Short answer: no.

Long answer: If the watch stops due to lack of wind state, close the bracelet, fit it over your fingers to the knuckles where you are grasping the bracelet as to not let the watch take flight. hold the watch so the face is horizontal (facing up) and make circular motions for a two to three hundred count. By having the watch horizontal, the rotor can spin 360 degrees and makes the winding fast and efficient. The Seiko winding system winds in both clockwise and counter clockwise directions so you can also hold the watch vertical and gently shake it back and forth, same animal, different spots.

If the watch stops and is unused, no damage will occur. In fact, less wear will be imparted on the watch. Automatics are the way to go in my view, enjoy.

 

in short, no, it won't do any damage as it would with a kinetic. once it dies to get it going again just hold it in your palm and give it 10-15 good shakes up and down and it should get it going until you get it on your wrist.

I've got too many automatics to wear so most are dead by the time I put them on, daily routine is to shake it up, set the time and day/date, and go about my business

 

Side note: One exception to the "less wear" comment is that over setting can cause wear to the cannon pinion, but that takes a long time to happen and is corrected during normal servicing which should be done every five(ish) years of running time so a part time watch could be far longer between overhauls.

 

No they will not get any damage at all. Just give them a few shake to get them going, set the time and they're good to go.

a watch is meant to be worn

 

An auto will come to no harm at all if you let it run down and stand for a while. Just have it serviced as though it was in permanent use.

 

Thanks for the informative answer. Makes me feel better about buying an automatic now.

Regards, Nick.

 

With respect to my learned friends above, these methods of winding seem over-enthusiastic to me. Though far from delicate, I'd be concerned about causing more wear than strictly necessary. Seiko automatic winding is very efficient and will virtually start once picked up. Otherwise, all you need is a few gentle and fairly rapid side-to-side movements (about an inch each way) with the watch dial up to just to get the rotor moving. No need to wind further once the seconds hand starts - or for acrobatics/arm gyrations or any of that malarkey.

 

When i wind my 6139-6005 and 6105 i find that holding it almost dial up, but give it a shake one way and kinda roll back and shake again.. you can feel the rotor spinning as you pull back to shake it again. I guess it's hard to describe but really, any sort of gentle motion forwards and backwards will get it winding.

As has been said, they do sorta start up quite easily but it's good to give them a bit of wind otherwise they might stop if you aren't active straight away with it on your wrist.

Funny though, i was actually thinking about the "does it damage it from not using it" sorta thing the other night since i haven't worn my 6105 in a while. Not so much damage, but will the oils migrate away from where they are supposed to be from sitting. I just give the 6105 a shake once in a while to get it all spinning inside.

 

1) If I let an automatic that is self winding sit for a while so that the reserve is depleted, how do I get it going again if I can't wind it?

I follow the advice given in the manual:

https://www.seikowatches.com/support/ib/pdf/SEIKO_4R15_16_35_36_7S26_35_36.pdf

 

Keep in mind that the "swinging" method of starting an automatic watch is for watches that aren't hand-windable. For Seiko watches, this is most commonly the 4R15 / 4R16 and 7S26 movements, among which are some very affordable and very nice options. However, if you move upmarket to the higher 4R movements like the 4R36 and 4R37, you gain the ability to hand-wind, as well as the ability to "hack" (i.e.: the second hand stops when you have the crown out fully, so you can synchronize your watch to an external time source). For me, hacking and hand-winding are vital, since I want to be able to synchronize my watches regularly, and I rotate daily, so I'm always winding up the other watches to keep them charged (I find that 32 turns of the crown is enough to keep them charged for a day without risking overwinding; the 6R27 movement on my SARW013 has a power gauge, which made it easy to find out how many turns until it's decently charged up).

 

Keep in mind that the "swinging" method of starting an automatic watch is for watches that aren't hand-windable. For Seiko watches, this is most commonly the 4R15 / 4R16 and 7S26 movements, among which are some very affordable and very nice options. However, if you move upmarket to the higher 4R movements like the 4R36 and 4R37, you gain the ability to hand-wind, as well as the ability to "hack" (i.e.: the second hand stops when you have the crown out fully, so you can synchronize your watch to an external time source). For me, hacking and hand-winding are vital, since I want to be able to synchronize my watches regularly, and I rotate daily, so I'm always winding up the other watches to keep them charged (I find that 32 turns of the crown is enough to keep them charged for a day without risking overwinding; the 6R27 movement on my SARW013 has a power gauge, which made it easy to find out how many turns until it's decently charged up).

You cannot overwind an automatic, so there is no risk involved, it can only happen to a manual wind, which is why I find a power reserve indicator more at home with a manual wind watch then an automatic, although it is nice to have it on any kind of watch if you rotate your watches.

 

To be fair though, from a metallurgic standpoint it must put more stress on the mainspring to completely cycle it? If it goes to full wind to empty several times, as opposed to staying between say 50-100%. Like a li-ion battery almost. This may be negligable of course, or it might be a factor.

 

You're right, but that's what mainsprings are specifically designed to do. Seiko use their own manufactured mainsprings (and everything else too). In any event, with modern materials science it's a non-issue.