Wolf 1834 Watch Winder Review
I bought my first Wolf winder, a single Roadster model about a year ago, and just acquired a double to match my original. This review will be a long term on the single, combined with reviewing the new double.
The first point I will address is about winders themselves. Some people like them, others don’t. I do think that cheap winders should be avoided, and only winders that count the number of winds as well as letting the watch periodically rest should ever be considered for purchase.
The second point is that quality winders are significantly more expensive than cheap ones. The retail on the double winder I just acquired lists for enough to buy a nice watch.
The third point is that virtually no one truly needs a watch winder. Unless you have a perpetual calendar this is a pure luxury indulgence. Then again, the watch hobby is also a luxury indulgence if one thinks about it.
With all of that out of the way, hopefully to streamline the comments by addressing these things right off the top, I will get into the review.
I have read others post that they had issues with Wolf winders, even before I bought my first. When I saw a post here where a fellow member of the forum had found one at a nice discount, I decided to buy one. That was almost a year ago, and I have had nothing but good experiences with my first Wolf. My experiences have been so positive that I decided to buy a second, this time a double with storage, when I saw it available on the same website at another great deal.
Positives:
The winders are really beautiful, first quality. I’ll add several pics to show how nice they look.
They are programmable in terms of turns per day, and give the movements time to rest during the program to prevent stressing the movement.
These winders are silent. I’ve never owned a winder before these, and had been concerned about noise. No problems with my Wolf winders.
Negatives:
Wolf is a premium brand, and suggested list prices are expensive. Honestly, if I didn’t happen to see these at great prices it would be hard for me to justify the expense to myself.
These winders are absolutely not serviceable. If these stop working, it appears that you’d have to bust the thing open and ruin the box in order to access the motor inside. I can’t see the benefit of the design in this matter. At this price point, the unit should be able to be serviced should a problem occur.
Wolf has other models that have a modular design, and those allow power to be shared among multiple units on a single plug. At this price point, I think a power sharing among multiple winders ought to be standard.
Overall, I am extremely happy with Wolf winders. My ownership experience has been positive, so much so that I bought a second unit. I would recommend Wolf winders.
Wolf 1834 Watch Winder Review
Yes
No
- Beautiful
- Programmable
- Silent
- Expensive at list price
- Not serviceable
- Should be able to tether power among multiple units
A few more pics:
I got a Wolf Winder as a freebie when I bought my Tudor PO 1 last year. I haven't used it yet but your post is encouraging me to get it out of the box just to try it out!
Love their products. I actually have the roadster 8-piece box that matches your winders lol. Like you said, if they can be had at any kind of price below retail, it really sweetens the deal. I had a winder some time ago ("cub single" I think it was called) that I ended up passing along to a friend & I never had issues with it. Would 100% get a winder from them in the future.
I liked having a winder but unfortunately I had a bad experience 3x with Wolf. I had 3 of the six-watch winders and ended up returning each. They were great about the returns and of course they looked great. They were functional as well and I really liked having my watches be ready to go. It also made for a nice display case with no winding. QC issues each time ruined them for me though. I may try Benson next.
I liked having a winder but unfortunately I had a bad experience 3x with Wolf. I had 3 of the six-watch winders and ended up returning each. They were great about the returns and of course they looked great. They were functional as well and I really liked having my watches be ready to go. It also made for a nice display case with no winding. QC issues each time ruined them for me though. I may try Benson next.
Thank you for sharing. I’m feeling like they sometimes have issues, and when that happens it’s while still under warranty. I’m a year along with my first and everything has been fine. I do wish they were designed in such a way that they could be opened and serviced.
Thank you for sharing. I’m feeling like they sometimes have issues, and when that happens it’s while still under warranty. I’m a year along with my first and everything has been fine. I do wish they were designed in such a way that they could be opened and serviced.
No problem. I think Wolf makes a good product and I don't totally write them off because of the issues I had. Overall I've heard good things and would still suggest people check them out. Hope you enjoy yours! And nice review!
I only buy Wolf during their holiday sale because they’re normal suggested retail prices are ridiculous. I’ve bought two winding systems from them- one was a 6-slot and the other an 8-slot. They were both 70% off retail price and that’s the only reason I bought them. As the OP stated, there’s no way I would pay full retail price for any of their products. But wait until Christmas time and enjoy 70% off!!
Been using watch winders for 20 plus years since I bought my TAG chronograph in 2000. Almost all were cheapest ones I could find, except for one Wolf which I bought drastically discounted. The Wolf lasted as long as the cheapest one. Yeah it was a nice and quiet but not any more reliable than the cheap ones I find on Amazon. Nothing wrong with cheap, my only stipulation is that the programs have a period of rest. That’s it. The cheap ones are noisy as heck, but I store them in the guest bedroom so that problem solved.
I’ve spoken at length about cheap winders vs expensive ones like Wolf and Orbita with two “watchmakers” and they said it doesn’t matter if it cheap or expensive watchwinders they won’t cause any harm. They did however stress the rest periods.
I plan on buying a watch box from them. As a Christmas present for me fiancée I bought a jewelry organizer from them and extremely happy. Quality and design.
So I have trust now to buy a watch box. Winder - no. I am in a camp that thinks it’s not necessary ;) but they are so attractive! Congrats 🎉