question about watch winding

[11wordisbond]

I have read that one cannot overwind a watch, and that winding a watch is similar to "breathing life" into a living thing. Now, if I wear my watch a couple of times a week, is it safe to wind a mech every day just for good measure?

[stuffler,mike]

Automatic movements canīt be overwind.They all have an overwind protection mechanism in order to prevent breaking the mainspring once fully wound.

That means that a handwounded movement can be overwind given the case you donīt feel the stand when fully wound up.

[11wordisbond]

Sorry Mike, I don't quite understand you. Just for clarification, will I damage the watch if I were to wind it about 10 rotations per day?

[WNUT]

Sorry Mike, I don't quite understand you. Just for clarification, will I damage the watch if I were to wind it about 10 rotations per day?

If I may, Mike....You CAN overwind a manual wind watch. If you want to wind it every day, stopping when it begins to feel fully wound, then that is fine. (or just 10 winds if that's what you want to do). I think it's good for a manual wind watch to run most of the time.
And as Mike said, an automatic watch cannot be overwound. It has a spring slip feature.
I hope this clears things up for you.
Dave

[NEG]

If it's an automatic then no, if it's a manual wind then it's possible, so yes.

However, with the manual wind you will feel the obvious point when it's fully wound and winding futher will take brute force followed by a broken watch.

[Tragic]

Mike's saying I believe that one CAN possibly damage a mechanical handwind watch. I think you're referring to an automatic though and I don't think there's any possible harm to winding an auto like you mention.

[11wordisbond]

On average, how many rotations would you recommend? And do I have to wind it very slowly (read that somewhere, once every two seconds), or does it not matter?

[Joukowski]

it generally takes 30-40 turns to wind an automatic fully from zero. It is also dependent on what type of watch you've got as the "full" power reserve can vary between movements.

Does the crown screw on? I've heard of some vintage watches where the threads can wear or cross due to wear, damaging the water resistance of the watch due to constant screwing and unscrewing of the crown.

[Junior]

On average, how many rotations would you recommend? And do I have to wind it very slowly (read that somewhere, once every two seconds), or does it not matter?

With manual wind watches, it depends on the type of movement you have, how old it is, what the oil inside is like, etc. so it really is like "How long is a piece of string" - they vary. Having said that, quite a lot of mine seem to go 16 to 18 rotations before becoming fully wound (some are ready in as little as 10).

Automatic watches that can also be wound by hand are slightly different, and if I want to keep one running without wearing it, then I usually wind it 40 rotations, which seems to be enough for a 24 hour period - again, remember, movements reserve capacities will differ from make to make, condition, etc.

I don't believe it matters how slowly you wind - I just went and timed myself whilst winding a watch up, and it took 1 second per rotation, at the 'normal' speed I have been using for years. I hope that helps you, and happy winding.

[11wordisbond]

Thanks a lot guys, you've been extremely informative.