Watch Winders
It seems that more and more people are
purchasing multiple automatic watches, and thus, a winder becomes a consideration
if one wants to avoid re-setting the watch after the power reserve is depleted.
Obviously, resetting time and date isn't really a big deal if done occasionally,
but for watches that have day, month, moon-phase, perpetual calendar or
other advanced complications, resetting the watch can be a painful task.
What exactly is a watch winder?
A watch winder is a device used
to keep automatic (also known as self winding) watches running when not
worn. Automatic watches operate on the principle of winding themselves
using a moving weight inside the watch. The weight swings or rotates while
the watch is worn and turns the winding mechanism inside the watch. So,
obviously, if the watch is not worn, then it no longer receives power this
way and will run down. While virtually all automatic watches can be manually
wound, this is not always convenient. So the concept of an automatic watch
winder was born.
A watch winder is a device which
holds a watch (or often more than one) and moves it in a circular patterns
to emulate the necessary parts of human motion to operate the self-winding
mechanism.
A winder cannot over wind an automatic
watch, since all automatic watches are protected from being over wound
by a mechanism that disengages the winding process when the mainspring
is fully wound. But using a timer-based winder is still very important
to prevent excessive wear on the winding mechanism.
Do I need a watch winder?
The main function of a winder is
as a convenience device. They are particularly useful for automatic perpetual
calendar watches which can be complicated and a nuisance to reset once
stopped.
There is no significant evidence
that a good watch winder will either save or harm your watch. Watch winders
are beneficial as a convenience device for those who own more than one
automatic watch.
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