Please help advise me! As you know, I have a pretty vast collection of watches. Four are automatic - my 3 rolexes and my 38mm j12. Obviously I can't wear them all at once! I do not have a winder. Lately I've been wearing my new Air King and my quartz 33mm j12. What should I be doing with those automatics which have been sitting many months unworn? Will anything happen to them left alone or should I make sure to wear them one or two days each month? Thanks so much for your help!
automatic watch experts ?
- Thread starter Phillyfan
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actually with the new lubricants that are used in modern automatic watches it should be not a problem at all. in the past with the old oils it would have been a problem as they tended to dry out causing then stress on the parts.
in fact i once have been told it is even better for normal automatic watches to just let them run out instead of constantly leaving them in working order. if you keep them on a winder the inside part are working 24/7 thus causing "stress" on the inside parts even though it is not needed which could result in much more "worn out" pieces shoudl you give them to service every few years than a watch that had only be worn periodically
in fact i once have been told it is even better for normal automatic watches to just let them run out instead of constantly leaving them in working order. if you keep them on a winder the inside part are working 24/7 thus causing "stress" on the inside parts even though it is not needed which could result in much more "worn out" pieces shoudl you give them to service every few years than a watch that had only be worn periodically
^^interesting! My jeweler recommended a winder, which I got. But I don't have it on all the time, just long enough to keep the date/time accurate....
At the watches forums, they recommend to use the automatics at least once ( lets say around 3 hours) every 6 months. The watch winders are for using when you have the watch into use, but if you are not using it for one whole month, it is not necessary to have the watch at the winder, if fact this way you will have to get serviced the watch later.
Hi Hokaplan
This is exactly what I was told....So no need to worry just try to wear each once a month for few hours...Should be enough
That is exactly what I have been told as well, lilach and vancleef fan.
Automatic watches have parts moving all the time.
They have a dial that swings around and causes them to wind themselves.
While you can't overwind and automatic watch, the swinging of the dial will cause wear.
With old automatics, you needed to keep them moving - if they didn't move the lubricant would get stale and gummy, and the watch would stop working. It would need to be cleaned and serviced.
So, you had to wear them at least once a month, or put them on a winder for a few hours a week.
With the new watches, the lubricant has changed. So the new recommendation is that they should only be moving when they are worn.
If you haven't serviced your watch in the last 5 years, or so, I would put it on a winder every week for an hour. If you have serviced it within the last 5 years, I'd let it wind down.
Don't forget - take your watches in every ten years to keep them in good order!
They have a dial that swings around and causes them to wind themselves.
While you can't overwind and automatic watch, the swinging of the dial will cause wear.
With old automatics, you needed to keep them moving - if they didn't move the lubricant would get stale and gummy, and the watch would stop working. It would need to be cleaned and serviced.
So, you had to wear them at least once a month, or put them on a winder for a few hours a week.
With the new watches, the lubricant has changed. So the new recommendation is that they should only be moving when they are worn.
If you haven't serviced your watch in the last 5 years, or so, I would put it on a winder every week for an hour. If you have serviced it within the last 5 years, I'd let it wind down.
Don't forget - take your watches in every ten years to keep them in good order!