Watch Winders Yes or No?

[BA9807]

Now that I own 2 Rolexes I need a good watch winder but I've read mixed reviews on watch winders... some say its not good for the watch others say as long as you buy a good winder its fine. Thoughts???

[WilsdorfNDavis]

That's gonna be a "no" for me dog.

I don't mind setting the time and/or date on my watches.

If you really "needed" a winder all the watch manufacturers would have their own bespoke winders that they would push you to buy...

[MrLemon]

My watchmaker told me how harmful the winders are.
I saw a couple of them in his shop for sale ��

[TheDogHouse]

Just rotate the watches and you'll never need a winder.

[AlabamaLawyer1988]

Originally Posted by TheDogHouse

Just rotate the watches and you'll never need a winder.

Concurring without further opinion.

DM


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[Rockrolex]

I'm in the YES camp. I had 3 4 watch winders for years before they stopped working. I loved them. I'm now down to 4 mechanical watches that I wear regularly but I don't have a winder. I miss it.

[Krash]

I’m thinking about getting one. Haven’t decided yet. Of course, I’ve been saying this for the last 4 years now…


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[Tools]

Originally Posted by BA9807

Now that I own 2 Rolexes I need a good watch winder but I've read mixed reviews on watch winders... some say its not good for the watch others say as long as you buy a good winder its fine. Thoughts???

There is nothing a watch winder can do to harm your watch.

The arguments are generally about having your watch running all of the time, and, therefore, incurring wear all of the time vs. having it doing "what it was made to do", run all of the time.

I'm in the camp that a stopped watch is incurring zero wear, but I wouldn't look down on somebody who wanted their watch ready to go.... except for re-setting and fully winding.

Watch winders are not really intended to "wind" the watch, they are intended to keep the watch in a continuous state of wind... If you set it properly your watch will use the same amount of wind that you are putting into it - a steady state.

[TNT009]

Nope, stopped using mine.. Last two purchases at the AD, they said its not necessary!

[msnow]

I had one for years but it died. I asked around and my AD recommended not to use it anymore. My Daytona is just a quick wind and 2 seconds to set. My sub takes about 20 seconds more due to the day setting but it’s no big deal.


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[JSCP]

waste of time— pun intended.

[subtona]

No

[Zuger]

I rotate through several watches at a time so a winder is useful for me.

[TC94]

Originally Posted by BA9807

Now that I own 2 Rolexes I need a good watch winder but I've read mixed reviews on watch winders... some say its not good for the watch others say as long as you buy a good winder its fine. Thoughts???

It’s up to you. There is no such thing as a good winder. They’re all the same. No need for high quality expensive materials in a product that just rotates a watch for a short time at random intervals.

I’ve used a cheap winder for my watches for a decade. Nothing seems amiss.

[vipereaper30]

Nope, only have an annual calendars (Sky-Dwellers) that are super easy to set. Same for GMTs and basic watches so no need to waste the space and money. Buy more watches with the savings.

[texasmade]

I use a watch winder for my autos since I don't like messing with winding and resetting the time and date every time I change my watch. This whole "winders are bad for your watches" is pretty silly. If you wear a watch everyday then a winder is no different. If you don't mind setting the time and date when you switch watches then no need for a winder. If you just want to grab and go then get the winder.

[walds11]

Originally Posted by texasmade

I use a watch winder for my autos since I don't like messing with winding and resetting the time and date every time I change my watch. This whole "winders are bad for your watches" is pretty silly. If you wear a watch everyday then a winder is no different. If you don't mind setting the time and date when you switch watches then no need for a winder. If you just want to grab and go then get the winder.

Well said! Grab and go here

[Gmt21]

Keep collecting and you will have too many watches to keep on a winder. I've never wanted one, and also like keeping my watches in the safe when not wearing. Winding and setting my watches is part of the ritual of wearing and enjoying them, so winders are not for me.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by BA9807

Now that I own 2 Rolexes I need a good watch winder but I've read mixed reviews on watch winders... some say its not good for the watch others say as long as you buy a good winder its fine. Thoughts???

Wonder how the millions of Rolex watch owners managed without the watch winding machine things decades ago.Today most of these Rolex toys just meant to extract money from there owners.In over 50 years of owning and wearing Rolex never felt the need for one of these machine winder things.

IMHO automatic watches are designed to be worn by people only, and not on a expensive box machine winder thing, and while on a machine its in the same position for hours,days or even weeks perhaps months .Now most people move in a huge diversity of manners, causing a fairly even distribution of motion of the watches winding mechanism and escapement positions.Now because a watch winder machine thing is normally limited to a very small number of directions and types of movement normally just back and throe.

IMHO a badly designed winder could in theory damage a watch and cause wear from excessive and repetitive movement on the same plane and axis to the escapement wheel pinions.And today because the oils used in most modern watches today including Rolex, and when properly serviced are not very prone to clotting or coagulating like the old mineral oils. So its not a problem to just rest a watch for a month or longer then just wind reset and go, must take all of 30 seconds to do.

But if stored for longer than a month I would recommend to just give them a small wind to keep the tiny amount of oil around the movement.Think of it this way if you had a choice of two watches one thats been on a winder for a few years.Or a watch that was new old stock unused unworn and stopped which one would you choose.

While there is no significant evidence that a good watch winder will either save or harm your watch.Over the many years of myself dealing with RSC Bexly and talking to the various watchmakers there, who did not recommend watch-winders for any of the Rolex line up.Its quite funny now that Rolex brought out a Rolex branded winder but made by a third party,its simple today many watch winders = big £££$$$ and huge profits.IMHO many watch-winders today have a high quality finish on the outside (to justify the extremely high price),but hiding some very cheaply mass-produced insides. .

[Gr8]

Who makes the Rolex watch winder?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Gr8

Who makes the Rolex watch winder?

Swiss Kubik.

[V25V]

For me, no. For my wife, yes. I do not believe a winder does anything to harm the movement, it’s no different than you wearing it in many ways. But it’s running non stop and in which case, with any mechanical device, more wear would then occur. In theory.

I enjoy setting my watches when I go to wear them. On the other hand, my wife does not enjoy it, so she has a winder she keeps some of her watches on that may sit for periods of time. If she did not have the winder, it’s likely she would not wear as often since it’s not “grab and go”. I want her to enjoy the watches she has and this enables her to do that more.


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[brandrea]

I’m in the No camp.

Setting my watches is one of the joys of ownership

[Maleg]

Not for me.

The argument that the winder does no harm doesn’t work for me. The watches that are out of rotation incur zero wear when parked motionless in the watch box. Whereas, on the winder the movement continues to incur normal wear. While wear is normal, the interval between services is based almost entirely on run time of the movement. Using a winder under constant run time essentially compresses the service interval when compared to the much lower run time of the parked movements (i.e. requiring more services over the same time span).

None of my watches take more than a minute or two to set and wind. That’s not much of a time investment in the rotation.

[Slimpee]

I have several mechanical watches I swap out so a winder is helpful for me. I have a Wolf two-watch winder and usually have my wife’s Cartier on one of the winders so she doesn’t have to worry about it.

My watchmaker said a winder is fine and won’t hurt the watches.

If I just had one or two mechanical pieces, I wouldn’t bother.

[Chewbacca]

I don’t use them but having one is handy if you have many watches. Simply to test accuracy if you believe it’s running slow or fast and also if you live with someone who changes from wearable tech to an automatic often.

As enthusiasts we have to remember we’re the vocal minority but still a small portion of the buyers and wearers.

[BA9807]

Thank you everyone! NO WINDER FOR ME! Thats why I love this forum! Cheers!

[Pw92676]

I’ve always done without.
Curious if those with multiple perpetual calendars use them?

[Calatrava r]

Probably cannot help or hurt in the final analysis. But setting and giving a Rolex a few winds is such a small thing, the winder is not a big help. My concern with a winder is it is big and, therefore, tougher to hide in your home. A watch can be put in a slim pouch and hidden almost anywhere frustrating burglars. Its more about security and peace of mind to me in not using a winder on a simple time/quick set date watch.

[Rebel]

No.