Help me understand proper care for a collection

[Timpointoh]

First I want to say I did try to search the forum before asking this question but I saw a lot of different posts and a lot of different comments/opinions.

I’m relatively new to collecting luxury time pieces. I bought my first piece in 2021 it was a Milgauss (2015) From a collector that had never even worn it. Since then I’ve added a SS Daytona (2021) preowned got my first from my AD brand new Two tone GmT GRNR (2023), I also just bought 2001 14000m blue dial air king. (I also had a Cellini but traded in towards the Daytona)

I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep them on a Winder or not and if I’m supposed to manually wind them up periodically. So far all of them have been wound up once and whenever I put them on, they immediately start keeping time again once I wear them. I guess I wear them often enough. But I am just making it clear. I don’t really know proper general maintenance. Also is it automatic to send off for service after 10 years or sooner?

Would love to just hear proper rotation of wearing, when to wind, and whether not to leave it on the winder as well as any other tips from more experienced collectors. It would be much appreciated.

Also, the 2001 air king was last serviced 2014… Is that something that I should immediately send off to Service or am I OK waiting six months to year and enjoying it a bit before I’m without it for a couple months?

[subtona]

If you wear each of them every few months, that should be enough.

I’m not a fan of servicing a watch until it breaks. That was advice given to me by a watchmaker when I bought my first Rolex in 1990. The advice has served me well.

The daily wear submariner I had was serviced after 15 years and there were zero issues from the long period without service reported to me by the watchmaker.


Side not, many times you bring a watch in and let someone touch, you may find that they do not care for it the way you might. Regardless of where that service occurs.


Patek has been the exception for me.

[Roddypeepa]

I also would service before the movement is shot but if it’s part of a collection I feel as though you can go longer. Probably well
Over a decade. That being said, if you’re relying on water resistance then I’d be careful as a failing seal would be an expensive mistake.

Avoid winders imo unless they are swapping every few days and just long enough that the watch has stopped. And if you lack patience. But with a simple three hander time only it’s not worth it in my opinion. Something without a quick set date can be a faff to set though. But I’d avoid winders personally.

No need to manually wind when there being worn either. Waste of time and the crown and stem are the bit arguably most subject to wear and tear and hence failure.

Welcome to the hobby!


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[fishingbear]

Originally Posted by subtona

If you wear each of them every few months, that should be enough.

I’m not a fan of servicing a watch until it breaks. That was advice given to me by a watchmaker when I bought my first Rolex in 1990. The advice has served me well.

The daily wear submariner I had was serviced after 15 years and there were zero issues from the long period without service reported to me by the watchmaker.


Side not, many times you bring a watch in and let someone touch, you may find that they do not care for it the way you might. Regardless of where that service occurs.


Patek has been the exception for me.

This is the way.

[Moondoggy]

^^^^^Agree 100%

[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by Roddypeepa

I also would service before the movement is shot but if it’s part of a collection I feel as though you can go longer. Probably well
Over a decade. That being said, if you’re relying on water resistance then I’d be careful as a failing seal would be an expensive mistake.

Avoid winders imo unless they are swapping every few days and just long enough that the watch has stopped. And if you lack patience. But with a simple three hander time only it’s not worth it in my opinion. Something without a quick set date can be a faff to set though. But I’d avoid winders personally.

No need to manually wind when there being worn either. Waste of time and the crown and stem are the bit arguably most subject to wear and tear and hence failure.

Welcome to the hobby!


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Agree with everything he said. If the Air King is keeping good time, wear it until it isn’t. If it is running 10 seconds slow a day, get it serviced now. No need for winders. As for rotation, I decide sometimes on a daily basis what to wear. Sometimes I wear a watch for a week or two. It just depends on my mood. There are no rules. It’s entirely up to you.
Roddy gave good advice about waterproofing. If you want to swim with them on, then get them serviced every 5 years. I don’t even shower with mine. Welcome to the forum.

Kat


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[padi56]

Originally Posted by Timpointoh

First I want to say I did try to search the forum before asking this question but I saw a lot of different posts and a lot of different comments/opinions.

I’m relatively new to collecting luxury time pieces. I bought my first piece in 2021 it was a Milgauss (2015) From a collector that had never even worn it. Since then I’ve added a SS Daytona (2021) preowned got my first from my AD brand new Two tone GmT GRNR (2023), I also just bought 2001 14000m blue dial air king. (I also had a Cellini but traded in towards the Daytona)

I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep them on a Winder or not and if I’m supposed to manually wind them up periodically. So far all of them have been wound up once and whenever I put them on, they immediately start keeping time again once I wear them. I guess I wear them often enough. But I am just making it clear. I don’t really know proper general maintenance. Also is it automatic to send off for service after 10 years or sooner?

Would love to just hear proper rotation of wearing, when to wind, and whether not to leave it on the winder as well as any other tips from more experienced collectors. It would be much appreciated.

Also, the 2001 air king was last serviced 2014… Is that something that I should immediately send off to Service or am I OK waiting six months to year and enjoying it a bit before I’m without it for a couple months?

All any watch collection needs is no special pampering especially with Rolex watches. No need for one of those machine winder things, if not use perhaps a small manual wind say once a month or so. And when worn regular just keep Rolex watches clean in plain soap and water rinse well and pat dry with any clean cotton type cloth. As for service if worn regular around 5-8 years if seldom worn then that's up to you.

[brandrea]

Im in Gus’s camp as well, Service only when needed. If they are running fine, leave them be.

I’m not a fan of winders. Winding and setting the time on a mechanical watch is a simple pleasure I enjoy.

[aboutime]

Great collection already OP. Service when it needs it not based on time and no need for watch winders. A service generally includes a polish which you may or may not want so make sure you are clear on your expectations.

[travisb]

I also suggest servicing only when the watch lets you know.
No winders. If not wearing them regularly just a simple wind every month or more.

[Harry-57]

You can do as you see fit. My personal preference is to keep them all in rotation but this can be difficult because there are some watches I particularly like and find difficult to take off. When not in use I put them on winders but I often forget to switch them on! I have them serviced when they go wrong.

I have one watch which is difficult to wind and this always goes on a live winder when I'm not wearing it. This watch is a bit of an anomaly. I once put it away for a few dormant months and when I put it back on it made some alarming noises and would not keep time. I bought my first winder, put the misbehaving watch on it and left it for a week. A week later, once reset, it behaved impeccably for the next 10 years.

[Oxfordian]

Originally Posted by Timpointoh

First I want to say I did try to search the forum before asking this question but I saw a lot of different posts and a lot of different comments/opinions.

I’m relatively new to collecting luxury time pieces. I bought my first piece in 2021 it was a Milgauss (2015) From a collector that had never even worn it. Since then I’ve added a SS Daytona (2021) preowned got my first from my AD brand new Two tone GmT GRNR (2023), I also just bought 2001 14000m blue dial air king. (I also had a Cellini but traded in towards the Daytona)

I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep them on a Winder or not and if I’m supposed to manually wind them up periodically. So far all of them have been wound up once and whenever I put them on, they immediately start keeping time again once I wear them. I guess I wear them often enough. But I am just making it clear. I don’t really know proper general maintenance. Also is it automatic to send off for service after 10 years or sooner?

Would love to just hear proper rotation of wearing, when to wind, and whether not to leave it on the winder as well as any other tips from more experienced collectors. It would be much appreciated.

Also, the 2001 air king was last serviced 2014… Is that something that I should immediately send off to Service or am I OK waiting six months to year and enjoying it a bit before I’m without it for a couple months?

Congratulations, that's a nice collection.

I don't believe in watch winders, I don't see the point in them. Rolex say that your watch should be serviced approximately every 10 years, so if I have my watch on a winder then it will require a service at approx 10 years of age.

However, if I am wearing my watches on rotation I may only need to service them every 12-15 years as the watch isn't getting constant wear as it would on a winder.

Just my thoughts on winders, others may disagree.

As for servicing, well I'll send it in as and when it stops keeping accurate time, that could be 7 years or 20 years or somewhere in between.

If you wear your watches on rotation then that should be sufficient to keep everything inside nicely lubricated.

[majidessa]

I have some what a large collection of 20+ from various brands both luxury and entry models and this what I do:
1- I do not use or own a winder nor I encourage it as it will wear down the watch movement unnecessarily and sooner than needed.
2- I fully wind any watch before I wear, and I also wind watches that have not been worn for more than 2 months or so.
3- I'm in the camp of it ain't broken don't fix unless it is vintage piece. However, from time to time do full inspection, cosmetic, accuracy, power reserve, amplitude, and check for any significant abnormalities / deviations.
4- Get 1 or 2 beat watches. I do not wear my expensive watches in Water or during hard / manaual jobs, these tasks are usually done while I'm wearing wearing Casio's.
5- As for rotation, wear as you like, I personally rotate weekly or according to occasions.

[BraveBold]

Watch winders are of course fine. Equivalent to someone daily wearing a watch (assuming an intermittent or schedule-based winder, not an absolute continuous winding action).

Leaving watches alone and wearing “every so often” is also fine.

I think it all comes down to use cases and convenience. Service intervals depends on use. So the answer to a lot is “common sense” and “it depends”…

[rolexpatek363]

My opinion is that winders are only really useful if you have a perpetual calendar. There's one which IWC make which apparently is so finickity that if you mess up the setting, it has to go back to the factory to be reset properly.

[77T]

While I do keep a couple on a winder, it is only due to laziness with a GMT I use occasionally.

There isn't any particular risk using one though - as long as it is in a safe. That's where my winders are. Keeping a collection has the risk of loss without a safe.

The goal of a collection will drive your rotation. There is no OSFA answer.


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[bp1000]

No need to be too concerned.

I have dropped a box of complicated watches, stood on several submariners and many of them are not wound that often.

Just take them out, wind them 50 times, set the time and wear.

I have serviced a few, a grand complication Patek that got to 10 years, double its recommended service interval and even the on site watch maker at Patek said I didn't need to it was working beautifully despite the age.

I have broken a JLC calendar and a Rolex Datejust with damage. An omega went haywire and all of them were serviced and restored. Everything else is keeping time, solid as a rock. I look for consistency, once they start deviating, they go into service. Rolex has been very stellar generally speaking.

[Neil McCauley]

Originally Posted by Timpointoh

First I want to say I did try to search the forum before asking this question but I saw a lot of different posts and a lot of different comments/opinions.

I’m relatively new to collecting luxury time pieces. I bought my first piece in 2021 it was a Milgauss (2015) From a collector that had never even worn it. Since then I’ve added a SS Daytona (2021) preowned got my first from my AD brand new Two tone GmT GRNR (2023), I also just bought 2001 14000m blue dial air king. (I also had a Cellini but traded in towards the Daytona)

I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep them on a Winder or not and if I’m supposed to manually wind them up periodically. So far all of them have been wound up once and whenever I put them on, they immediately start keeping time again once I wear them. I guess I wear them often enough. But I am just making it clear. I don’t really know proper general maintenance. Also is it automatic to send off for service after 10 years or sooner?

Would love to just hear proper rotation of wearing, when to wind, and whether not to leave it on the winder as well as any other tips from more experienced collectors. It would be much appreciated.

Also, the 2001 air king was last serviced 2014… Is that something that I should immediately send off to Service or am I OK waiting six months to year and enjoying it a bit before I’m without it for a couple months?

I used to have a small winder, for two watches. When I went down to 1 watch briefly I stopped using it though (obviously, i was wearing the watch every day) and then back when i started building my collection up again, I never went back to it.

Now, I keep my watches in storage, and once every week or so, I sit down and wind and set them if they need it. I let them stop, but never for too long.

The way I see it, rightly or wrongly, like the engine in a car, you wouldn't leave it running permanently, nor would you leave it static for a long, long period of time. Too much of either is probably not ideal, although constantly running is probably slightly on the better side of that coin.

I like to give mine a rest, and they'll come to life properly when I want to wear one. Interestingly, when I set my watches, habitually, I do it to the second on each one, all set exactly the same. So in a few days when I come back to the case, I can see which is running slower or faster. None of mine concern me, but they do indeed run a little differently obviously. It's good for me to just keep track for when it comes to service time, to be able to know what they're doing. Not saying this is an essential thing to do, it's just a habit of mine.

[kritameth]

I’m another in the if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it camp. All of mine are modern lubricants so I’m not too worried about rotating, but by nature they’ll all get wore at least every few months. That said, I will say if one day I am in the fortunate position of acquiring an echelon piece, e.g. 5970, 5004, etc., I’d make it a religion to caress it awake least once a month and store it in a temp and humidity-controlled safe.

[Calatrava r]

There isn't much except the obvious.

Keep them somewhat clean using warm soapy water on occasion and store them in a safe place.

[JSolution]

Haven’t even seen some of mine for over 5 years lol

[Timpointoh]

Thanks for the awesome input everybody I really appreciate it. Still reading through everything right now.

[JDsnewwatch]

I wind my watches with 7-8 day power reserves once per week. I wind my Rolexes when I'm ready to wear them. If you must get a watch wet, get a bulletproof watch (I have a solar powered, atomic set g-shock for this). Keep the watches dry or be prepared to get them waterproofed YEARLY. Those gaskets don't last forever and the repair when one fails is a big deal.