Seiko Club Singapore Museum

Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

004
Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
The question that i need answered , but get many various reply's is -

Must you continually keep a Automatic watch running ?

Does leaving the watch to stop till you need it again , going to hurt it ?

Do the oil's & lubricants clog up , if unused ?

Honest answer's would appreciated :)
Cosmograph
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
It's personal preference. Some people prefer to have winders to keep the watch running so that minimal work is required when they want to pick it up to use. Will that wear out the internals? think that's a personal opinion and decision. I for one have not seen compeling evidence that one method is better than the other. For others, they don't see the need and don't mind winding and adjusting the piece to wear.



Servicing is a separate issue and once again it depends on which camp you belong to. Some would service under 5 years, others just keep it going till it stops or when problems arises. You have to find what works best for you and no one here can tell you which is better.



Personally don't have a winder (yet) have not seen the need for it either. Sounds ideal though. But haven't pulled the trigger. Servicing, I'll cross that bridge when I need to.



Hope you find what's most suitable for you. Other fellow bros here will chime in their own xp. :D
Ed.YEO
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
Generally, when you popped that same question to most of the collector's here... you get different answers.

Some gets a winder each for their watch collection.

Some don'ts.



Personally, i have close to 20 SWISS Automatics, in addition, to date another 7 more complicated auto-chronos. And i don't use any winders on them. Unless if your watch movement is a more complex one, such as the SWISS 7751 Chronograph with moonphase as well as full calender display, you'll need that for sure as changing the dates or moonphase is quite a pain in the ass, not to mention, where there are specific timing restriction that you cannot make changes to the complex movement. This will be where the winder comes in to help.

There're some folks using winders on their watches, be it expensive makes or cheap grails. I couldn't say that they're wrong, in certain sense, it's about the ease and convenience of "grab and go" where they need not to tune their watches to the correct time on that specific day when they choose to put on another watch different from the previous days.



Newer generation lubricants used in recent year watches doesn't clog easily. Clogging are much dependant on how much wrist-time that watch gets to be with you how often. Should that particular watch is your daily beater, 24x7, 7x52, 52x?yrs, the severity of clogging will eventually slows down your watch, as well as affecting it's power reserve.

Of course, there're some other factors that may cause clogging... hmm... i wonder, does the change of climate in Australia in various seasons contributes to clogging as well...?



Watch winder necessity, also might be determined from individuals mentality/personal preference.

Most of us who have handled SEIKO 7s2x or 7s3x as well as other Japanese ones from CITIZEN or ORIENT movements knows jolly well that the movements does not hacks, may not even hand windable. So, some folks might just couldn't stand to see that their watches goes to rest after the springs fully unwind by itself if this individual have an habit of changing different watch every single day, so as his/her collection grows with different movements. Watch-winder jumps in to save their day!



Back to myself, with more than 20 autos on hand, how do i play around with all these watches?

Hacking... is the most commonly used method i used. Let's say today i put on a SEIKO World timer with that hackable movement, 4r36, wearing it for the whole day, the springs could have be fully wound by night before i remove it off from my wrist. I would either simply hack the movement, change the time to 0800hrs, then place it to the drawer. Take another piece, either change the time and date on the spot, press down and let the next watch run till the next day, or i do that the next day such that the power reserve is not wasted. I couldn't do the latter to the 7s3x movements, that's why you might have noticed in my previous posts, my SEIKO Military doesn't get too much wrist time with me...
004
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
^^

Thanks guy's for your informative answers , i wanted expert opinion's , am happy to let my Auto's wind down to a stop when not in use . Then when needed wind them up & adjust them as required , my watches dont have complex adjustment's .



P.S So it doesnt hurt my watches to let come to a stop & remain so till next used ?
fireal
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
this has been discussed a billion times







my two cents: the more the watch runs, the greater the wear and tear



id rather leave the watch non running and only wind it when im wearing it

i have watches that are 50-60 years old , new old stock never worn that are still running perfect





think about it would u rather a watch with some minimal oil clog which can be cleaned

or a a watch movement with a broken gear
004
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

"fireal"

this has been discussed a billion times







my two cents: the more the watch runs, the greater the wear and tear



id rather leave the watch non running and only wind it when im wearing it

i have watches that are 50-60 years old , new old stock never worn that are still running perfect





think about it would u rather a watch with some minimal oil clog which can be cleaned

or a a watch movement with a broken gear


Sorry to ask the question , being it's been flogged to death in past posts . Your reply makes perfect sense :idea: , i agree with the concept of "if the watch aint working" it's not wearing out . :)
004
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
In the past few days , i have spoken with various watch retailers of several high end brands inc Seiko GS dealers , Omega , Rolex etc . The question i asked is basically , will harm befall my Automatic watches if left to come to a complete stop ? Until i need to use them , only to wind them up when their use is required .

90% Said no harm will come from letting the watches come to a stop , only too still service them every 2 to 5 yrs regardless of amount of use . I also noticed the majority of Automatic watches i have viewed arent actually running while on display in showcases , hope this info helps :?:
Ed.YEO
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

"MIKER"

...[size=122]90% Said[/size] no harm will come from letting the watches come to a stop , [size=122]only too still service them every 2 to 5 yrs regardless of amount of use[/size] . I also noticed the majority of Automatic watches i have viewed arent actually running while on display in showcases , hope this info helps :?:


Well, as previously mentioned by our fellow brothers here, it's not necessary to use watch winders for your collection.

In a negative way of saying, winders are for folks who're in a certain way... lazy. Okay... i got to admit, this word is too blunt and offensive in a certain way. But, in real life... do we really need a winder? Isn't winders are more practical for those more complex movements?



Anyway, as for the last part where they advise to service your watch once in 5yrs... To date, my 3 workdays beaters which had been bought for more than 10yrs, none of them had went through any servicing. Although shown signs of decreasing power reserve, but it ain't breakdown yet. So... i guess i get to save another $240 @ year end...
roo7
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
Another way of looking at it. My friend felt that if he let the watch to a complete stop, the problem will be the screwing and unscrewing of the crown.



More wear to the crown threads, so don't think too much into it. Life's too short for that haha.





Sent from my iPhone
rogue_hog
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

"roo7"

Another way of looking at it. My friend felt that if he let the watch to a complete stop, the problem will be the screwing and unscrewing of the crown.



More wear to the crown threads, so don't think too much into it. Life's too short for that haha.





Sent from my iPhone


If screwed down properly, there shouldn't be any worry about wearing down the thread. I reckon and have been told and read that the common problem and fear of screw down crown is cross threading.



I came across a good tip on screwing down crown a breitling related site and the manual.



They adviced that we should push down and turn in the opposite direction (unscrewing direction) till there's a click. That's when the thread is in alignment. Prettykuch the same way we screw back a shelving closure bottle or screw cap.
roo7
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

"rogue_hog"

[quote="roo7"]Another way of looking at it. My friend felt that if he let the watch to a complete stop, the problem will be the screwing and unscrewing of the crown.



More wear to the crown threads, so don't think too much into it. Life's too short for that haha.





Sent from my iPhone


If screwed down properly, there shouldn't be any worry about wearing down the thread. I reckon and have been told and read that the common problem and fear of screw down crown is cross threading.



I came across a good tip on screwing down crown a breitling related site and the manual.



They adviced that we should push down and turn in the opposite direction (unscrewing direction) till there's a click. That's when the thread is in alignment. Prettykuch the same way we screw back a shelving closure bottle or screw cap.[/quote]

Yup, this is the best advise so far I seen to prevent cross threading.
rogue_hog
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
Sorry I meant stelvin closure not shelving.
sawungkampret
Re: LOBAANG!!! 2+4 winder for 139, 4+6 winder for 239!!! (se

"Ed.YEO"

Group on offer!

Self collect @ $139 for 2+4,



$239 for 4+6 winder.



Delivery add $6



100+ sold liao... dunno seller can fulfill that quantity bohh...

Anyway... the link @ http://www.groupon.sg/deals/shopping/Groupon-Shop/716704544?nlp=&CID=SG_CRM_1_0_0_29&a=715828071" false;


i bought watch case from the same seller, also grupon offer, disappointed leh, the pillow is not strong enough, just like a piece of paper
timesofplenty
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
I've had Wolf and Underwood winders. The Underwood are beautiful and very well made, but I sold them and put the $ into watches instead :lol:
Three
Re: LOBAANG!!! 2+4 winder for 139, 4+6 winder for 239!!! (se

"sawungkampret"

[quote="Ed.YEO"]Group on offer!

Self collect @ $139 for 2+4,



$239 for 4+6 winder.



Delivery add $6



100+ sold liao... dunno seller can fulfill that quantity bohh...

Anyway... the link @ http://www.groupon.sg/deals/shopping/Groupon-Shop/716704544?nlp=&CID=SG_CRM_1_0_0_29&a=715828071"http://www.sgwatchwinder.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.sgwatchwinder.com"2 watch winder + 2 watch storage" for $200. Is it a good buy?
stepper78
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
For me if you have vintage watch with no quick set date, winder is very useful.



Don't have to turn and turn before use.
funky_banana
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?

"fireal"

this has been discussed a billion times



my two cents: the more the watch runs, the greater the wear and tear



id rather leave the watch non running and only wind it when im wearing it

i have watches that are 50-60 years old , new old stock never worn that are still running perfect



think about it would u rather a watch with some minimal oil clog which can be cleaned

or a a watch movement with a broken gear


yes, a billion of times! google and you get the same question and answer anyway, but well still a good topic for discussion. i think some of the guys here including me have been collecting watches for a few years but we have yet to get one...



probably because my collection all the cheap cheap watches... :lol:


"stepper78"

For me if you have vintage watch with no quick set date, winder is very useful.



Don't have to turn and turn before use.


yes, i have one seiko sportsmatic, really nice charcoal dial, but unfortunately the crown is hidden and its so small that i have difficulties trying to adjust or quick set the time. but again... i don't wear it often so gave it to my gf :lol:
Ed.YEO
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
To date... i still have not get any winder yet, although my 775x collection is building up...

I'll probably get a winder when, more complex movement, like 7751 with full calender feature adds into my collection...
Three
Re: Watch Winder's , Are They Really Needed ?
Reason why i wanted to get the winder is because, three weeks ago my baby tuna which was worn for less than 15x died on me. The warranty is still valid for another 10 days. Sent it back to TS. They are unable to tell me the reason why it broke down. Staff told me it would cost $60 if there is no warranty.



After reading thru the discussions in this forum, maybe i am just unlucky. Think i give it a pass and save that money to get another watch. :D :D