What is a Watch Winder?

Now that I have a Rolex, I need a watch winder.

What is a watch winder?

Certain watches do not need to be wound because they wind themselves when they are moving on your arm throughout the day. When you don’t wear those watches they tend to stop, so a watch winder, which simulates that natural motion keeps automatic watches operating.

The internal parts of automatic watches are designed to follow the pull of gravity. Therefore, they don’t have gears that must be wound with a spring. Instead, their tiny weights get pulled by gravity as you move and swing your arm, so little by little these weights are twisting around both clockwise and counter-clockwise, until your watch is wound up. Watches like this are called automatic or self-winding types, as opposed to quartz, kinetic, or mechanical watches.

If you own fancy, collectible, beloved, or merely sufficient self-winding watches, you may want to invest in a watch winder. Not only do these devices keep your timepiece accurate whenever you pull it out of the compartment, they probably extend the overall life of fine watches by keeping parts lubricated and moving. By advancing the mainspring, it gently and continually winds the watch, yet prevents your watch from ever being “overwound.” Another mechanism inside most watches will disengage after the gears have been fully powered.

Beautiful watch winders are as decorative and elaborate as the timepieces that they hold. Some resemble cubes of polished and inlaid wood. Others have a glass top as a window to see the watch as it rotates, doubling as a display case. This is especially helpful when you own several watches and want to keep them in view, away from dust, yet protect them like jewelry. The handle that holds the actual watch should be adjustable, so it can handle bands of different diameters.

Batteries power most watch winders, but some larger models use an AC adapter that plugs into the wall. Since they include a small motor, you may hear a low hum and want to keep your box on a dresser or in a drawer rather than at your beside. AAA quality model will wind your watch counter- and clockwise, since your watch was designed to turn in both directions. They’ll handle anywhere from one to eight watches, to cover your basic needs or display an entire collection.