Want to buy a watch winder? Don’t know what to look for? Read on.

A watch winder is a clever machine that you can put an automatic watch on – a watch that is powered by movement on your wrist such as a Rolex, Omega, TAG or Breitling – that will keep it working when you are not wearing it. Watch winders are designed to prevent an automatic watch from winding down when not being worn. They rotate the watch causing the rotor (part of the watch mechanism) to rotate and wind the mainspring.

If you are thinking of buying a watch winder for yourself or as a present but don’t know where to start or what you need, read on because there is one key question you need to answer. Find out what it is here.

The key task when buying a watch winder is to match the winding requirements of the watch with the program offered by the winder. In other words, you need to know what the watch needs from a winder. Some watches require clockwise only winding / movement, some anti-clockwise only, and some alternating (between the two).

It is vital that you match this movement requirement of the watch with a program providing it on the winder you buy. A watch that is designed to only wind in one direction has a clever link that allows the pendulum inside to spin uni-directionally without releasing the energy in the spring. If you try to wind one of these with an alternating program, half the turns are wasted – and so  is half the time on the winder. Put a clockwise only watch on an anti-clockwise winder (or vice versa) and it will not wind at all !

So if the watch needs clockwise winding, you need a winder with a clockwise program, if it needs anti-clockwise (or counter clockwise) winding, you need a winder with an anti-clockwise program, if it needs alternating winding, you need an alternating program, and if you have more than one watch and need to wind them with a combination of these, you need more than one winder, or a winder with more than one program.

People often ignore this absolutely vital detail and buy a watch winder based on looks or cost alone, then come unstuck when it does not wind the watch. It then becomes a very expensive ornament !

A watch manual will often include specific information on whether it should be wound in a clockwise, anti-clockwise or alternating direction. For example, most Rolex watches need alternating winding. But these winding requirements vary from watch company to watch company, sometimes from watch to watch (from the same watch company) and even for the same watch made in different years, as they are determined by the watch mechanism used.

If you do not have access to the manual, contact the after sales or service department of the watch company and ask for the information. There are some online resources offering the information too.

Once you know the direction the watch should be wound, you can look for a watch winder that meets your budget, style and how many watches you want to wind, and has a program that will meet the winding needs of the watch. So in the example of Rolex watches above, you want to look for a winder that has a program offering alternating winding.

Other key things to consider include:

Do you want the flexibility to wind watches with different requirements on the same winder? Some watch winders have one only program, others have four programs (usually including clockwise, anti-clockwise and alternating) and some are fully programmable.

The power supply - do you want the winder to run via a plug or a battery (to be placed in a safe)? Battery only winders are typically much more expensive.

The number of turns (complete rotations of the winder) the watch needs. Modern watch winders are set to offer at least 650 turns per day, which will be sufficient to keep most watches wound. Some offer more than this, even up to four times as many turns. This offers the opportunity to run the winder via a timer plug for part of the day (see the section on noise below). You will need to ask for this information, as it is not published.

The size of the watch and the size of the watch winder / watch pillow. Some larger watches cannot fit on a watch winder that takes more than one watch on the same turntable. Some watches are also too big / heavy for many watch winders. [We include the watch pillow size in all of our listings.]

The noise level. All watch winders will make a noise, as they have a motor, usually with gearing and a turntable. If you plan to have it in the bedroom, you might want to look for a winder that has a program to wind non stop for a period of perhaps 3 hours. This can allow you to operate it via a timer plug so that it winds during the day, when you are not in the room.

Storage? If you have automatic, hand winding and quartz (battery powered) watches, do you want a winder that will keep the automatic watches going, but has space to store your other watches too?

Remember that winders do not wind watches – they keep them wound. If you put a watch that has completely run down on a winder then it will still be completely run down when you take it off.

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