Manual Wind or Automatic

Posts

269

Likes

2,421

Börn

·Dec 3, 2019

I am close to purchasing a vintage Rolex. As I scroll through trying to find my treasure, I became intrigued on the differences between the manual wind and automatic.

If you have any guidance or suggestions, please share!

Is the manual wind less expensive to service?

Are there other pros and cons between the two?

 

Posts

334

Likes

1,706

scv55

·Dec 3, 2019

One fact I remember coming across with the oyster precision (I believe) is that because of the screw down crown the manual winding is a bit more annoying than normal. I wore a Speedy Pro every day for 4 years, but adding a screw down crown would seem to become very annoying.

 

Posts

269

Likes

2,421

Börn

·Dec 3, 2019

For me, that would definitely be a con.

 

Posts

1,440

Likes

3,774

Uniqez

·Dec 3, 2019

Imagine unscrewing the crown to wind the watch every day ...

 

Posts

1,069

Likes

2,166

jsducote

·Dec 3, 2019

I have to unscrew the crown if my 2220.80 winds down, which it invariably does every weekend when I don't wear anything. Not the same as every day, but still.

 

Posts

1,388

Likes

850

watch3s

·Dec 3, 2019

yes, the constant need to unscrew an oyster crown to wind it can not be a good thing for the seals, vintage precisions and airkings are a best like a few hundreds to a $1k or so difference if you pay attention to the deals

 

Posts

269

Likes

2,421

Börn

·Dec 3, 2019

I purchased an automatic about 3 hours ago.

 

Posts

453

Likes

1,303

Geezer

·Dec 3, 2019

Man, that is absolutely lovely! love the lume and hands! Congrats

 

Posts

430

Likes

610

speedyproftw

·Dec 3, 2019

Börn

I purchased an automatic about 3 hours ago.

Beautiful piece! Congrats!

 

Posts

346

Likes

288

TropicConnie

·Jan 15, 2020

Manual winders will almost certainly be more affordable to service, as there are fewer parts and therefore less to go wrong, and less time taken to assemble. The Oyster Precision currently strapped to my wrist has a 58 hour power reserve, good enough for needing winding only every two days. I typically rotate to a new watch after two days anyway, so it makes no difference to me if a watch is automatic or manual, they all need to be set and wound when I first strap them on.

 

Posts

993

Likes

1,870

MPWATCH

·Jan 15, 2020

Fall in love with the model & look. Automatic caliber is defiantly going to cost more to service, but a vintage manual caliber may also become pricey if parts aren't around. Try to buy something already serviced if possible.

 

Posts

15,662

Likes

46,800

Canuck

·Jan 15, 2020

J jimcon11

I agree in theory but in practice I've noticed that most watchmakers charge the same for manual vs automatic, but do start ratcheting up the service costs for many other complications. That said, early Rolex and Tudor autowind movements are notorious for having neither the most reliable autowind mechanisms nor availability of parts for them, so it's indeed something to be careful of. A case tube can always be replaced although not always with an original crown in many of the early watches.

Beautiful Datejust there, I much prefer those dauphine hands to the usual batons.

“Most watchmakers charge the same (to service) a manual or automatic”?

Really?

 

Posts

5,076

Likes

15,701

DaveK

·Jan 15, 2020

watch3s

yes, the constant need to unscrew an oyster crown to wind it can not be a good thing for the seals, vintage precisions and airkings are a best like a few hundreds to a $1k or so difference if you pay attention to the deals

Someone posted a short while ago (I think it was here) that they make a note of where the logo is oriented on the crown before they unscrew and wind the watch. They can then screw it down again starting at the same orientation, thus saving some wear on the threads or seals. This might be a bunch of baloney, but for someone who doesn't yet own such a watch, it made a tremendous amount of sense.

 

Posts

346

Likes

288

TropicConnie

·Jan 17, 2020

DaveK

Someone posted a short while ago (I think it was here) that they make a note of where the logo is oriented on the crown before they unscrew and wind the watch. They can then screw it down again starting at the same orientation, thus saving some wear on the threads or seals. This might be a bunch of baloney, but for someone who doesn't yet own such a watch, it made a tremendous amount of sense.

With all my screw down crowns, I just wind it towards me with a little downwards pressure until I hear and feel a slight click, which is the threads aligning. From there I wind it away from me until it's finger tight. So far, I've never had a crown tube fail.

 

Posts

16,305

Likes

45,009

JwRosenthal

·Jan 17, 2020

I rotate my watches daily so that my auto’s with screw down crowns have to be manually wound anyway to get them going and reset the time/date- wouldn’t matter to me if it were manual or auto