Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

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hoggy
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Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by hoggy »

I've got into the habit of winding my watch absent mindedly a few times each day. Will it do the movement any harm? Should I try to keep it to just once per day?
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

hoggy wrote:I've got into the habit of winding my watch absent mindedly a few times each day. Will it do the movement any harm? Should I try to keep it to just once per day?
I would imagine it puts wear and tear unnecessarily on the wheels that connect the crown to the mainspring barrel. Also, using as much of the power of the mainspring as possible helps to even out the rate of the watch...or so I believe. So why bother? If I'm wearing a manual for the day or keeping one going continuously, it gets wound first thing in the morning and not touched again for 24h.
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by robert75 »

Spot on. They go for about 24 hours so dont see the need to keep winding the watch up. If its left ticking in the box in the morning maybe last thing at night to keep it constant. Otherwise once a day should be enough.
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by 28800bph »

The most preferable option is to have your butler or chauffeur wind your mechanicals twice per day. It is a good balance between accuracy and unnecessary wear.

Second choice is to put it on a watch winder. The Orbita Sempre will wind a mechanical watch by turning the crown for you. One can be had for ~$4,000.

As a last resort, you can wind it yourself. Once per day.
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Dancematt »

Always wind my ones before i go to sleep, that way if im in a rush in the morning i don't forget to do it all day plus its very therapeutic after a stressful day and (somewhat ironically) helps you unwind before sleep :)
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by tinknocker »

I wind my manuals first thing in the morning. Works fine for me.
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by xtriple »

I wind my manuals once a day at about ten o'clock, but only when I'm wearing them. The rest of the time they "rest" in the box. Quite like the ritual of checking the timekeeping with my laptop and then winding them. I'm sad I know.
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by footycrazy »

Most vintage manual winds will have a power reserve of 36 hours + so a full wind each morning is fine. And if your lucky to have a movement that has a reserve of 48/49+ hours then wind it every other dayor 36 hours in. You will get to know your watch and how many times you can wind it, so you can slow down as you get near to the full. Although you may not be able to overwind it, you definitely can break it if too much torque is used.

I found this quite usefull.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/automa ... 98472.html
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Kip »

footycrazy wrote:Most vintage manual winds will have a power reserve of 36 hours + so a full wind each morning is fine. And if your lucky to have a movement that has a reserve of 48/49+ hours then wind it every other dayor 36 hours in. You will get to know your watch and how many times you can wind it, so you can slow down as you get near to the full. Although you may not be able to overwind it, you definitely can break it if too much torque is used.

I found this quite usefull.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/automa ... 98472.html
Excellent link footy..and simply explained.

May I suggest you put the link in the General Watchmaking section with appropriate title.
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footycrazy
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by footycrazy »

Kip wrote:
footycrazy wrote:
Excellent link footy..and simply explained.

May I suggest you put the link in the General Watchmaking section with appropriate title.

Done. :thumbup:
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Interesting! Brownie points there for you, Graham! :D
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by footycrazy »

Can i have a badge please Steve :lol:
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

No, but if you ask nicely Hans might give you a title! :lol:
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Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by footycrazy »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:No, but if you ask nicely Hans might give you a title! :lol:

Mmmm no thanks, i,ve seen XT,s :lol:
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Re: Hand wound - once per day, or several times?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Yours wouldn't be as bad....Vintage MeisterFlipper? :D
Steve
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Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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