11 Jul The watch winder, true guarantor of time
The watch winder, true guarantor of time
While the complications developed by watchmakers in the design of their exceptional timepieces are ingenious and precise, they also induce great complexity in the settings of the watches. The watch winder, by replicating the movements of the wrist to maintain the power reserve, is therefore the only guarantor of time … and of the comfort of top-of-the-range chronograph enthusiasts, provided, however, that the rotary case adapts to the operation of each automatic watch and respects its mechanisms. Sustaining the power reserve, maintenance of mechanisms, longevity of the timepiece: discover the benefits of watch winders for automatic watches.
Sustaining the power reserve: a guarantee of comfort
High-end automatic watches incorporate many complications whose adjustments very often require rigour, precision … and a certain time. Because it is necessary to adjust sometimes several time zones, a perpetual calendar, a possible phase of the moon, etc. it is advisable to be very patient or to find time to go to a watchmaker for him to take care of it.
Also, the watch winder, maintaining the power reserve of your automatic watches when you do not wear them, avoids repeating the often tedious operation of the adjustment.
Maintenance of mechanisms: a guarantee of longevity
Apart from the fact that constantly adjusting an automatic watch causes the different mechanisms and seals of its chronograph to be used unnecessarily, leaving an automatic watch at rest, without power reserve, for long weeks, can also reduce its longevity.
Like the obturators of photographic cameras (in particular silver films: Leica and Rolleiflex, for example), the lubricants of automatic watches, even high-end, can increase in viscosity after a long period of non-use. The result is called gumming: the mechanism no longer works optimally and, more seriously, it no longer respects the precision of time, of which it is nevertheless, both in photography and clockwork, the guarantor.
In photography, it is therefore advisable to operate the shutter of a device left at rest, at all speeds, once a month. In watchmaking, it is advisable to rock your watch in a rotating case.
The diversity of settings: the key to a good watch winder
It is obvious that a watch winder is only responsible for the accuracy of a chronometer and for its longevity only if it respects the functioning of all the watches in a collection.
There is indeed a variety of different movements for automatic watches (clockwise, anti-clockwise or alternating, at a rate of revolutions ranging from 200 to 1400 rotations per day) that it is imperative to have a versatile winder, able to adapt its functioning to that of the timepiece it will host.
Number of revolutions per day and direction of rotation are the two basic settings of a good winder. To know which ones correspond to your favourite watches, note that a catalogue of revolutions is available on our site. On the basis of the brand and the model, this catalogue determines the settings that will rock your watches as their manufacturers recommend
Finally, it is imperative to respect periods of latency in cycles of revolutions. And this, in order to simulate with fidelity the movements of the wrist without exhausting the mechanisms of the automatic watches. The periods of latency are in fact phases of rest during which the winding ceases the revolutions, in order not to damage the gauges by an excessive stimulation. Also, when choosing a winder, make sure that it respects rest periods in cycles of revolutions.
Prestige K10-6 Watch Winder