wear from wearing vs a winder?

[jvencius]

I'm still learning about mechanical watches (have had a mix of mechanical and quartz in the past) but I'm curious if there's any measurable value to wearing a watch (in my case a 136660) 12-18 hours per day then taking it off while I sleep and letting the mainspring unwind a bit or if that produces something of a "memory" in the spring that could, down the road a ways, take a bite out of the power reserve? I don't think it's an exact analogue, but with the batteries in my portable power tools, I run them all the way flat then recharge vs topping them off on the charger and I'm curious if the mainspring in a 3235 behaves the same way.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by jvencius

I'm still learning about mechanical watches (have had a mix of mechanical and quartz in the past) but I'm curious if there's any measurable value to wearing a watch (in my case a 136660) 12-18 hours per day then taking it off while I sleep and letting the mainspring unwind a bit or if that produces something of a "memory" in the spring that could, down the road a ways, take a bite out of the power reserve? I don't think it's an exact analogue, but with the batteries in my portable power tools, I run them all the way flat then recharge vs topping them off on the charger and I'm curious if the mainspring in a 3235 behaves the same way.

All Rolex automatic movements wind in both directions,for any non perpetual calendar watch, a watch winder is totally unnecessary. If you have a choice of watches and do not wear it every day, it is not real chore to reset it and wind it by hand must take all of 30 seconds to do.If you don't wear it every day you also reduce wear to the movement components, why waste that benefit by having it wound when it is not required to tell the time on the wrist?.And you will do no harm whatsoever to manually wind watch daily if you want to, watches always perform better when mainspring is at peak power-reserve.

While there is no significant evidence that a good watch winder will either save or harm your watch. Over the many many years of 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. .
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[brandrea]

Not a fan of them, but to each their own

[Andad]

Originally Posted by jvencius

I'm still learning about mechanical watches (have had a mix of mechanical and quartz in the past) but I'm curious if there's any measurable value to wearing a watch (in my case a 136660) 12-18 hours per day then taking it off while I sleep and letting the mainspring unwind a bit or if that produces something of a "memory" in the spring that could, down the road a ways, take a bite out of the power reserve? I don't think it's an exact analogue, but with the batteries in my portable power tools, I run them all the way flat then recharge vs topping them off on the charger and I'm curious if the mainspring in a 3235 behaves the same way.

I take my watches off when I get home and put it back on in morning and have not had any issues with them.

As for battery power tools just don’t run your lithium ion batteries flat.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by jvencius

I'm still learning about mechanical watches (have had a mix of mechanical and quartz in the past) but I'm curious if there's any measurable value to wearing a watch (in my case a 136660) 12-18 hours per day then taking it off while I sleep and letting the mainspring unwind a bit or if that produces something of a "memory" in the spring that could, down the road a ways, take a bite out of the power reserve? . . ..

Modern springs are not as susceptible to "setting" as days gone by.

However, there is potential value to letting your mainspring run down all the way as it relieves the friction that can bind a tightly wound spring.

There is no value to a winder except, perhaps, with not having to reset complications if your watch with these features runs down. That could result in you losing valuable minutes in your life.

[capice]

a good friend who is a watchmaker only uses winders to test how repairs run over a period of days, he does not recommend keeping youw watch on a winder when not wearing it

[FlyinHawaiian]

Originally Posted by capice

a good friend who is a watchmaker only uses winders to test how repairs run over a period of days, he does not recommend keeping youw watch on a winder when not wearing it

Did he give a reason why?

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian

Did he give a reason why?

Unecessary wear and tear?
It could mean the difference of a number of years between services.

[FlyinHawaiian]

Originally Posted by Dirt

Unecessary wear and tear?
It could mean the difference of a number of years between services.

Or if you let it sit, the oils dry up?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian

Or if you let it sit, the oils dry up?

Perhaps true when many many decades ago they used mineral type oil,but since introducing 30 odd years ago synthetic oil this does not happen and the amount of oil used to lubricant a Rolex watch is just a few very very tiny drops.

[FlyinHawaiian]

Originally Posted by padi56

Perhaps true when many many decades ago they used mineral type oil,but since introducing 30 odd years ago synthetic oil this does not happen and the amount of oil used to lubricant a Rolex watch is just a few very very tiny drops.

What about the gaskets? Will they dry out?


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[Dirt]

Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian

Or if you let it sit, the oils dry up?

As Peter points out, that's basically ancient history.
If i've got this right from memory they used to use Whale oil way way way back in the day before the mineral oils.
Synthetics are awesome and can legitimately extend service intervals, but no lube will last indefinately in terms of optimal performence whether the assembly is used or not because they all oxidise.

I've said it before on the forum, but i don't ever get much more than about 5 - 5.5 years between services for my daily wearer Automatic watches regardless of make. This has been the case for decades.
I imagine rhis would hold true for any watch i might have on a winder overnight in conjunction with wearing it daily.

I am very confident that other people will get better mileage out of their watch, especially if not kept needlessly on a winder

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by FlyinHawaiian

What about the gaskets? Will they dry out?


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That is a consideration that is related to environmental factors.
But yes. They will eventually perish/degrade, but that's a separate issue to keeping a watch on a winder.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Not a fan of them, but to each their own

^This.
dP

[FlyinHawaiian]

Originally Posted by Tools

There is no value to a winder except, perhaps, with not having to reset complications if your watch with these features runs down. That could result in you losing valuable minutes in your life.

Sort of like the valuable minutes you lose every day sitting at traffic lights!

[HogwldFLTR]

There's not a single Rolex that needs a winder. They don't really help and they could hurt. More of a toy for the newly inducted into the Rolex family.

[Easy Rhino]

I consider any time spent on an automatic winder to be essentially equivalent to the time a watch spends on my wrist. My 14060M was worn 16-18 hours daily for 18 years and 8 months without a break but for two routine servings. Now that I've acquired a second Rolex, the one I'm not wearing on any given day spends that off wrist time on the winder. I suppose that it might result in greater wear than letting them run down and sit unused but I've not seen actual long term comparative wear comparisons.

[ned4n6]

I bought a winder for my Explorer II (caliber 3187) for $65. from Amazon. It has worked reliably for the last 2 years with no indication of any problems. The winder has a setting for bi-direction with extended periods of rest. it keeps the oils evenly distributed and has maintained 2-second daily accuracy. Highly recommended.