Winders

[AardTech]

Recently got my first Rolex as some of you may know.

I see a lot of things on here about people who have winders and I'm wondering about the benefits of these.

I don't wear my watch all the time as I do some techy stuff and don't want it to get knocked about. So, when he's sleeping in his nice box does it have any effect (adverse or otherwise) if I wind it up to wear it, then it winds down again because it's not worn for 3 days or so. Then I wind it up again ... and so on.

Or does it not really make a difference from a 'maintenance' perspective?

Thanks guys.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Watch winders are more of a convenience than a necessity.

If you would have a very complicated watch like a Patek Philippe or IWC perpetual calendar, a watch winder comes in handy so that you do not have to adjust the whole calendar if the watch has stopped.

But for a Rolex where you would only have to adjust the date, I do not believe you need a watch winder. So I would just let it stop and give it a full 40 windings before wearing it again.

A long term "rest" of the watch would definately NOT harm the watch! Modern watch lubrication oils are synthetic and would not dry out like the oils used in older watches.

When you are wearing your watch, the parts are actually being exposed to WEAR AND TEAR. And if you are keeping the watch constantly moving on a watch winder, this means even MORE wear and tear.

Therefore a watch winder has no positive effect on the watch whatsoever, but is a mere practical device to keep it going.

[AardTech]

thanks.

I presume it is not possible to over-wind it? You say a full 40 windings; by that you mean 40 full rotations of the crown?

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by AardTech

thanks.

I presume it is not possible to over-wind it? You say a full 40 windings; by that you mean 40 full rotations of the crown?

Yes, you wind it with about 40 FULL rotations.

Yo cannot overwind a Rolex. There is a safety clutch in the movement that prevent overwinding.

Have a read about "winding and setting your watch" here:

FAQ's: "Winding setting your watch! CLICK and scroll a bit down!

[AardTech]

thanks Bo. Was just reading your other thread; should have done my research first, eh?

[watchnut]

I agree with Bo that a winder isn't necessary on a non-complicated watch. Personally I think that if you weren't wearing a watch for maybe a week or two at a time, it wouldn't be an issue. However, if you wear one for a day or two, then another the same, you would be setting/winding a watch every few days. IMO that would get to be a pain.

[AardTech]

nah, the cheap and nasty one I wear when tinkering with tech is a $10 quartz :)

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by Spacedweller

A long term "rest" of the watch would definately NOT harm the watch! Modern watch lubrication oils are synthetic and would not dry out like the oils used in older watches.

When you are wearing your watch, the parts are actually being exposed to WEAR AND TEAR. And if you are keeping the watch constantly moving on a watch winder, this means even MORE wear and tear.

Well I have a few winders but don't always use them. While I agree that keeping a watch running obviously involves more wear than not running, I doubt there is much difference in practice. I don't think I would keep a watch I only wore a few days a year in a winder, but those in rotation probably get as abused via repeated crown manipulation as the do from running. The entire 8-10 day power reserve on some Panerai watches is based on slower loss of water resistance at the crown stem than watches needing to be wound every couple of days. Of course, it's nice to just put it on and not have to mess with the complication functions. Moonphase is a real pain to reset properly.

Interesting comment on the lubes. Don't know enough to dispute it, but have read many times that winders / regular wearing help keep the lube properly dispersed. Again that may be old news.