Hi all, This seems to be a perennial topic of conversation on watch forums (or is it fora?). Anyway, I've now got enough watches that a watch winder may make sense. I've always thought they were quite expensive for what they were, but I stumbled across this on ebay: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/23086581...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1361Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network Now it ain't exactly pretty, but it is quite cheap. I contacted the seller and got a video, which I can't seem to attach (maybe because it is too big? an MP4 file 6MB) which shows it working like one of those revolving watch displays. Here are two screen shots So, I guess I have two questions for people: - what do people think about watch winders for vintage watches? - is there anything wrong with something like this? Daniel
Most watchmakers I know use that type to test watches on before giving them back to clients, it may not be pretty but it seems effective
As said by another member / watchmaker here: "If you had a vintage Ferrari, would you leave it running in the driveway?". Unless you plan on using the watch almost daily or it has a full calendar and/or moonphase, there's no reason for a winder. Seriously, it doesn't take that long to wind & set a watch. Even the non-quickset dates aren't too much trouble.
Personally, I don't use a winder. More movement = more friction = faster wearing out of parts = quicker service intervals and money spent on replacement of parts. And I love winding up my watches but not no much setting them up though. So unless you have a perpetual calendar which may be a pain to set when it stops, I think you may be better off without putting them on winders and having them run 24/7. Or unless you are like Dennis who switches 3 watches in a day.
What if you're talking a non quickset date watch though and you're setting it so much that you're causing cannon pinion wear, vs running the auto winding mechanism which is designed to take the wear? Both negatives but which is worse, repeat long sets or running?
Sooner or later your watch will need service and parts no matter how you use it. Enjoy it without abusing it, and pay the piper when the time comes.
Nothing cheaper than your wrist. I don't use them - maybe if I owned a mechanical perpetual calendar that would be difficult to keep on resetting but I don't so that solves the problem.
I own a cheapie that I bought at SteinMart for $20. I don't use it for all the reasons noted above. At one point, my watchmaker asked me to try it on a watch I was having some trouble with, just to note performance issues. Other than that, I see no value in watchwinders. Hope this helps, gatorcpa