Rolex speedking: how often to wind??

[RolexRog]

Hello, I am looking for some information. I recently got a SPEEDKING. I understand that you wind it about 20 times - but how often do you do this? I understand that a full wind will last about 48 hours, so do you wind it 20 times every other day, or 10 times a day to keep it going.

Please advise. Thanking you in advance.

[offrdmania]

A Speedking is a manual wind watch. You wind it until you cant wind it any further. Just dont force it when you cant wind it further or you will damage it. Wear it for the day and then wind it again when you put it on again the next morning. Its easiest to wind it when you put it on each morning.
If it is a long duration between wearing it then you will need to set the time again after it has stopped.
Has it recently been serviced? 48 hours on an old Speedking would be great but id be surprised if it lasts that long.

[RolexRog]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

A Speedking is a manual wind watch. You wind it until you cant wind it any further. Just dont force it when you cant wind it further or you will damage it. Wear it for the day and then wind it again when you put it on again the next morning. Its easiest to wind it when you put it on each morning.
If it is a long duration between wearing it then you will need to set the time again after it has stopped.
Has it recently been serviced? 48 hours on an old Speedking would be great but id be surprised if it lasts that long.

Thank you very much for replying. So, I should wind it about 20 times each morning then if I'm wearing it every day?

Also: dumb question: if you wind it until it can't wind any farther, then how would it be even possible to over-wind?

Thank you again.

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by RolexRog

Thank you very much for replying. So, I should wind it about 20 times each morning then if I'm wearing it every day?

Also: dumb question: if you wind it until it can't wind any farther, then how would it be even possible to over-wind?

Thank you again.

That 20 per day is about right - if on wrist everyday.

Overwinding is if you don't pay attention to the resistance that starts to build up at the end of the widinding cycle....if there is any notable resistance stop winding to ensure you don't snap the main spring etc.

If im winding a manual wind, i try not to be doing something else at the same time to avoid distraction - a salutary tale - about 30 years ago a pal of mine overwound his super rare £200k manual wind Tudor Submariner - cos he forgot it wasnt auto, like all his others...cost him a packet to sort it !

[996marty]

Originally Posted by TuRo

That 20 per day is about right - if on wrist everyday.

Overwinding is if you don't pay attention to the resistance that starts to build up at the end of the widinding cycle....if there is any notable resistance stop winding to ensure you don't snap the main spring etc.

If im winding a manual wind, i try not to be doing something else at the same time to avoid distraction - a salutary tale - about 30 years ago a pal of mine overwound his super rare £200k manual wind Tudor Submariner - cos he forgot it wasnt auto, like all his others...cost him a packet to sort it !

That Tudor sounds like a fabulous reference. It’s unbelievable the values they now command

[perry911113]

I am in agreement with having to wind my 1963 6430 Speedking once a day.
I can't say that I wind it as many times as 20 in fear of overwinding it.

My 6494 is the same way.

I don't expect either watch to run with accuracy for more than 24 hours on each wind cycle.

[Dr.Smellody]

I have a few SPEEDKINGS. They've all been recently serviced. I wind them until wound. If wearing on multiple days I fully wind the next AM as to insure it doesn't stop sometime in the afternoon.

[77T]

I'll begin by saying I don't have a Speedking - but my input is about any manual winding question. With a vintage watch there is no magic number.

Not knowing if the last watchmaker used the correct mainspring, and/or the correct crown, you really don't know how many crown turns it takes to be "fully wound". Shorter, incorrect mainsprings take less turns. Larger, incorrect crowns can fully wind the mainspring with fewer turns.

So my suggestion is let the watch run down over the weekend. Then carefully wind it up while counting turns and stop when you feel it bind a little. Now you know how many turns are correct for that crown and mainspring.

Wear it for a day without winding.

On the next morning, it should be running. If so, wind it again as mentioned above. Now you'll know how many turns are needed for a 24 hour period of running time. Subtract 2 turns and that should be your morning routine. You'll never risk damage from over-stressing crown or spring.

Instead, if the movement has stopped overnight, then it may have a problem (including the wrong mainspring). You'll need to wind it in the morning, and then again at night to keep the watch going.


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[Dr.Smellody]

Originally Posted by 77T

I'll begin by saying I don't have a Speedking - but my input is about any manual winding question. With a vintage watch there is no magic number.

Not knowing if the last watchmaker used the correct mainspring, and/or the correct crown, you really don't know how many crown turns it takes to be "fully wound". Shorter, incorrect mainsprings take less turns. Larger, incorrect crowns can fully wind the mainspring with fewer turns.

So my suggestion is let the watch run down over the weekend. Then carefully wind it up while counting turns and stop when you feel it bind a little. Now you know how many turns are correct for that crown and mainspring.

Wear it for a day without winding.

On the next morning, it should be running. If so, wind it again as mentioned above. Now you'll know how many turns are needed for a 24 hour period of running time. Subtract 2 turns and that should be your morning routine. You'll never risk damage from over-stressing crown or spring.

Instead, if the movement has stopped overnight, then it may have a problem (including the wrong mainspring). You'll need to wind it in the morning, and then again at night to keep the watch going.


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Sound advice!

[Andad]

Isn’t one turn of a small crown the same as one turn of a big crown Paul?

‘Turns’ differ from one person to another and 360 degrees is not easy to judge.

Rather than go though your tortuous path why not just wind it slowly to the stop.

Works for me.

[77T]

True about the stem rotation being the same with different size crowns, what changes is the distance the crown itself travels between your fingers.

At least for me - the smaller the crown, the more it travels. So when counting turns there is a difference in the power added to the mainspring. Of course the length of the mainspring is a greater factor.

The process I was describing isn't tortuous - I was considering how he learns the right number of turns for his Speedking.

I meant for the OP to only do it once.

After he learns the number of crown turns in that process, he chooses the way he winds his watch without a risk of damaging anything. (I did presume he was looking for a safe number of turns)

I do things just like you with my Patek - just wind it till it stops. One day I might twist that last turn too quickly and could boing it but I like "living dangerously"


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[Dan S]

IMO, keep it simple. Wind it once a day until you can't turn the crown any more.

[Andad]

Originally Posted by Dan S

IMO, keep it simple. Wind it once a day until you can't turn the crown any more.

Stop this commonsense Dan.