Hand Winders or Automatics - What's Best?

I hand wind the automatics too just for the asmr. LOL hand grinding is for the single fellows. 

An automatic is great for daily wear, it won't run out of power.

Manual winds are great, but best if they have a power reserve indicator, or if you wind them religiously. I love the look of manuals :)

I don't want to have to wind a watch every couple of days. Hell, I get annoyed just having to set it. Leaning more towards quartz these days.

I guess I know whose vintage repair bill is going to be higher than mine.

I’m all about hand-winders.

In terms of vintage chronographs I like them, just avoid them - less watchmakers want to touch them and spare parts and donors are just getting scarcer by the day. That Pierce is really nice, I would jump on that if I was feeling particularly reckless.

Awesoke watches and really nice story! For now i only have automatics but i have nothing against a manual winding watch as a next purchase :) 

im afraid to wind them too much. it would be nice if manual winding watch have a power reserve indicator, and i mean on the caseback 

I tend to wind tomorrow's watch the night before in case I am unpleasantly surprised and it decides to lose an hour overnight. That way I can change plans. I also keep a quartz in my office desk in case of vintage failure.

Edit:  And, as if to prove a point, today's watch lost three hours overnight. So, Plan B and monitor today's watch.  Maybe it will be tomorrow's watch.  Maybe I will sell it on eBay as "running."

While I don’t often choose a watch based on movement, I’m more of a dial guy, I do find it extremely satisfying to wind a watch. It‘a a little moment of pleasure in the usual morning routine. 

100%.  I only own 10 handwind watches, but it really is such a satisfying thing, and creates a connection with the past (a simpler time).  

I agree with you all - to some extent.

I'm sure most will admit that watch collecting isn't a very useful or practical undertaking.  We do it for pleasure, certainly not for convenience.  To borrow a line from JFK: We do it because it's HAAARD.  😎  The pleasures come in many different forms; from mechanical fascination, to design and aesthetic appreciation, to status signalling, etc.  For myself, the pleasures are increased by the small physical interaction that winding my watch gives me.

Everyone looks out their own window.  As an Architect I've always preferred to draw with a pencil rather than a computer.  In some respects it's more of a challenge, and is considered to be less efficient (ie. less cost effective).  But I like to think I get better results in terms of the quality of thinking it engenders, and therefore better, more thoughtful designs.  Furthermore, my personal satisfaction increases because I'm more directly engaged.  As we old-schoolers say: drawing with a computer is like cooking with a microwave.  🙄  Maybe I'm drifting off topic here a bit.

Finally, I'll mention the beauty of some of the traditional hand-wound movements themselves, not hidden by a massive counterweight.  Having said that, I'll admit that some of the micro rotor autos are pretty amazing.  And yeah, a power-reserve indicator on the verso would be a great idea - if I could afford it.  😉

Here's a typical old garden-variety Valjoux 23.

Most of my watches are automatic, but I have nothing against manual wind. I do like the fact that manual wind watches tend to be thinner than their automatic counterparts, as well as the fact that if the watch features an exhibition caseback, there is no rotor hiding half the movement. I rotate my watches, so there is a good chance that I need to go through the ritual of setting and winding whichever watch I choose for the day anyway, regardless of whether I select an automatic of manual wind.

I prefer hand wind