As the title suggests, need a winder for my 2, new to me, Seikos.
A Wolf would be nice, but can't justify the sticker shock I got when browsing their selection.

Browsed a bit on Amazon, and they all seem to be variations of the same Chinese 4 piece winder for $70-90.
Are these any good, better option without the buy once/cry once Wolf prices?

Don't buy one. Why keep it wound when you aren't using it? It is uneccessary wear.

One reason I've been given to not let an automatic watch sit unused for long periods of time is to help keep the lubricants from gumming. It makes sense to me, but perhaps not to others.

Here's a good read about the usefulness, or not, of watch winders:

https://www.bobswatches.com/ro...h-winders-worth.html

Edit to add:

If you're looking at Wolf watch winders, check out Orbita for another option:

https://www.orbita.com/shop/?s...r_tax=87-product_cat

I’m looking at one of these or at least reading reviews and researching. Still on the fence.
I see them on Amazon. Not sure if this is the actual website. Chiyoda is another budget brand I see.

https://www.jqueenwatchwinders...ouble-watch-winders/

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Don't buy one. Why keep it wound when you aren't using it? It is uneccessary wear.

I’m with you. It’s a controversial subject but I’ve had probably 15 mechanical watches and have never had a single one “gum up”.

A friend of mine who’s watch collection makes mine look like a starter set once told me when I asked his opinion on the subject that it’s like letting your car run all day while you're at work with the AC on so it’s cool when you get in it after work.

Sure it’s convenient but the constant wear and tear when not using it isn’t worth the added convenience with how easy most modern mechanicals can be brought to the correct time and date.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1s1k,

My watch repair guy says he loves watch grinders and wishes all his customers used them.

I have and use a winder ONLY for times when I'm not going to wear a watch that I really don't want to reset. Like a GMT/date that is a little bit of a chore to set. But I'd estimate I don't have a watch on my winder (single unit) more than a few days every few months.

I simply do not believe that modern lubricants gel-up inside of a sealed watch case, nor do I believe that they migrate downward, assuming the watch isn't sitting for a decade untouched.

Of course, 90% of the watches I own are gone within a few months to a few years. But I still treat them all like I was keeping them for life.

When buying an inexpensive watch winder I was told to be careful.
I was told that the cheep winders do not shield their motors and that can create a magnetic field that will magnetize your watch, not sure how true this is.
Most of the inexpensive winders also have no way to set the turns per day. Try to find a winder that will be close to what your watch needs to keep it fully wound.

I have had some inexpensive ones that did not last very long.
I now have a Wolf Cub my wife purchased off Posh Mark. It was listed as brand new missing the power supply however it took battery's. I also purchased a power supply and the total cost was almost 1/3 the cost of a new one.

There will always be a 50/50 split on use/don't use one. It's a personal choice. I use one to wind my watch the night before I am going to set it and wear it in the morning.
The watch I do this with have a ETA 2824-2 movement in them. This movement has been known to have a gear that can strip if hand wound to much.

Thanks gents, these are my first autos, so it's still a learning curve over here.

Neither are difficult to set, though only 1 has handwinding.

Think I'll hold on a winder, for now.

I've worn an automatic watch continuously since Christmas when I was 8 or 9 and I got my first watch.

When I heard there were automatic watch winders, I thought someone was blowing smoke up my wazoo as I have never seen a need for one.

Turns out they're for real.

Half the fun of an Automatic is picking one out of the case and shaking it to start the action, then winding and setting it to the perfect time…. off the Time.is website on my cell phone.

Even the days that I swap watches I still enjoy taking the time to mechanically bring each timepiece back to life. It always reminds me of when I was a little kid watching my father get ready to go to the office, drinking his coffee in the early morning at the kitchen table and winding his watch.

I've been using the Android app:
Atomic Clock & Watch Accuracy Tool (with NTP Time)
Ironically, it syncs to the Apple time server.

To set mine. It lets you track time snapshots & gives a decent look at how much time it's losing, but only lets you save 1 watch in the free version.

Mostly just been using it for the time setting as it simulates an auto movement on the second hand.

Putting the winder idea on hold & may look into a display/storage case instead, since I'm sitting on 4 quartz & 2 autos.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:

I was told that the cheep winders do not shield their motors and that can create a magnetic field that will magnetize your watch, not sure how true this is.
Most of the inexpensive winders also have no way to set the turns per day. Try to find a winder that will be close to what your watch needs to keep it fully wound.

.

Just an fyi: After reading the above note, I removed the 3 watches that I had in my winder (from Amazon) and checked them for magnetism. I checked them by putting them close to a cheap hiking compass (admittedly not high tech). To my surprise,2 of the 3 watches moved the compass needle quite vigorously.

As a hobby, I fiddle with watches and have a demagnetizer. I'm quite sure that I had run these watches through my Demag. So, I can fix this quite easily, but it does make me wonder if I want to use my winder anymore.....

im in the same market. I've been wearing autos for years without a winder, but am tired on the winding and resetting. I"ve got to think that a properly set winder, in terms of turns per time period, would not put any more wear on a watch than wearing it.

I also think modern lubes will not gum up a watch that doesn't run for a few weeks, or even months. We aren't using whale oil any more. I also don't think the lubricants will run out of their bearing points, etc.

I can't see any way around the logic that tells me that the watch is now running two or three times more than one not on a winder and that accelerates wear.

There's a lot of information and discussion regarding watchwinders on various watch forums and other internet sites that cover all the aspects in this thread and more.

In addition to the links I posted above, here are just a couple more of the many out there that are good reading for folks interested in watch winders:

https://millenarywatches.com/are-watch-winders-bad/

https://www.watchuseek.com/thr...19125/#post-45064877

It's a subject that is contentious but doesn't need to be. If you're thinking about watch winders you should definitely research them before purchasing - as you would for any item on which you would spend $100's of dollars as my recommendation, if you decide to get one at some point, is to avoid the cheap versions.

As far as I'm aware, there aren't any studies or research done regarding the possible positive or negative effects of using watch winders so understand that most everything you read or hear (good and bad) is subjective. Take your time, read as much about them as you can, then decide what makes the most sense to you.

I had autowinders. Then I got more automatic watches.

Then I started thinking. I bought the automatic watches because I like the idea of not having to deal with batteries. But, instead, I use watch winders that use electricity to keep the watches wound.

So, I ditched the autowinders. Instead, everyday, I wind each watch 30 times. I also rotate using them every week. This way when I switch watches, I don't have to set the time and date on a stopped watch. I get the tactile pleasure of handling the watch as I wind it.

I don't buy the idea that autowinders will ruin the watch. If it was your only watch, you would be constantly wearing it anyway.

I would recommend just winding everyday the watch you're not wearing.