As I prep to get my first Omega watches (and, as typical of me, I now highly covet two of them, not just one), and do as much research as I possibly can on every aspect of the watches, a question comes to mind that I can't find a thread about with an answer: If you only have a couple of watches, and you have a few days where you are wearing the same one, is it best to keep them both wound daily or let the one you aren't using to just run down? I have seen contradictory advice online. On the one hand: keeping the watches moving keeps everything lubricated and moving. Nothing will get stuck. On the other hand, some are saying that keeping the watches wound when not being needed will wear the parts down unnecessarily. Considering watch winders exist for the automatics, I assume people generally feel that if you only have a couple of watches, you should keep them wound all the time, but I wanted to get this question answered by actual owners of the watches I so covet before I take my plunge. The question is really starting to bug me.
Nothing gets stuck by not running for a few days if the watch is runnnig properly, especially so with modern lubricants. The only reason to keep them running is because setting them can be annoying. Sometimes I don’t bother even with just a date, can't imagine I would set a moonphase or a proper calendar very often.
I suppose if I were back to a few watches a winder might make sense. keeping the works going and saving on wear to the setting mechanism and such..... but when te collection gets up there, 10, 15...20........25............ (and it will now that the bug has bitten) you let them run down because they won't be worn for a month or more and now you are wearing them needlessly by running them in the box. thats one opinion.... lets see where it goes next! cs
Even the lightest lubricants used in watches are quite viscous and the jewels have an oil well in which the lubricants sit. The oils won't run out of the wells so they will sit there until they eventually solidify after many years - typically, they have a shelf life of c. six years. They will also stay put on bushings and other such surfaces. Parts won't suffer because of lack of use but for something like a non quick-set date it does put wear on the setting mechanism if you have to rotate the hands for twenty days, every time you want to wear the watch. With these, I usually choose one that has stopped one or two days before the correct date and take it from there.
No reason to keep them running unless they are difficult to set. Various advice given on forums about keeping lubricants moving does not really apply to watches generally. While watch lubricants are typically very light in terms of viscosity, they are designed to stay in place unlike other oil types, and are also kept in place typically by capillary action. A winder is mostly just a convenience. I use them for watches that do not have quick set dates, have moon phase/month complications (when I had a watch with a full calendar) and for watches I just want to be able to "grab and go." Cheers, Al
I'd rather not put additional wear on my vintage pieces unless necessary. I sometimes don't wind them even when wearing them... (Not even kidding!) I can tell time using my phone or any of a handful of other devices in my surrounding environment.