Ultrasonic jewelry cleaning of watches

I've never seen a watch being put into that and it still had the movement inside. I can't imagine it being a good idea.

I don't submerge the watch itself, just the bracelet.

I’ve never had this done (AD offered to do), but I believe the bracelet is cleaned this way. If the actually case is cleaned this way, the movement would have to be removed.

Don’t. Usually we clean the bracelet and case (without movement) in ultrasonic devices but let me tell you a secret - gear pivots ain’t that strong and tend to break when they start vibrating against the jewels. So yeah, that’s not a good idea. Also; please don’t put your hands in them, your bones don’t like that either

Thanks! There’s so much to learn. I’ll just use it to clean the bracelet and my glasses.

I love doing this, the amount of grime can be breathtaking. The Mrs has just brought back her mother's jewellery - that's going to be fun! (The local jeweller is on speed dial in case some of the old stones work free!)

Never put a movement in an ultrasonic cleaner!

I just use a soft toothbrush and some simple green.

movements have lots of parts which might be affected by the ultrasonic vibration. Just don't :) at least it can change the precision in a bad way.

This makes a lot of sense. Thanks

My two cents is don't do it. Ultrasonic cleaning will loosen anything and everything over time.

I clearly had not thought this through enough. I appreciate everyone’s comments and help which stopped me from such a bonehead idea. You were all very kind.

As others have pointed out, it's my understanding that you should NEVER use an ultrasonic cleaner for the watch itself. I've used mine for bracelets, and they do an amazing job. I've put in bracelets that appeared to be clean after the soap and soft brush method, but which end up coming out much cleaner after being placed in the ultrasonic, with the dirty residual water being a testament to that.

You can do it with water resistant (to 5 or 10 bar, water resistance is finicky and depends on the manufacturer) quartz watches. I have done it with my Casio Outgear Fishing Gear watch and (if I remember correctly, not sure) with my Casio Edifice chronograph. Mechanical watches are an immediate no-no, unless you want your watch becoming magnetised.

I'd still suggest disassembly and then deep cleaning the case and bracelet separately while the movement is stored in a dry and dust-free environment.

I've also been wondering about this myself. Thank you for asking the question! And everyone for your responses!

I've done it with a few of my automatic M79 Timex and a few Qs (quartz) and all was fine. However, I probably would be worried about doing it with a high-end luxury watch. If it goes wrong, it will cost a lot to fix. Again, it does a great job with my Timex watches and they look very clean when they are done.