Been looking through some old threads, and I've seen both side of the coin on this one. And what is B&B for, if not re-hashing a topic and beating an already deceased thoroughbred? Are watch winders just for guys who are too lazy to wind/adjust time when their watch has been sitting too long? Not that I need one currently, just got my 1st automatic yesterday. But I know too well how AD's can strike and I want to be fully prepared.
Are automatic watch winders a waste of money?
- Thread starter the_edski
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I would like to buy one, but cant muster up the cost for it. Sometimes, on my days off, I can not wear a watch. When I go to put it on again, of course it is dead. So, I would like to put it into a winder and not have to worry about it.
No, they are not a waste. I have two Omega Seamaster automatics and I keep them in a winder box. I tend not to wear a watch on weekends and would need to readjust one of the two every Monday
The main benefit isn't having a fully wound watch, it is not having to screw/unscrew the crown - which is darn easy to cross-thread. It seems like such an easy thing to avoid...until you do it and pay the repair bill.
The winder box was inexpensive, looks nice, and keeps my two automatic watches ready to wear - well worth it.
The main benefit isn't having a fully wound watch, it is not having to screw/unscrew the crown - which is darn easy to cross-thread. It seems like such an easy thing to avoid...until you do it and pay the repair bill.
The winder box was inexpensive, looks nice, and keeps my two automatic watches ready to wear - well worth it.
+1. My situation as well.
I don't mind setting my watch in the morning, like the rest of my archaic routine . . . .
If you are like me and have one watch, I think it would be. I wear it everyday. For those with a rotation I think they make great sense.
^This. I have several watches so I see value added in a winder. When I only had one automatic I did not. So what I'm saying is that you should get a winder in order to "need" more watches. 
I love vintage watches and have several automatics on hand. I don't want a winder keeping the watches running at all times, wearing the movements. I just start 'em up as I need 'em. Of course it helps if one particularly doesn't like any day/date function on his watches as I do and so won't own such a watch.
That's the B&B spirit^This. I have several watches so I see value added in a winder. When I only had one automatic I did not. So what I'm saying is that you should get a winder in order to "need" more watches.
The man with a watch always knows what time it is. The man with several never does. Or, does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?
I certainly wouldn't bother unless you considered purchasing a "complicated" watch. To set the time and date and wind a 3-hand watch doesn't take long at all.
Good point. My Invicta has roughly 30 hours reserve. If I don't wear it on my days off I will be resetting it. It only takes a moment. But, as someone else brought up, I am very careful about locking the crown down when done. I could see where that would be terribly easy to strip.
Also please remember that some automatics don't wind with the crown and can only be wound on a winder or the wrist. Seiko in particular recommends several minutes of side-to-side movement (for those that won't hand wind) to put a little tension on the mainspring prior to first wear. Without a little winding the watch will be erratic and may stop soon after you put it on, especially since so many of us sit in front of a computer most of the day with little arm movement.
Watch winder. They are not that bad from a price point, unless you go to get a high end ($$$) winder. I had a cheap winder for four watches from ebay that lasted some 11 years, not bad. Now I have two for two watches each, and they were about $100 each, if they also last that long, the cost is worth it....
I own 7 watches, and wear them all frequently in rotation. I have a habit of changing watches as I change clothes during the day/evening. I don't use a winder, but I am a "time only" guy. All of mine show time and date only, and my eyes are such that I can't see the damn date anyway. I wind when I put them on; seems a gentlemanly routine for me.
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
I've two winders, one from the Bay that still runs like new after a decade or so, which is to say it does too many turns for the watches requirements and sounds only vaguely quieter than a cement mixer. The other is deathly quiet, and each of the three rotors can be programmed to fit a specific watch model independent of the other. But it cost a pretty penny .. Both are nicely finished, operate off either AC or DC/batteries, and attract dust
Then there's some debate as to whether using a winder prematurely wears an automatic watch. With modern lubricants some opine that it is better to let the watch sit idle. Others say that if not worn the lubes get all gummed up. In either event an automatic watch will require rebuilding at some point anyway. I just hope there's someone around capable of doing so down the road.
I like being able to just select a watch and put it on, but must admit the only one that it really matters is the Triple Lunar, which takes a quarter hour to set (after digging out the instruction booklet) the time, day, date, and moonphase, not counting having to look up the correct lunar display ..
The hand winders obviously won't benefit from a winder, I do wear them often enough so the lube gets stirred around regularly. Neither the Speedy nor the PAM has a date complication ..
Then there's some debate as to whether using a winder prematurely wears an automatic watch. With modern lubricants some opine that it is better to let the watch sit idle. Others say that if not worn the lubes get all gummed up. In either event an automatic watch will require rebuilding at some point anyway. I just hope there's someone around capable of doing so down the road.
I like being able to just select a watch and put it on, but must admit the only one that it really matters is the Triple Lunar, which takes a quarter hour to set (after digging out the instruction booklet) the time, day, date, and moonphase, not counting having to look up the correct lunar display ..
The hand winders obviously won't benefit from a winder, I do wear them often enough so the lube gets stirred around regularly. Neither the Speedy nor the PAM has a date complication ..
I have one somewhere, I didn't care for it, and I can't even remember the name brand. I perfer manual wind mechanical watches.
This is how I am too.. It's just part of the routine of winding and setting the watch when I put it on. It's something that I don't even thing about. But I can see the benefits of a watch winder. But it's just not for me. I like spending the extra couple of min getting ready. Kinda of like wet shaving to me. Helps slow me down a big.
Plus, the money spent on a winder can buy some cigars.
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- #19
I have three automatics. I don't see the point of a winder for myself.
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