I've been reconsidering this whole winder thing.

[dbakiva]

Some months ago, after some research, and after posting a thread in the winders & tools forum, and after reading others' thoughts, I purchased a very nice 4-watch winder from Brookstone.

The price was affordable; under $200 including shipping and an extended warranty. The product was quite attractive with a very nice walnut finish. I have no complaints with the device itself, but the following realization has led me to change my opinion on winders and their utility.

To wit: Of the 3 automatics that I have been wearing, each of them tend to lose several seconds a day when in the winder. Those same watches generally run from +.5 to +2 seconds per day when manually wound and left dial up at night. If I leave my Datejust, mounted on the winder, with the winder turned off, it also loses time. My assumption is that this is an issue of positional variation, and it is relatively constant between watches.

Off winder, the Rolex Datejust may lose about a second daily when worn, and gain a similar amount face up. Pretty similar with very slightly more variance with the Seamaster GMT (1128). The Glashütte Hand/date is too new to fully assess, but it too appears to be very accurate when worn or off the winder, and again loses time on the winder.

As a result of this, I find that I tend to keep the watches I don't wear regularly mounted on the winder, but with the device turned off. The watch winds down, I wind and set it when I wear it, and the winder becomes a fairly expensive display case. The watches I wear regularly are often kept face up in front of the winder at night time.

Any thoughts on this regarding positional variation, or a different factor that didn't occur to me? Should I increase the setting for TPD above the recommended settings? I wonder if a winder that kept the dial up would suffer less from this phenomenon, or would it just introduce different errors in different watches?

I realize this could have been posted in winders & tools forum, but I think the question may have some general interest, and is not about a specific product as such, but about the utility of a class of products.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

[gaijin]

Thanks for sharing your learning experience - it is very much the same as mine.

I think you are correct that positional variation is the cause of the rate variances you are seeing on the winder. It would do no good to increase the TPD setting.

I also have an "expensive display case" that stays off - and unplugged to assure that no stray magnetic fields are "playing" with any watches that might be in there.

HTH

[Sodiac]

Winder = waste of energy. Never owned one; never will. Part of the enjoyment of watch collecting is the mental satisfaction and tactile sensation of choosing the day's watch, then setting it and winding it up in the morning. If it's an auto, set it, shake it, wear it, it winds itself. Who needs a winder?

[geoffbot]

Winder = waste of energy. Never owned one; never will. Part of the enjoyment of watch collecting is the mental satisfaction and tactile sensation of choosing the day's watch, then setting it and winding it up in the morning. If it's an auto, set it, shake it, wear it, it winds itself. Who needs a winder?

That's what I decided. I was offered one for free the other day, and turned it down.

[John MS]

That is not surprising. When we wear our watches then store them at night we can take advantage of offsetting errors in timing. The result can be very accurate average timing. Not so with a winder.

[CMTFR]

This has already been discussed for several times and I realise the opinions may diverge, but I agree with you. I've considered and reconsidered buying a winder from time to time. And I've never did. I don't mind setting the wathes when I need to and I'm not sure I'm ok with the aditional - and unnecessary - wearing it brings to the movements working non-stop. But again, my watches are not "grand complications"...

[johnny action]

OK, I respect y'alls opinions, so just let me say that if any of you want to sell your "expensive display cases" that you no longer use then drop me a line 'cause I'm in the market for a nice used one.

[MJ808]

Part of the enjoyment of watch collecting is the mental satisfaction and tactile sensation of choosing the day's watch, then setting it and winding it up in the morning. If it's an auto, set it, shake it, wear it, it winds itself. Who needs a winder?

+1

[watchma]

To me its akin to buying an expensive car and having a chauffeur drive it around

never

+1

waste of energy

+1

but to all the peeps with winders who are happy with them, then fair enough - may the rotation be with you

[Quasimodo]

I wholly agree with Sodiac. I enjoy setting the time and date for the watch I've chosen to wear and gently "bringing it back to life". There's a certain fascination in holding a sleeping watch in hand and then waking it up for the day.


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