Watch Winder Advice from Rolex CS

[Sameeruk]

Hi All -

Appreciate your thoughts on the following: I realize watch winder settings have probably been beaten to death on this forum but I was given some interesting advice by Rolex CS regarding keeping my wife's datejust on a watchwinder (she wears it once a week on average) - they suggested a 800tpd setting (which my winder has), but to keep the winder itself on a timer so that it is 'on' for only 12-14 hours a day, to replicate time spent on the wrist. This seems to make sense to me, but I would imagine that if the winder is only on for 12 hours, then it would need to be on the 1600tpd setting. My question is whether this setting could potentially damage the watch, even though it is 'resting' for 12 hours a day. Or does it make better sense to keep the winder running 'constantly' at 800tpd rather than 12hrs on/12hrs off. I hope this makes sense, and thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[iazrollie]

No damage will be caused. You can't overwind a Rolex.

[T. Ferguson]

You're over thinking it. They gave you a pretty clear recommendation: set the winder at 800 turns per day and keep it on for 12-14 hours per day.

But in any event, as Ian said you can't over wind it.

[bobernet]

Different winders operate differently, but on mine, no matter what TPD setting, it is never running 24/7. Every time it "kicks on" it rotates all watches at the same speed. It cycles on/off a certain number of times each 24 hour cycle to achieve the programmed TPD. Even at a crazy high setting, it's not "running" 12 hours per day.

HTH,
Bob

[sco]

Originally Posted by bobernet

Different winders operate differently, but on mine, no matter what TPD setting, it is never running 24/7. Every time it "kicks on" it rotates all watches at the same speed. It cycles on/off a certain number of times each 24 hour cycle to achieve the programmed TPD. Even at a crazy high setting, it's not "running" 12 hours per day.

HTH,
Bob

Exactly, you do not need to plug it into a wall timer as long as the winder has a long enough "rest" period in between turns

[Sublover2166]

My winder turns 900 rotations per day. It runs for approximately 10 minutes per hour. That is it.

[bobernet]

Oh, and FWIW, all my Rolexes run 650 TPD bi-directional. Mens and Ladies models are set the same. They never run down (unless the power goes out and messes up my winder settings!). 800 is overkill, but not harmful.

[77T]

The settings are not a significant issue for the watch. It can take many more twists and turns than the winder can give it.

The winder motor, on the other hand, will last longer if it runs only as much as necessary to keep the mainspring topped up. The shorter the spring, the fewer turns needed.

[azguy]

Good winders, wind, pause, wind pause, etc

[Robday]

I'm pretty sure that the Wolf winders do all their winding in the first 8 hours, then rest for the next 16.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Sameeruk

Hi All -

Appreciate your thoughts on the following: I realize watch winder settings have probably been beaten to death on this forum but I was given some interesting advice by Rolex CS regarding keeping my wife's datejust on a watchwinder (she wears it once a week on average) - they suggested a 800tpd setting (which my winder has), but to keep the winder itself on a timer so that it is 'on' for only 12-14 hours a day, to replicate time spent on the wrist. This seems to make sense to me, but I would imagine that if the winder is only on for 12 hours, then it would need to be on the 1600tpd setting. My question is whether this setting could potentially damage the watch, even though it is 'resting' for 12 hours a day. Or does it make better sense to keep the winder running 'constantly' at 800tpd rather than 12hrs on/12hrs off. I hope this makes sense, and thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Here's the real deal.

A winder doesn't run 24/7, it only runs to give you the set number of turns you want. So, it is senseless to put it on a timer because you then won't know anything about how many times it "turned" your watch.

Almost all charts for winders say that a Rolex 3135 movement only needs around 600/650 turns a day, use that setting.

Yes, it is unnecessarily wearing your watch out if you use more turns. While it is true that you cannot over-wind your Rolex (in that you cannot overwind the mainspring and break it), when you do wind it more than necessary then the mainspring is slipping inside the barrel it is wound inside of. This constant slipping will eventually wear out the detent stops that hold the mainspring in place and your watch will not be able to be fully wound..

[Sameeruk]

Thank you for all the responses, which are very helpful. We have the Brookstone winder (latest model) for this watch, which I think is actually quite good. If I am doing my math correctly, here is how the winder works (based on the manual and 650tpd):

Scenario 1: If I put the winder on the 650tpd setting, it will turn, pause/rest 133 seconds then turn again, and continue this cycle. The winder itself is not on a timer. This will give 650tpd (based on a 24hr cycle)

Scenario 2: If the winder is on the 650tpd setting, but is on a timer and only runs for 12 hours a day (with 12hrs per day 'off') with a pause of 133 seconds between turns, then total effective tpd is only 325tpd

Scenario 3: To get to an effective tpd of 650 with the winder on a 12 hour timer (to mimic time on wrist) I would need to set the winder to roughly 1300tpd with an interval of approx 65 seconds or so between turns.

Sorry to belabor this - My original thought, based on the conversation with Rolex CS to mimic the watch being on the wrist, was to follow scenario 3, but based on the responses I've received, it seems like I am over-thinking this and the best thing is to stick to Scenario 1 and do away with the timer. Wrist-time mimicing be darned :-)

Originally Posted by Tools

Here's the real deal.

A winder doesn't run 24/7, it only runs to give you the set number of turns you want. So, it is senseless to put it on a timer because you then won't know anything about how many times it "turned" your watch.

Almost all charts for winders say that a Rolex 3135 movement only needs around 600/650 turns a day, use that setting.

Yes, it is unnecessarily wearing your watch out if you use more turns. While it is true that you cannot over-wind your Rolex (in that you cannot overwind the mainspring and break it), when you do wind it more than necessary then the mainspring is slipping inside the barrel it is wound inside of. This constant slipping will eventually wear out the detent stops that hold the mainspring in place and your watch will not be able to be fully wound..

[Racerdj]

Welcome! Some timers like the Wolf Meridian 2.7 I have rests between cycles of turns.

[DJJon]

Well if using a winder shortens some aspect of the life of the movement, how does that compare to wearing your watch 24/7 ???

Silly to worry about with a Rolex. Maybe an issue with cheaper movement, but not a Rolex.

[Rock]

I bought a cheap winder off eBay a couple of years ago.
It has 4 settings and absolutely NO information about number of TPD, but observation reveals that they all do 112 turns/hr (turn 2 mins then rest 6 mins) which means the required 650 TPD is achieved in about 6 hours.
Why you would build a winder to do approx. 2700 TPD I can't imagine but it just means that I switch it off after about 7 hours and it and the watches rest for the other 17 hours/day.
( be good to have a little gauge on the back of the watch to show 'state of wind')