Watch Cleaning

[cstone28]

Does anybody have experience with this product or anything similar?

http://www.veraet.com/

I came across this today but had never heard of it before hand.

 

[little Big feather]

Yes,I've been using it for over a year. Got three bottles...Best stuff for watch cleaning.

 

[cstone28]

Some how I knew you would have the answer Yoda.

 

[global_dev]

Interesting stuff. This was confusing from their writeup

"It feasibly rids your wristwatch of body salts and oils and proves to be an ideal maintenance cleanser between servicing appointments."

Feasibly?

 

[rajagra]

Meh. I stick mine in the ultrasonic cleaner with some Simple Green.

I place it on its side with the crown just above water level. But don't copy me. Seriously.

 

[Marcos1]

I use Veraet and it is a fantastic product. I bought a kit with the soft brush and 2 types of towels and my watch looks amazing. Very simple yet fantastic product.

 

[little Big feather]

Interesting stuff. This was confusing from their writeup

"It feasibly rids your wristwatch of body salts and oils and proves to be an ideal maintenance cleanser between servicing appointments."

Feasibly?

Rolex owners,in general,have only found one fault with the brand...That is ,after 20+ years the band wears out. The theory is, if you keep the
band clean (build-up of particulates in the bands linkage) the band will last a life time. These salts and oils attract dust that actually grinds
and cuts the pins into....So, keep it clean...Know what I mean?.....

 

[global_dev]

yeah i understand, just thought feasibly doesn't have the same connotation to me as proves both mean capable, but just subtle difference.. just interesting word choice

 

[wisemenofgotham]

I have some, it works great.

 

[MichaelG]

I'm a watch nut from way back and I've never used anything like that. For water-resistant watches, i.e., dive watches, etc., I just rinse the watch under the tap with a tiny bit of liquid detergent. If the bracelet is dirty, I use a soft toothbrush, then dry with a soft cloth.

For low water resistant or vintage watches, I just polish with a clean cloth. If there's any grime, etc., I use a bit of Rodico watch putty to get it off.

I touch up my watches occasionally with Cape Cod polishing cloths to restore a shine and remove minor scratches or swirls.

I don't know what's in the product, but I'd venture you could do just as well with eyeglass cleaning spray (or a bit of alcohol in some distilled water in a spray bottle) and a non-scratch cloth.

 

[little Big feather]

I'm a watch nut too...Bought my first ROLEX in 1969.....And no you can't.
The stuff is really, really good.....

 

[joel]

I just use an ultrasonic cleaner with a little dish soap in the water. Zero effort, fast and delivers superb results.

 

[Legion]

For the record, ultrasonics are supposed to be death for automatic watches. I'm glad you guys have had no issues, but everything I've read says that they are a big no no.

 

[joel]

For the record, ultrasonics are supposed to be death for automatic watches. I'm glad you guys have had no issues, but everything I've read says that they are a big no no.

My authorized Rolex Dealer has been using them for almost 20 years without issues. Every time you enter their shop, they'll ask if you'd like them to clean your watch (gratis) which involves an ultrasonic bath.

Another note, when you send in your watch to be serviced to Rolex or Omega according to their marketing materials, they clean the watch in ultrasonic baths with different chemical treatments.

My .02 - if the watch is in good running order, it has been recently serviced (last 5 years) and the manufacturer/dealers use the same method, then I think it's safe. I think far too often folks do stupid things - IE: in screw down crown models, they don't fully screw down the crown, they use hot water in the cleaner instead of room temp, the watch is in poor condition or hasn't been serviced (gaskets replaced and screws tightened to spec) in decades, etc. In those instances, you're begging for disaster.

Before I sold my Omega Seamaster a few years ago, it had over 50 baths in an ultrasonic cleaner in the time I owned it. Never had any issues.

 

[Legion]

My authorized Rolex Dealer has been using them for almost 20 years without issues. Every time you enter their shop, they'll ask if you'd like them to clean your watch (gratis) which involves an ultrasonic bath.

Another note, when you send in your watch to be serviced to Rolex or Omega according to their marketing materials, they clean the watch in ultrasonic baths with different chemical treatments.

My .02 - if the watch is in good running order, it has been recently serviced (last 5 years) and the manufacturer/dealers use the same method, then I think it's safe. I think far too often folks do stupid things - IE: in screw down crown models, they don't fully screw down the crown, they use hot water in the cleaner instead of room temp, the watch is in poor condition or hasn't been serviced (gaskets replaced and screws tightened to spec) in decades, etc. In those instances, you're begging for disaster.

Before I sold my Omega Seamaster a few years ago, it had over 50 baths in an ultrasonic cleaner in the time I owned it. Never had any issues.

Mmmm.... You are probably right, but I'm gonna stick to warm soapy water and a toothbrush, just to be on the safe side. I can just see how it could shake loose tiny screws, or move lubrication from where it should be to where it shouldn't.

Having said that, Ultrasonics are great for cleaning any gunk from between the links of metal watch bracelets and the clasps. I just take them off the watch first.

 

[joel]

Mmmm.... You are probably right, but I'm gonna stick to warm soapy water and a toothbrush, just to be on the safe side. I can just see how it could shake loose tiny screws, or move lubrication from where it should be to where it shouldn't.

Having said that, Ultrasonics are great for cleaning any gunk from between the links of metal watch bracelets and the clasps. I just take them off the watch first.

Depends on the watch. If you have a rough a tough diving watch, designed to take a beating, shock, etc - then worrying about an ultrasonic cleaner would be a little silly. Do you shoot firearms? Do you take off your automatic watches to do so? Cause I can assure you, you're going to get A LOT more vibration from a .45 ACP than a little weenie $60 at home ultrasonic cleaner.

If on the other hand you have 3ATM water resistant dress watches with very delicate movements, or chronographs, then there might be cause for alarm. Again though, if you've got a sport watch, or a watch designed to be tough, you shouldn't have to worry about an ultrasonic cleaner. I don't mean to be a prat, but I think sometimes fellas get a little too OCD about some of their gear and don't realize that most (good) watches are designed to take a lot of abuse and maintain their reliability..... that's one of the reasons they charge a premium. If my premium swiss wristwatches couldn't handle a 2 minutes bath in a cheapie Brookstone ultrasonic cleaner, i'd sell them all and stick to my G-Shocks.

With the above in mind, how often have you read about issues with Breitling, Rolex, Panerai, or Omega watches? For the number of watches they make each years (millions) and for the length of time folks keep them in action (lifetime) the number of issues you read about are surprisingly few and for good reason. Think about how many stupid and abusive things folks do while wearing those tens of millions of watches? They're built tough and designed to handle abuse. In college, I shot 150 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of .45ACP five days a week for three years wearing an Omega Seamaster. Never had an issue.

Ultrasonic cleaners, from my understanding of how they function, aren't abuse. Until I see some proof they are abusive, instead of internet rumors, i'll continue using 'em.

 

[Legion]

You are quite right about being it being OCD, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. I'm in Australia, so no handgun shooting for me, but I do ride mountain bikes a bit, and work on the speed bag at the gym, and I'll admit I take my expensive watches off before I do both. I would probably take them off before shooting pistols too.

Ah well, YMMV. At least it gives me an excuse to own several different watches to choose from, depending on the days activities.

 

[rajagra]

Ultrasonic cleaners work by creating cavitations ('bubbles' of vacuum.) As these cavitations collapse they generate shock waves with huge amounts of pressure, blasting away dirt.
I suspect the pressure is inversely proportional to distance from the collapse - in other words it can tend towards infinity. If you are unlucky and this happens next to a simple seal it will be blown. A quality watch may have such a design that cavitations cannot form next to internal seals but personally I'd keep the weakest seal (crown) out of harm's way

 

[cstone28]

Thanks everyone for your info and opinions, looks like I will be ordering some.

On the topic of ultrasonic cleaners. My AD uses them as well but never on the case, he will dip the band to clean it but keeps the case out of the water. I have never asked why or if submerging the case is a bad idea.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I just use an ultrasonic cleaner with a little dish soap in the water. Zero effort, fast and delivers superb results.

+1, doing so for years