[Juclaq]

Alot of the people bring real good points. The cheap ones can damage the watch. You should alos know that like all machines, parts wear out. In theory, if the watchi is a watch winder and is constanstly running, the parts will wear out faster.

Now, you should also know that the watch needs to run or the lubricants will go bad.

There is a balance. One of the burden of owning luxury watches

 

[Watchbreath]

As usual, winders for the most part are a waste.

 

[Tohono Rat]

I am grateful to the OP for introducing "quicklier" to my world. And I am actually serious. I love words that are not technically correct, but make sense. Ugly becomes uglier, so "quickly" should become "quicklier." It is logical. Unfortunately, unlike so many languages, consistence and logic are rare in english.

My personal favorite of these is what I used to think that "malefit" was the antonym of "benefit." I mean, come on! It is logical... benediction/malediction, benevolent/malevolent, etc. So, for years, I thought the opposite of "benefit" was "malefit." Turns out I was wrong. But language is plastic; if we all use "quicklier" and "malefit" one day they will be accepted. If we all chip in, we can bring this about quicklier than you might think.

 

[NoTimeToLose]

They are all perfectly cromulent words...

I bought a winder because I got sick of re-setting the date on my SKX and Weekdater. So far both watches are working fine and my house hasn't caught fire.

I don't see the point in a winder unless your automatic watch has day/date or other complications that are a pain to re-set.

 

[bipyjamas]

Slightly off topic, but it would be kind of cool if there was a winder that doubled as a timer graph with the ultimate goal of having the winder to help regulate the watch for you by resting it in the required positions to achieve minimal daily deviation.

Obviously for the hardcore accuracy people out there, but without this feature the time keeping of a watch on a winder will eventually wander requiring the time to be reset defeating much of the winder's usefulness depending on the owner's rotation (!) habits.

 

[Don Nghia]

hmmm, So I think I won't get the solution from WIS...

 

[ACoulson]

hmmm, So I think I won't get the solution from WIS...

I think the answer is that it probably depends on the watch and it probably depends on the winder.

Some winders have poorly designed or manufactured motors which expose the watch to magnetism. Some watches are very susceptible to magnetism. A good winder will not expose the watch to any stronger magnetic field than general every day wear. Though I would say that the magnetic field permeating from a small motor like the ones used on a winder would be weaker than the magnetic field from your mobile phone speaker, so holding your phone would expose the watch to a stronger magnetic field. And every modern and not awful winder will have a metal shield between the magnet and the watch anyway, so there is no risk worth worrying about here.

Some winders have limited clearance around the strap or bracelet area and some watches are chunky. This should be easy to spot as an issue before you use it.

In terms of wear and tear, some watches would probably suffer more from being left 'dead' and some more from being constantly 'used', or wound and running.The difference is likely to be negligible. And nobody would ever have done a measured study of a large sample to tell you anything other than a theoretical indication.

If it is a good winder and a good modern watch I wouldn't worry. If it is a good winder and an old watch then I would still use one if setting the complications (date, moonphase etc) were a pain in the arse. I would probably rather just save myself the money and wind it by hand every morning or every other day (depending on the spec) to keep it topped up.

In your case, I would wind your watch by hand each day to keep it going (takes less than 30 seconds) and I would let the Datejust stand idle. If it is only worn every few months then it is a lot of electricity to waste to just keep the date set. I would wind it once a week or every couple of weeks to let it run itself down. I wouldn't worry about the service costs if the oils do suffer because I believe a Rolex service cost is the same if it has stopped working or not - if it is just oil drying or going gunky they will take it apart, clean it, reassemble it and re-oil it anyway, so it shouldn't effect the cost of a service.

If hand winding them is too much of a pain then buy a good winder and don't worry about it.

 

[Camguy]

I have four automatics I wear in fairly frequent rotation. I bought a couple of inexpensive winders from Amazon, and while I won't exactly say it's changed my life, it's so incredibly convenient to grab a different watch for the day and not have to "enjoy" winding and setting it after three or four days off my wrist.

I'm also not wearing out the crown gaskets, or stressing out the keyless works on a regular basis, which is far harder on a automatic than letting the rotor do its thing.

So far, nothing's caught fire. my watches seem to be doing fine, and I haven't notice my power bill going up.

 

[I Like em BIG ! !]

I got rid of the wife..., you can't believe how much power I am saving ! !

 

[rfortson]

In theory, running any mechanism continuously will increase wear over something that doesn't run. That said, watches are made to run, and to also be serviced regularly. If you wore the watch every day for 5 years, or left it in a drawer for 5 years, it will still need service, and the service will most likely be exactly the same.

As for winders magnetizing your watch, maybe the cheapest ebay one for $5. Yes, they use electric motor. It's also very easy to shield electric motors so they don't magnetize anything near them. As others said, buy a decent brand and you'll have no worries.

For a moonphase that's only worn occasionally? Get a winder and save yourself the hassle. Otherwise, I don't mind resetting normal watches.

 

[Tohono Rat]

In theory, running any mechanism continuously will increase wear over something that doesn't run.

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.

 

[falcon4311]

As usual, winders for the most part are a waste.

As usual, I will tell you that they are not.

 

[Watchbreath]

Only told that to a customer I was selling one to.

As usual, I will tell you that they are not.

 

[Reedy]

My experience has been the winder will wear out long before the watch.

Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk

 

[X2-Elijah]

watches are made to run

Mmm no, watches are made to be sold.

 

[derivicus]

If you don't use a winder while you're not wearing it, your watch will run slowlier. Then it will stop.

 

[aslogar]

I keep my watches on various winders in the bedroom, and its been years. Not a lick of a problems with them, and they all still keep excellent time.

So I can attest that winders are not the death knell of watches.

 

[RogerP]

I'll never understand the obsession with keeping ALL of your watches running ALL of the time forever. It's just weird.

But to answer the question posed, yes, keeping your watches running 24/7/365 for eternity (by whatever means) will result in more wear as compared with wearing your watches intermittently in rotation. So my recommendation is to save money on increased wear, and save money on pointless watch winders, and use that money to buy more watches. Seriously, if winding and setting your selected watch for the day is a crippling burden to you, then maybe mechanical watches just aren't your particular thing.

 

[khronolektur]

... Seriously, if winding and setting your selected watch for the day is a crippling burden to you, then maybe mechanical watches just aren't your particular thing.

I'm afraid that's true.

 

[hrs12150]

If you don't use a winder while you're not wearing it, your watch will run slowlier. Then it will stop.

😁👍👍👍