Watch winding - to or not to

I have mine on winders. As well as utilising the built in timers on the winder I also use a smart plug to further refine the times that the winders will be operational. At present they only have power for 2 hours each day and all the watches are running fine, I feel I could probably reduce that to 90mins per day. I know there are arguments for/against the use of winders but I've managed to minimise mine to such a degree that it must be no different than actually wearing them.

I do not have any winder and deal with setting and winding them when I wear them. I know that there a pros and cons associated with this but so far, I decided not to invest into a winder.

I let them run down & rest when I'm not wearing them.

Had my SM300 serviced last year, cost £485 & 3 months so if I can save a bit of wear and tear & lengthen service intervals then I will.

Not a fan of long power reserves either, they're just lazy. I only need my watch to work when it's on my wrist & I set the time every time I put a watch on (can be every couple of days or several times a day) .

I try and wind mine up approx every month (hopefully give each a bit of wrist time as well) just to keep the lubrication going round the parts.

Afaik, you don't need to with modern oils.

No winder here. I don't like how they are all mostly stupid expensive for what they are. I just wind and set mine when I decide I'm wearing it for the day.

I’ve got a winder for my 2 watches with moonphase complications, but otherwise I just let them run out then re-set them later. With modern watches you don’t need to have them running all the time, I’ve heard with vintage watches it’s better to keep them running so the oil doesn’t clog but that’s not generally an issue with modern oils.

Think of these things like little car engines on your wrist. Would you leave your car running 24/7. No because that causes unnecessary and unexpected wear and tear. So why would you want your watches running all the time. These things do have a shelf life and oils and parts that do break down. So wouldn't you want the most amount of time you could get out of it to be spent on your wrist.

Do you leave your car running when you go on holiday? Didn’t think so.

Haha snap.

I used them for a few years but not anymore. Every now and then if I know what I’m going to be wearing I might throw a couple on the winders just to keep them up until then but I feel like if they are just sitting there not being ran that they will last longer that is as long as you do run them occasionally

This is actually a really bad analogy. A car engine has wear and tear due to the high pressures and the incredible amount of heat involved. A watch doesn't have any of these. With modern synthetic jewels the friction at the pivot points is already really low. The lubricants take care of the rest. A watch is a device that is designed to run 24/7. With modern lubricants you save very little by having the watch sit idle. Modern lubricants don't really break down as much as evaporate which is going to happen if the watch is idle or moving. It was true in the past when lubricants weren't as good that you needed to keep the watches going so that the lubricant didn't congeal. That doesn't happen anymore.

The simple truth is that you could wear your watch 24/7 and have it serviced every 10 years or so and not have any issues.

Whether you keep watches wound or not boils down to convenience. If you are the type that likes pulling a watch out of the box and setting it for the day. No problem. If you don't and want to keep them on a winder okay too. One isn't better than the other in this case.

Wind it, shake it set it wear it. I do this when I pull it from my box. Otherwise it sits unwound until I pull it and wear it again. Constant winding does add wear on the movement. Don't listen to those who say it doesn't hurt the movement to keep it wound. Sooner or later the movement will need maintenance. Hopefully later lol.

I rotate my automatics and helps extend the life of the movement.

Check this out.

https://youtu.be/VNFOtAJNyJs?si=O8pfQOAbIX02TkaO

Cheers!

Bad analogy is a stretch. Any mechanical part constantly moving will cause wear and tear on those parts. I totally agree that watches need movement and to not let lubricants evaporate. That wasn't the point. Let's take cars away for a second and think about non combustible mechanical objects. Would you leave a washer or dryer running 24/7 or a blender maybe a cotton gin. My point is that you might get more shelf life out of something if it has some down time. Nothing on this planet is designed to run 24/7 without it effecting its life span. Nothing works better over time by constantly running. That includes wrist watches.

Haha even your watch winder isn't designed to run 24/7

That is true but for a different reason. Keeping the winder winding 24/7 would wear out the barrel in the watch because of the clutch. This is one of the few places in a watch movement you have metal on metal. That isn't what we are talking about though. We are talking about just keeping a watch running 24/7.

I disagree. Again, the washer and drier are dealing with different conditions and forces.

Running a watch movement does nothing for modern lubricants. They will evaporate regardless of how much or how little you wear a watch. You misread my point.

The extra life you get by letting a watch 'rest' is miniscule.

So parts on a watch are different? Why? There are machines that have gears 8 times the size of watch gears that loose teeth and can malfunction. Why is a watch oblivious to wear and tear. The truth is it isn't.

It really isn't a big deal I am not advocating for one or the other. This is simply a physics and mechanics issue. To say watch parts don't fall under the same wear and tear as any other object that has gears and levers and parts to move together causing friction and resistance is just a neglect of reality.

They aren't oblivious to wear and tear but in watches wear and tear is very minimal and exaggerated online. Pocket watches from the 1800s run today no problem. They haven't been completely overhauled with all parts replaced. Watch movements are designed to minimize friction and wear. The forces involved just aren't that strong. I have never had a watch with a part replaced in a service outside of gaskets. One I wore constantly for more than 20 years without a service. Ran within COSC the whole time. When serviced it had 0 parts replaced.

Watches are really over engineered for what they do.

It is also reality that modern synthetic jewels and modern lubricants bring those forces to almost 0. Otherwise you would have to completely rebuild a movement on a schedule because the thing would eat itself. This just doesn't happen.

This is just one of those moments where agreeing to disagree is the best option.

You are speaking from your personal experience not the over all picture. That's awesome you havnt had to replace parts but I have and know a lot of people that have and there are tons of reference material from people that have so when my personal experiences contradicts the argument presented then where do you from there. This got a little long winded in my opinion. I still stand by original analogy with understanding points you made. My personal experience dictates a different path of thinking. You are right it's probably miniscule the differences between always wound and down time. But for some that extra year or two may make all the difference in the experience of that particular watch

Great collection by the way! .

It isn't only my experience. I have had long conversations with my watchmaker on the subject too. And he services way more watches than you or I.

There are also many other factors that can play a part. Manufacturing defects, shock, etc are all other variables. Of course, the further you go back in time the more these effects play a part.

Sorry that you have had some bad experiences in the past. I say wear your watches to death. They will outlive you no matter how hard you wear them.

Some interesting stuff kicking around in your box as well.

Haha I have seen watch makers have this same argument we are having. Usually with good points on both sides. At the end of the day it's a hobby not to be taken to seriously. I would love to see what mechanical engineers think on the subject although have had arguments with them in my line of work of them thinking one thing and proving them wrong so who knows. Yes wear your watches and use them as intended not advocating to baby them by any means.

I am an engineer but not mechanical (it has been a long time since I took Statics and Dynamics 🤣). I have designed stuff that has gone into military aircraft in really harsh environments though. I have done a lot of lifecycle and environmental testing working with mechanical guys.

Have a good day 👍

So guys, Ford or Chevy?

What I do is wind them all up fully once a week or once every two weeks. I don’t let them sit for more than two weeks not to risk the oils to dey out. As a lot of comments here state, the watch is designed to run 24/7. Manufacturers do not expect that everyone buys there watch is a collector. It might be your inly and everyday watch. And this is why decent movements have a power reserve to keep you set through the weekend incase you didn’t wear it.

What you say is true, as long as you do get the watch serviced. If not you are going to get some serious wear issues in the long run