Learn How To Wind a Hamilton Watch in 5 Minutes

Do you need to know how to wind a Hamilton watch? This guide will take less than five minutes to read and covers everything you need to know.

So, you love your mechanically wound Hamilton watch, but you’re unsure how to wind it properly? Worry not. This guide will take you through the steps to wind a Hamilton watch from start to finish. 

In no time at all, you’ll be a Hamilton watch-winding pro.  

A Little Background on Hamilton Watches

If there are two things that Hamilton is synonymous with, it would have to be Swiss precision and value for money.  

The manufacturer’s catalog contains everything from simple three-handed quartz movements to automatic chronographs. It even offers a range of futuristic triangular-shaped timepieces!

If you’ve done some research on the brand already, you’ll know it differs from many other Swiss watch brands. 

It has American roots and opened its doors in Lancaster, PA, in 1892. The American railroad system relied on the brand’s early pocket watches of the 1900s for their accuracy and reliability.  

During the 20th Century, Hamilton began producing watches for the military, many of which inspired the Khaki range today. The current Khaki watch range includes a wide range of dive watches, field watches, and pilot’s watches.

For something a little more elegant, Hamilton’s range of Jazzmaster watches is perfect for those in search of a dress watch. Then, there is the rather unique-looking Ventura watch collection, known for its selection of triangular-shaped profiles. These attention-demanding designs were the watch of choice for the King of Rock & Roll, himself, Elvis Presley.  

Hamilton Watch Winding Instructions

If you own a Hamilton watch and are unfamiliar with how to wind it, don’t worry. A quick read of the watch’s winding instructions should help. Each new timepiece comes with an official warranty, paperwork, and an instruction manual.

But, if your watch isn’t brand-new and is a pre-owned model instead, you may not have one.  If that’s the case, this quick guide on how to wind a Hamilton watch should help.  

Before you attempt to wind your Hamilton watch, you should determine whether it is manual or automatic-powered. If you’re new to the watch-collecting world, don’t let these technical terms confuse you. The difference between the two is really quite simple once you know.  

You can read up on the difference between a manual and automatic watch in greater detail if you need to. But for quickness, here’s the rub.  

Both automatic and manual watches are mechanical. The term “mechanical watches” refers to the cogs and gears that power a mainspring in either type of watch.  

The difference between an automatic and manual-wound watch lies in the way each one is wound. Automatic watches are self-winding, which means the natural movement of your wrist drives them. 

Their weighted rotor moves with the motion of your wrist, causing a complex system of gears to begin working. These gears convert the movement into power, transferring it to the mainspring.  

A manual-winding watch requires you to wind the movement by hand each day. 

Once the mainspring is manually wound, a series of gears and wheels causes it to unwind itself. The power then transfers to the escapement. 

That said, an automatic watch, once run down, will still require manual winding. In any case, both are simple to do.

You can identify whether your Hamilton watch is automatic or manual by referring to the instructions manual. If you fail to do that, do a little research on the name and model number of your watch to make sure. 

After all, an automatic watch will need winding slightly differently from a manually-wound watch.  

How To Wind a Hamilton Watch — the Manual-Winding Type

If you own a Hamilton manual-winding watch, it will require regular hand winding. Most companies recommend winding your manual-wound watch at the same time each day. 

Winding your watch manually is a great way to connect with your chosen timepiece each day. It helps you develop a deeper understanding of its alluring complexity and how it works. Many luxury watch connoisseurs prefer a manually winding watch for this particular reason.  

If you own a manual-winding Hamilton watch, the first step you need to take is to locate the crown at 3 o’clock. Remove the watch from your wrist before you do this. If you don’t, you could risk damaging the stem.  

Holding your watch face-up in your left hand, use your right thumb and index finger to pull out the crown. Once pulled out, begin to turn the crown in the clockwise direction.  

As you continue winding your manual Hamilton watch, you will encounter some small level of resistance. This is your signal to stop winding the watch and an indication that the movement is fully wound. 

This resistance increases significantly as the tension mounts until the mechanical lock engages. When you reach this point, you can return the crown to its normal position by gently pressing it in.

The key thing to remember when winding a manual-winding Hamilton watch is to return the crown to its normal position. This ensures that water won’t leak into the case afterward.  

How Many Times to Wind a Hamilton Watch?

It’s important to have a rough idea of how many times you need to wind a Hamilton watch. Giving yourself a rough estimate will ensure you don’t lose track of how long you’re winding it for.

If the thought of over-winding your watch worries you, you might find other articles on this topic useful. 

As a rough guideline, plan to rotate your automatic or manual watch around 35-40 times. You can then work your way up from there if you need to.

How To Wind a Hamilton Automatic Watch

Learning how to wind a Hamilton automatic watch is simple. It’s the same as winding a Rolex watch or a manually driven Hamilton.  

To begin, pull the watch out to begin winding if it has a screwed-down crown. Some automatic watches won’t require this. 

To do this, turn the watch counterclockwise until it pops up. 

Then, turn the crown clockwise. 

Face the dial towards you when doing this, holding it in your left hand while you win with the right.

Gently rotate the crown in this direction. You may also start to hear a gentle clicking. This is a normal part of the winding process. 

Continue to wind the crown around 30-40 times. 

It is important to remember how many turns you have completed. While a manual-winding Hamilton will put up a gentle protest, an automatic movement will keep winding.  

Once you have wound your automatic Hamilton watch, return it to its natural position by pressing it and turning it clockwise.  

Alternative Ways To Wind a Hamilton Watch

Aside from wearing your watch or manually winding it, you can use a watch winder. This device is useful for multiple-watch owners, keeping them ticking over nicely. This way, each watch is ready to go should you wish to alternate them.

You can read about how watch winders work in some more detail if you’re unsure. But what you need to know is that watch winders work by simulating the motion of your wrist. 

This keeps the movement fully wound. For the best result, check out how many turns your watch requires.

If you own a Hamilton Jazzmaster, the recommended TPD (turns per day) it requires is 800. 

For a Khaki Field, you’ll expect somewhere between 650 and 800. 

A Ventura will require around 650 TPD to keep it wound nicely. 

You should also check which direction the watch needs winding in, depending on its movement.

The Takeaway

Hamilton watches, whether automatic or manual, require winding similarly.

This guide has outlined everything you need to know about how to wind a Hamilton watch. Most timepieces, however, operate in the same. If you’re ever unsure of anything, you should seek help from an official stockist or authorized Hamilton dealer.

Whether you own just one mechanical watch or multiple, however, care for your timepiece well. Enjoy wearing it daily, and take the time to appreciate its complexity.  

Watches, whether wound automatically or by hand, are, after all, quite a marvel of technology!

If you’d like to read more informative articles on watches like this, sign up for our newsletter at The Slender Wrist today!