How Does a Watch Winder Work? And, Is It Even Necessary?

So, how does a watch winder work exactly? I’m going to break it down for you here to help you figure out if you need one.

Weighing in on an ongoing debate is never easy. The best approach, in my opinion, is to call balls and strikes as they are. Go at it apolitically. It seems this is a difficult thing to do when it comes to the topic of watch winders.

We even mention in our round-up of watch winders that some collectors consider them indispensable while others think they’re a waste. And when I say waste, I mean a waste of space and money. Some even report that they can be damaging.

I’m going to take a referee’s stance on today’s topic. No propaganda. No sensationalism.

Let’s start with a 101 on just how a watch winder works.

How Does a Watch Winder Work?

It does exactly what its name indicates. A watch winder rotates your timepiece to simulate everyday wear. 

Remember, an automatic watch doesn’t need winding if you perpetually wear it. The reason? The movement of your wrist turns the rotor and keeps it powered up.

However, you might take your automatic timepiece off for a long enough period that its power reserve runs out. In this case, you’ll have to wind it. Watch winders eliminate the need for you to do this. 

At the very least, they’ll lower the frequency of how often you need to wind your automatic watch.

Some winders need to be plugged in, while others use a battery. With a basic watch winder, you’ll activate it, and it’ll turn your watch in one direction for some time. You’ll turn it back on when it stops. 

However, there are more advanced winders that allow you to program rotation frequency, rotation direction, and even stopping points, rotation speed, and rotation amount.

Again, if you’re interested, check out our round-up to see a range of winders at different levels and prices.

Should I Keep My Watch on a Winder

Whether or not you should keep your watch on a winder fully depends on what you want from it. No one really needs a watch winder, but it might be a helpful accessory.

Off the bat, you don’t need a watch winder for your manual winding watches or your quartz watches from a practical perspective. Unlike an automatic, a manual watch will need winding again, regardless of whether or not it’s moving. 

Meanwhile, a winder isn’t going to up a quartz watch’s battery or anything like that.

As far as automatic watches, here are a few benefits to keeping them on a winder.

It’s Convenient

Not having to wind an automatic that ran out of its power reserve is one less thing to do. This is particularly true if you have several watches that you rotate throughout the week. 

If you have just one automatic watch that you wear daily, you don’t need to put it on a winder, again, from a practical perspective.

However, if you have watches with loads of complications, like dates and days and perpetual calendars, resetting all of that can be a pain. It’s certainly more time-consuming than reactivating a simple field watch with no complications.

There Are Benefits to Keeping Your Watch Running (Sort of)

Letting your watch run keeps it optimally lubricated between servicing. However, this isn’t totally consequential unless you’re literally keeping your watch off for years and years. 

I should mention that this problem is more common in vintage pieces. There’s a chance the lubricant can pool and stick. This isn’t likely to happen with modern watches, though.

It’s a Safe and Attractive Way To Store Your Watches

And finally, a watch winder is a better way to store your watch than throwing it in some drawer. It’s also more efficient with space than if you were to just keep all of the watch boxes out on some table.

Of course, there are non-winding watch storage solutions out there. Here are a few options when you’re done here!

But, you can think of a watch winder as a cool, engaging way to store watches that also happens to have a convenient, though not totally necessary, extra function.

Are Watch Winders Bad?

So, at what price are we paying for convenience and a cool aesthetic? Other than the literal monetary cost of a winder, that is.

The truth is watch-wirders aren’t necessarily bad. There are horror stories on watch forums of bad-winders overwinding their watches. However, that’s virtually impossible to do with a healthy, well-made automatic.

If you’re considering a winder, just make sure to do your due diligence. Read some reviews, and make sure you’re getting a good one.

And speaking of finding a quality watch winder, make sure you buy one that won’t magnetize your watch. Some models feature a watch winder mechanism that can create a magnetic field. This can affect its accuracy or even stop it completely. 

Even then, though, magnetic fields won’t actually do permanent damage to your timepieces. 

Conclusion: It’s Completely Up to You

So there you go.

Ultimately, if it isn’t a low-quality model that magnetizes your watch, a watch winder can be a nice thing to have. Is it a necessary thing to have? No.

But, if you want a nice, secure, and good-looking way to display your watches, a winder is a good way to go. That is, of course, if you’re willing to pay a little extra for a convenient but not crucial extra function.

And hey, maybe to you, not having to wind your watch often is crucial!

Do you own a watch winder? Would you consider one for your collection? Let me know in the comments!