I have a few n00b questions to pose to the Wizards of Horology out there. My questions fall in two general classes: Curiosity, and Practicality.

CURIOSITY

The 8500 movement has two barrels.

1. Is the spring inside one barrel utilized just for manual winding and the other for rotor (automatic) winding?

or

2. Is one barrel (spring) wound by the rotor's movement in one direction, and the other barrel (spring) wound by the rotor's movement in the opposite direction?; if so, which barrel accepts the manual winding?

3. Is the watch powered by the barrels operating in Series fashion -- meaning one spring is completely un-wound, before being powered by the other spring?

or

4. Is power meted out simultaneously from both barrels in some fashion?; if so, what determines how much power is taken from each barrel?


PRACTICALITY

A long time ago (in a faraway galaxy), someone told me to never keep winding a watch until it couldn't be wound any further, or I'd risk breaking the mainspring or getting it wound so tightly that it could not then un-wind. Accordingly, although I have manually wound my 8500-powered watches on a few occasions, I've only wound them enough to get them through (hopefully) the next day if I'm not planning on wearing the watch the next day.

5. If I keep manually winding an 8500-powered watch, will I eventually get to the point that the crown won't turn anymore in the winding position? if so, is there any risk in winding the watch to that point?

 

Answers below in bold:

Most of all, just wind it, wear it, and enjoy it. Don't sweat the small stuff - the people that design these things do know what they are doing. Unless it tells you not to fully wind it in the manual, you are fine mate.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks, @Archer for your clear and complete responses to my questions! The informational parts to your responses are truly fascinating. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from the Master Wizard himself.

I shall henceforth wind with great joy and enthusiasm