Most people do not need a watch winder. An automatic watch is not harmed by stopping, and setting the time and date when you next wear it takes a minute. A winder is worth having in two cases: you own a watch with a calendar that is tedious to reset, such as a perpetual or annual calendar, or you rotate several automatic watches and want each one ready to wear. For a single watch worn most days, it adds nothing.
This guide explains what a winder does, settles the usual arguments about whether it is good or bad for a watch, and tells you what to look for if you decide to buy one.
What a watch winder does
An automatic watch winds itself from the movement of your wrist: a weighted rotor inside turns as you move and tightens the mainspring. Take the watch off, and it runs on its stored energy, the power reserve, until that is used up. For most watches that is between about 40 and 70 hours.
A winder is a motorized holder that turns the watch slowly, a few rotations at a time with pauses between, to imitate that movement. The watch stays wound and keeps running while you are not wearing it.
A winder only works with automatic watches. A hand-wound watch has no rotor, and a quartz watch does not need winding at all.
Does a watch need to keep running?
No. This is the most common misunderstanding.
The oil argument. People used to say that a stopped watch lets its oils settle and thicken, so a watch should be kept running. Modern synthetic lubricants do not behave that way, and a watch can rest for months without harm.
The wear argument. The opposite view says a winder wears the watch out by running it all the time. There is something in this: a running watch is a working machine, and more hours of running mean service comes due on the usual schedule instead of later. But a watch on a winder is doing no more than a watch worn every day, which is what it was built for.
The honest summary is that a winder is neither good nor bad for a watch in any way that matters much. It is a convenience.
One qualification: a watch should be run occasionally. If you store a watch for a year or more, wind it and let it run for a day every month or two.
Who actually benefits from a winder
Owners of calendar watches
This is the real case for a winder. A perpetual calendar tracks the date, day, month and leap year. If it stops, resetting everything can be fiddly, sometimes needing a small tool to press correctors in the case side, and there are times of day when adjusting it can damage the mechanism. An annual calendar is less demanding but still takes several steps. Moon phase displays also need resetting.
For a watch like that, a winder saves real trouble. A Rolex Sky-Dweller, with its annual calendar and second time zone, or a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar, is a natural candidate.
People who rotate several watches
If you wear three or four automatics in turn, a winder means whichever you pick up is running and correct. Whether that is worth the cost and the space is a matter of taste. Many collectors enjoy the minute spent setting a watch.
People who rarely wear a watch they want to keep ready
A watch worn once a fortnight for a particular occasion can sit on a winder and be ready when needed.
Who does not need one
- You wear one watch most days. It never stops.
- Your watch has a long power reserve. With 70 or 80 hours, a watch taken off on Friday evening is still running on Monday morning.
- Your watch shows only the time, or time and date. Setting it is quick. Our guide to winding and setting an automatic watch shows how.
- Your watch is hand-wound or quartz.
What to look for in a watch winder
If you decide to buy one, quality matters, because a poor winder can do more harm than no winder.
Turns per day and direction
Every automatic movement needs a certain number of turns per day, usually somewhere between about 650 and 900, and some wind in only one direction of the rotor while most wind in both. A good winder lets you set both the number and the direction: clockwise, counterclockwise, or alternating. The right setting for a given caliber is something to look up or ask about; too few turns and the watch will stop anyway.
You cannot overwind an automatic watch. Its mainspring has a slipping clutch that releases when the spring is full. But there is no reason to run a winder far beyond what the watch needs, since it only adds wear.
A quiet, well-shielded motor
A winder often lives in a bedroom or study, so noise matters. More important, the motor must be shielded so that its magnetic field does not reach the watch. A cheap winder with a poorly shielded motor can magnetize a watch and make it run fast. Our guide to magnetized watches explains the signs.
A holder that fits
The cushion should hold the watch firmly without stretching the bracelet or pressing on the clasp, and it should fit your wrist size. A cushion that is too large for a small bracelet strains the links.
Power and build
Mains power, battery, or both. Battery power lets a winder sit inside a safe. A solid case with a lid keeps dust off.
How to use one sensibly
- Set the lowest turns-per-day figure that keeps the watch running.
- Use the correct direction for the movement.
- Keep the winder away from other electronics and strong magnets.
- Do not leave a watch on a winder for years without a service. It is running, and it will need servicing on the normal schedule. See how often to service a watch.
- Take the watch off the winder now and then and check its timekeeping.
The alternative: just set it
For most owners the simple approach is the best one. Let the watch stop. When you want to wear it, give the crown thirty or forty turns to wind it, set the time and date, and put it on. Avoid changing the date by the quick-set when the hands are near midnight, roughly between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on the dial, because the date mechanism is engaged then.
If you store watches for long periods, keep them somewhere dry, at room temperature and away from electronics, and run each one for a day every month or two.
Frequently asked questions
Is a watch winder bad for a watch?
Not if it is a good one, set correctly. A watch on a winder runs as it would on your wrist. A poor winder with an unshielded motor can magnetize a watch.
Is it bad to let an automatic watch stop?
No. Modern watches and lubricants are not harmed by stopping. Wind it and set it when you next wear it.
Can a watch winder overwind a watch?
No. Automatic watches have a clutch that prevents overwinding. Running a winder more than necessary does add wear, so use the lowest setting that works.
Which watches need a winder most?
Watches with perpetual or annual calendars, because resetting them takes time and care.
How many turns per day does my watch need?
It depends on the movement, usually between about 650 and 900, in one or both directions. Check the figure for your caliber.
Does a hand-wound watch work on a winder?
No. A winder turns the rotor of an automatic movement; a hand-wound watch has none.
