't but a winder 'cause they need it. They buy it because it's another toy to play with. LOL. It's not that hard to set the vast majority of watches out there before you wear it if the piece has wound down completely. I keep trying to resist my own temptations to get one cause I know they are completely unnecessary. Boys sure love their toys.

[watchwatcher]

Nope. Not at all.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Flyingz06

cases and people just have them laying in there. I thought you wanted to keep the movements going

Take movements like say the cal 3135 they are made in there hundreds of thousands every year.Now they send them to the COSC for testing and then returned to Rolex and stored till they are needed to be matched to a case.So Rolex must have a huge stock of these movements just sat on shelves all stopped in plastic boxes, so a movement in any particular case could be weeks,months or even a year plus old before its cased.And it will do no harm whatsoever to let any movement stop and rest till its needed to tell the time on the finest watch-winder in the world called wrists.

[crowncollection]

Never uses one


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[enjoythemusic]

Only use for a winder imho is if you have a annual/perpetual calendar/moonphase and you've grown tired of setting it due to not wearing it for a few weeks. If months were going to pass between wrist time, then just manually reset things before wearing it. Since Rolex does not make such complications (generally), no winder needed. Simply wind it every couple of months when not in use to keep the oils 'flowing'. JMHO

[xQx]

Clearly I'm in the minority, but I use a winder and love it. To many people (it seems) the ritual of getting a watch out, setting the time and winding it up is part of the fun of having a mechanical watch. I, however, purchased an automatic - rather than wind-up - watch to avoid the inconvenience of having to wind the damn thing every time I want to use it. Leaving a watch on the winder means it's ready to go when I want it.

Secondly, there is plenty of literature saying that you should get all your watches out once a week and move them around to keep the oil moving. Yes, having a watch on a winder means the gears are always 'ticking', but they're not being subjected to the jolts bumps of being on a wrist. So, if you're not going to use the watch for six months, you've got to pick a school of thought - do you risk letting the oil set, or do you let it get six months of 'wear' by unnecessarily ticking. If you wear the watch at least once a month, there's no benefit (other than convenience) of having it on a winder.

So, can we all agree that it _might_ be better to have your watch on a winder, but it also _might not_. It certainly isn't justification to go out and buy a winder.

All that said - I accidentally pulled the crown right out of my Bulova Super Seville the other month, and had a local watchmaker put it back in for me. It's never been the same since, and doesn't seem to manually wind. It does, however, wind using its automatic movement, so keeping it on a winder means I can keep wearing the watch, and don't risk breaking it every time I wear it because the winder's kept it wound and on the correct time.

So having your Automatic watch on a winder does reduce wear on your crown mechanism ... but Rolex's build quality means you shouldn't really need to be worried about that.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by xQx

So having your Automatic watch on a winder does reduce wear on your crown mechanism ... but Rolex's build quality means you shouldn't really need to be worried about that.

Again just another of the many internet Rolex myths what about the manual wind watches with screw down crowns Rolex included.Now they got wound up daily for decades without any problems,and quite the opposite many crown,and stem related problems are simply down to the winding crown not being used enough.What do you think the winding crown is for its not there just for show its for winding the watch..But if any watch is stored stopped then all it needs once a month or so is a small wind just to start the movement.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by xQx

...So having your Automatic watch on a winder does reduce wear on your crown mechanism ... but Rolex's build quality means you shouldn't really need to be worried about that.

There's two schools of thought on this as well. I had problems with a the crown on a 16610 of mine that I had not worn for a few years, but never touched it in that time. My watchmaker (has worked on only Rolex for 30+ years) said that crown/stem problems arise most often from not using them.

YMMV.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

There's two schools of thought on this as well. I had problems with a the crown on a 16610 of mine that I had not worn for a few years, but never touched it in that time. My watchmaker (has worked on only Rolex for 30+ years) said that crown/stem problems arise most often from not using them.

YMMV.

You learn something every day - thanks! I'd believe that.

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

Read this:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showpost....0&postcount=57

Very Interesting! Point 3 is a valid concern - I guess it's better reason to buy a good winder if you're going to buy one, don't just buy a cheap one for the sake of your watches. I disagree with point 1,2 & 4 though - If you've got a good winder, having a watch on a winder is easier on the watch than having it on your wrist, and there's plenty of watchmakers who would recommend against leaving a watch for ages not moving because of the oil pooling - Most winders allow you to wind in opposing directions to avoid a specific wear pattern. But point 3 is an opinion call - "Unless you're too old, or have some kind of medical condition that prevents you from having the feeling in your fingertips to wind the crown, I don't see a reason to need a winder." - I fit into none of those categories, but see it as entirely inconvenient to have to wind and set a watch every time I want to wear it. Point 1 is simple user education - if you wear the watch then put it straight on a winder after you take it off, it doesn't matter if it's 'kept wound' or 'wound up' by the winder.

I guess the summary is: Don't buy a watch winder because it's better for your watch. Service your watch every 5 years and it won't matter if it's in the back of a cupboard unused or on a winder unused. There's pro's and cons's for each. Buy a winder if you want your watch ready to wear, save your money if you don't mind setting it.

Originally Posted by Cryten

How long does a watch sit in the dealership before it's sold? Some sit there for many years and Rolex still warranty them new. If this was a concern surely the manufacturer would have them on winders.

You have more faith in a retailer than I do. I think Rolex only cares that the watch works until the end of its warranty period, and my AD only cares that the watch works until I walk out of the store. When the watch is at the AD, it's new, and so is the oil. If they get one in every hundred that stops because of inactivity and they have to send it back to the RSC to get it fixed, that's cheaper than them buying winders for every watch. I don't think it's safe to read that much into it.

Consider this: In Japan, there are laws that make it very expensive to own a car more than five years old. As a result, people buy cars and use them knowing that it will be scrapped at the end of five years. Therefore, many skip _every_ scheduled service. The cars work, but at the end of five years they're in far worse shape than in Australia where they get serviced basically annually from new. It's moral hazard - it's not rational to spend money doing something when somebody else is going to reap the rewards and you are not.

I'd say Rolex watches are built well enough to be bumped around on your wrist for 10 years between services. So as long as you service your watch regularly (see your Rolex manual), it doesn't matter a scrap if it's on a winder, in a safe or on display - it's going to be in far better shape than if it were on your wrist that whole time.

tl;dr: Stop worrying about how you store your watch and start getting it serviced when you're supposed to.

[landroverking]

You leave your car running?
Watch winders are only if you want to grab and go.

[modee]

There is no question that letting a mechanical watch tick every now and then is better for it than leaving it frozen for years on end.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showpost....2&postcount=40

It is however an interesting debate as to whether the other extreme, leaving it in a winder constantly, will wear it out sooner.

I'll tell you though, and those of us who have watch winders should be able to confirm, few winders are even capable of the necessary movement to keep all automatic watches running. Put for example an older automatic Daytona in a winder, next to a brand new one in the second slot of the winder, and the winder might keep the newer one running but end up doing not much at all for the older one. This winder ability to keep the automatic running indefinitely varies depending on the watch brand and model too.

In general too the winder wears out and needs repair before you'll see any issues with the watches. I have at least two winders that have become nothing more than unmoving storage slots. I keep them out for cool looking display storage of watches I wear more often.

[eterna]

The winder are more for those watches with complications. Time only watches probably dun need them. I have a winder because I just want to grab my watch n go without having to set the time n date.

[Tony64]

Originally Posted by eterna

The winder are more for those watches with complications. Time only watches probably dun need them. I have a winder because I just want to grab my watch n go without having to set the time n date.

Agree. Having an annual or perpetual calendar and letting it run down to a stop only to reset it each time you wear it completely defeats the purpose IMO.

Although when alternating between a complicated Patek during the week and a Sub on the weekend, I do keep the Sub on a winder. True it's a simple time only watch, but unscrewing the crown every week seems excessive. I know, I know, it's built to take it, but still it seems needlessly excessive for a watch that's worn every weekend, and sits during the week.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by landroverking

You leave your car running?

Watch winders are only if you want to grab and go.

No, but I leave my computer in sleep mode rather than shutting it down each night, nor do I turn off my broadband router when i leave the house.

They wire your radio up to the battery in the car so it can keep time when you turn the car off, because most people would find it tedious to set the time on their car clock every time they want to go for a drive.


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[TonyD]

I thought the consensus is to let them run down and then give them a wind every 4-6 weeks just for good measure to keep the oils moving etc. That is what I do. All watches are in the bank vault. I stop by every once in a while and wind them up.

I do own 1 winder and use it for the rare occasion when I want to switch between 2 watches for a few weeks every other day.

[GB-man]

Not needed whatsoever unless you loathe setting your watch or own a PC like god.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Flyingz06

cases and people just have them laying in there. I thought you wanted to keep the movements going

A watch that has run down and stopped is incurring zero wear.

A watch on a winder is slowly grinding down and wearing itself out since it is running all the time.

Nothing wrong with either approach since watches can run for decades before failure; but there is absolutely no evidence that a watch movement "must" be kept running all the time.