Storing my Rolex Submariner Question

[Vietnam special vet]

Hi guys, I was wondering, If i"m not going to be wearing my Rolex Submariner for a while, is it better to let it stop? or put it into a watch winder?

[MonBK]

Your choice, there's no "correct" way.

[Vietnam special vet]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Your choice, there's no "correct" way.

very well said.......

[AlexBrown]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Your choice, there's no "correct" way.

[Urosfan]

No wrong choice but I let mine stop when not in use

[CharlieMae]

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

[Scott1907]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

That's a great response, never thought of it like that,

[Sublover2166]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

Regardless of winder or not seals and gaskets in watch dry and harden up over time so waterproofness will be compromised. A winder has not been shown to wear out a movement any faster than not wearing the watch. How many instances have you read on this forum someone winding up their watch when something inside goes "snap"? When the mainspring stays fully wound on a winder it keeps the movement at peak accuracy and the mainspring is less likely to break than if it is always going from a wound to unwound back to wound state.
So as far as my opinion my two Subs stay on my winder and stay fully wound and
Properly set regardless of whether I wear them or not.

[sleddog]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

Originally Posted by Sublover2166

Regardless of winder or not seals and gaskets in watch dry and harden up over time so waterproofness will be compromised. A winder has not been shown to wear out a movement any faster than not wearing the watch. How many instances have you read on this forum someone winding up their watch when something inside goes "snap"? When the mainspring stays fully wound on a winder it keeps the movement at peak accuracy and the mainspring is less likely to break than if it is always going from a wound to unwound back to wound state.
So as far as my opinion my two Subs stay on my winder and stay fully wound and
Properly set regardless of whether I wear them or not.

And there you have it, to opposite sides of the coin, to which the old question of to use winder, or not, goes round and round and round.
Reality is, it doesn't matter one way or the other. If you don't use a winder and leave it sitting idle for long periods of time (a month or more), give it a manual wind once a month to keep the oils from pooling and give the gears a turn......
If you do use a winder, you have to reset at the end of every second month for the date anyway, but good for you, you've got watch set and ready to go......

My preference is to let the stop. I just don't see the point in having it running as I dont need to read the time on it, as I'm not wearing it. Resetting when I rotate to a stopped watch, to me, is all part of the fun of owning a mechanical watch... It's easy, and takes less than a minute to do.

Originally Posted by MonBK

Your choice, there's no "correct" way.

A more sensible answer!

[Vietnam special vet]

Originally Posted by Sublover2166

Regardless of winder or not seals and gaskets in watch dry and harden up over time so waterproofness will be compromised. A winder has not been shown to wear out a movement any faster than not wearing the watch. How many instances have you read on this forum someone winding up their watch when something inside goes "snap"? When the mainspring stays fully wound on a winder it keeps the movement at peak accuracy and the mainspring is less likely to break than if it is always going from a wound to unwound back to wound state.
So as far as my opinion my two Subs stay on my winder and stay fully wound and
Properly set regardless of whether I wear them or not.

excellent advice.......

[tegee26]

Originally Posted by Sublover2166

Regardless of winder or not seals and gaskets in watch dry and harden up over time so waterproofness will be compromised. A winder has not been shown to wear out a movement any faster than not wearing the watch. How many instances have you read on this forum someone winding up their watch when something inside goes "snap"? When the mainspring stays fully wound on a winder it keeps the movement at peak accuracy and the mainspring is less likely to break than if it is always going from a wound to unwound back to wound state.

So as far as my opinion my two Subs stay on my winder and stay fully wound and

Properly set regardless of whether I wear them or not.

EXACTLY. There's so much misinformation IMHO on this subject matter. Unless I get a response from a experienced watchmaker my Omega's, Breitling and Rolexes will stay on my Orbita winder.

I'm no expert, but my fine timepieces have been functioning fine for years and will require service every 6-8 years regardless of use, non-use and time on winder. Trying to time service intervals by letting it wind down, etc is a game that is a waste of time in my opinion.

FWIW

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by tegee26

EXACTLY. There's so much misinformation IMHO on this subject matter. Unless I get a response from a experienced watchmaker my Omega's, Breitling and Rolexes will stay on my Orbita winder.

Here ya' go, pay particular attention to #4:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showpost....0&postcount=57

[Ruud Van Driver]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

Here ya' go, pay particular attention to #4:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showpost....0&postcount=57

#2 was more of an eye-opener for me. All good solid advice and, in the case of #4, common sense IMHO.

Thanks for sharing

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Sublover2166

Regardless of winder or not seals and gaskets in watch dry and harden up over time so waterproofness will be compromised. A winder has not been shown to wear out a movement any faster than not wearing the watch. How many instances have you read on this forum someone winding up their watch when something inside goes "snap"? When the mainspring stays fully wound on a winder it keeps the movement at peak accuracy and the mainspring is less likely to break than if it is always going from a wound to unwound back to wound state.
So as far as my opinion my two Subs stay on my winder and stay fully wound and
Properly set regardless of whether I wear them or not.

Afraid that not correct a winder does not wind any watch all it does is just keep the movement ticking.On a winder it only puts back the power reserve to what ever the mainspring had to start with,in most all programmed machine winders less.If a movement is running its wearing that's a fact,and things like seals and mainsprings are just disposable items that are always changed at routine service anyway.Just think of all the millions of manual wind watches Rolex included, they got would up daily for decades.And a automatic watch is just a manual wind watch with a auto wind mechanism and today most crown related problems are down to the winding crown not being used enough.

[Blubarb]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

Good way to think about it.

[milgauss1349]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

Great answer, wish others had put it so well! Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mandy01]

Originally Posted by CharlieMae

I have been asked this many times and I think I have the "best" answer.

Scenario 1: You do not put it on a winder, the watch needs to be manually set every time. Depending on time in storage, oils can coagulate, dry up and require service over time.

Scenario 2: You keep it on a winder, you rarely ever have to change the date and time and the oils are constantly being used. You are also putting 100 times the wear on the moving parts, gears, spring, etc.. than if you wear the watch only a couple of days a week.
Service time for either may be the same as one way uses the oils and the other way coagulates the oils.

The difference between these two scenarios is that you are putting unnecessary wear and tear on the movement and these parts cannot last forever. I personally would rather NOT use a winder and deal with the inconvenience of setting the time and/or date once a week rather than foot the inevitable repair bill to replace parts that have been worn dues to 24/7 use.

The best scenario for me is to wear the watch at least once a week or two to keep the fluids from coagulating, keep the moving parts moving but, not wearing them out from constant operation.

Short Answer for me: NO WINDER.

Thanks for the advice, I completely agree with you, regards

[jhamiltonwa]

How about on a winder that runs only a couple of hours a day?

[Schneeflocke]

I would say I prefer the winder. Why? It keeps the different lubes from coagulating as mentioned, and you have always an almost perfectly set watch. The extra wear is probably secondary, since the moving parts that are affected, will be changed once it's time for service anyway. Sticky lubricants however, has a way bigger impact on wear and tear, than constant running. I've had this discussion with a Rolex AD myself, since my plan is to get a Rolex this summer, and this is what the professionals say at least. Cheers! :)

[Afghanvet]

Why not just wear it??

[havingagoodtime]

Although these threads are abundant, I always enjoy reading different takes on the discussion. Both sides are valid. Scientifically there must be a definitive response. Mythbusters anyone? Jamie is my old neighbor. I'll ask him next time I bump into him.

[T. Ferguson]

I look at it this way. When you go to an AD to buy a watch are any of them kept on winders?

[havingagoodtime]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

I look at it this way. When you go to an AD to buy a watch are any of them kept on winders?

Probably to hide the fact that they all keep different time

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

I look at it this way. When you go to an AD to buy a watch are any of them kept on winders?

[Vietnam special vet]

Originally Posted by Afghanvet

Why not just wear it??

I"m going to follow your advice, and enjoy wearing my sub, on a daily basis....

[N5XTC]

Originally Posted by Vietnam special vet

I"m going to follow your advice, and enjoy wearing my sub, on a daily basis....

I have two rolex, 2008 sub and a explorer MK2. simple solution, i do a Schwarzkopf and where one on each wrist.

[Vietnam special vet]

Originally Posted by Afghanvet

Why not just wear it??

Perfect Answer, and as the Rolex has , as I believe a 70 hour power reserve
I should be just fine, thanks again, for your perfect answer!

[Sublover2166]

Originally Posted by Vietnam special vet

Perfect Answer, and as the Rolex has , as I believe a 70 hour power reserve
I should be just fine, thanks again, for your perfect answer!

I think the number is closer to 40 than 70.

[Showcall]

I have a GMT-SUB and a wind up Oysterdate! I wear a different one every couple of days

[Rolex fan 61]

IMO let it stop less wear?????