HOW WINDING DAMAGES YOUR WATCH & How To Wind Your Watch Correctly - For Manual & Automatic Watches

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0:00 Intro
0:29 Does over winding / hand winding damage a manual watch?
2:17 Does over winding / hand winding damage an automatic watch?
4:32 What not to do when winding your watch
8:04 How to wind your automatic watch properly
8:47 How to wind your manual watch properly
9:50 Ending
CHECK OUT MY INSTAGRAM: / sillyvintagewatches
#watchmaking #automaticwatch #mechanicalwatch

[@SillyVintageWatches]

DO YOU KNOW HOW A MECHANICAL WATCH WORKS? WATCH THIS... kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3nReKp7nrdol5I

[@Antek_S]

"How handwinding damages your watch" "How walking damages your shoes" "How driving damages your tires" "How pedalling damages your gears" "How being alive shortens your life expectancy"

[@bigdreams5554]

How breathing damage your lungs

[@melvinch]

How shitting damages your anus.

[@just88]

Did you actually watch and COMPREHEND the video? I saw your profile and if it's accurate, then you are not a child.

[@Antek_S]

@@just88 Jesus Christ, who pissed in your cornflakes? What's your argument exactly?

[@Antek_S]

@@just88 What's your arguement exactly?

[@matthewpaull1664]

So hand winding doesn’t damage your watch, but doing in a stupid way or in stupid place might.

[@chrishennemeyer7276]

It would have been useful to explain what in fact "overwinding" is if you're going to advise people to avoid it.

[@xHhAaBbZzx]

Listen to his full answer to question two. He basically explains it completely. Look at when he winds the gold movement by crown and see all the visible gears, even the screws moving to manually wind the main spring through the main barrel. Then watch how he moves the rotor and see only the smaller visible golden gears spin and the larger visible silver gears or screws don't move at all. That's the two ways of winding your watch: by movement of rotor or by manual wind. Manual wind just moves more parts. Basically.. winding by crown moves more parts, thus making them wear out over time. Doing this all the time to your watch will make the gears teeth or the crown-stem wear out too low to actually catch on the other gears to move it and making the worn out dust or broken debris stop your watch (just like how driving your car in higher rpm's will wear out your engine internals sooner) this makes the watch not able to wind by either ways. So even more basic...wind crown too much...watch no work.. lol Only wind the watch about 10-40 times (depending on the watch) to put enough kenetic energy into the main spring to reach its estimated running time. Then (depending on the watch) do this again to build up the reserve before the energy is depleted (estimated running time) to keep the watch ticking. Otherwise wearing it throughout the day everyday will do the same, as long as you're actually moving your arm lol. Hope that explains it more to anyone who's wondering 🤔

[@nycbklynrmp]

@@xHhAaBbZzx not useful when the watch is closed LOL

[@vipermoon_]

Seriously! No one on the internet so far is telling me what overwinding feels and sounds like. I wound my new SW200-1 for forever, not feeling or hearing any difference until I gave up. Was trying to find the end so that I know approx how many/how long/what feel/what sound

[@zacwoodward6054]

​@vipermoon_ My understanding from other watchmakers instructions and from many free watchmaking videos is that over winding is simply winding a manual wound watch past it's natural stopping point. When a manual wound watch is fully tensioned it comes to a natural stop and you would have to intentionally push through this stop, breaking stuff. It is apparently uncommon to see in many watchmakers practices. On the other hand an automatic watch cannot be overwound as the mainspring in an automatic watch is designed to slip within it's barrel so that the action of wearing the watch does not cause it to become overwound (therefore you never feel a "stop" when hand winding it). The winding gear mechanisms for an automatic watch are generally not as robust as those in a manual wind watch and so they aren't designed for you to fully wind the watch each time it has been sitting. Also, the video points out that you could be stressing the auto wind mechanism through a different direction than intended when you are hand winding it. The best approach is to not fully manually wind an automatic (and you may have difficulty telling when it is fully wound because that main spring is slipping by design). My approach for an automatic that has been sitting is to pick it up and give it a gentle shake, if it starts ticking i set the time and wear it. If it doesn't start right up I give it just enough winds to get it moving and then wear it.

[@vipermoon_]

@@zacwoodward6054 Thank you! That very much makes sense and explains that situation I had.

[@swilkobarfingtoniii1642]

Generally, on my vintage pieces I have a pretty good idea of many many winds it takes to put a full load on the mainspring. I tend to count the winds I do and as I come to the end I slow down and leave just a bit of slack, maybe two crown rotations and the watch is ready to wear. I am usually only wearing these vintage watches for a few hours at a time and then changing to a "daily beater" that I don't worry too much about.

[@think2023]

Wow, your watches seem to wear and break VERY easily! I wind everything, have done for decades...zero issues.

[@jackochainsaw]

Most modern autos have a mechanism that prevents over-winding, the stem will freewheel like a bicycle. Even manual wind resistance becomes enough that you don't go any further. It's just common sense really.

[@davidjb3671]

Clearly from this it's best not to wind mechanical watches at all, and this approach comes with the additional benefit that the watch will always be exactly correct twice a day 😏

[@Jake-bt3fc]

Lots of watches can only be hand wound.

[@SirStamford27]

Good useful video. 👍 found it a bit strange though that in a video about winding, you showed the Seiko SKX a lot. A watch you can't hand wind

[@thomasroberts8024]

Unfortunately, I recognized a couple of those no-nos from this video! In 1978, I was out for a morning run in the rain wearing my two year old Omega Speedmaster under my rain suit..... Fogged up immediately when I got home. In other times, I've broken a mainspring and then a stem all for the reasons you lay out. This is" watch wisdom 101" and thank you for posting it. Oh, I still have the Speedmaster after 48 years and it's keeping better time than ever. I wear it everywhere.

[@JPV246]

Thanks! Extremely insightful review.

[@TheBimmer74]

Excellent video. This is why I love watches with power reserve indicators like my Orient Star Diver!

[@stevehuffman7453]

ummm ... my one mechanical watch (circa 1885 Elgin 15 jewel H.H. Taylor grade 79 pocket watch) only winds by hand ... with a key.. Since it does not have an automatic wind complication, (and it is not possible to add one) how do you suggest I wind it, if not by hand, using the key? For wat it is worth ... to date it runs great. It was recently serviced. The main spring did not need replacement. or did any other spring. I wind it until te key does not turn, without forcing it. As it was designed to be wound.

[@jltrem]

I have a 1965 Hamilton Accumatic which belonged to my uncle. It is the only automatic watch I own and initially didn't know anything about it. Before trying to wear it I would wind it, thinking it functioned like a mechanical watch. This caused it to gain time to the point of it gaining 20 minutes over a two hour period. Now when wearing it I give it a couple of vigorous shakes to get it going and it keeps good time, only gaining a few seconds per week. It has never been serviced.

[@roversgonemad]

You should really have it serviced. The old oils dry out and you will ruin the jewels without lube. In 1965 they didn’t use the long lasting synthetic oils they have today and the old oils can be detrimental when dry. As they dry, they can become akin to grinding paste and you’ll unnecessarily wear out the pivots.

[@jltrem]

@@roversgonemad I understand but it was a watch that belonged to an uncle who passed away in 1976. I only wear it occasionally. I was given estimates of $300-$380 for servicing. I'm an old guy who normally wears a $44 Casio Duro. As I said, I was surprised it worked at all as accurately as it does. Also I'm a cheapskate, I'll just enjoy it while it works. Thanks, though.

[@fossilimprint2954]

Thank you, this is helpful. Subscribed !

[@QoraxAudio]

I had an old watch serviced that didn't run at all, the only thing they had to replace were the winding stem and the engagement of it. Except for that it was very grimy so they ultrasonic cleaned all parts and lubed it. It only cost me 45 bucks! Really pleasantly surprised about that!

[@ericweis9771]

Very informative thank you

[@SillyVintageWatches]

Glad it was helpful!

[@user-kj1wy2cx8x]

Thank you. My wife bought me my first decent watch a Speedster 38mm for my 60th. Unfortunately that's now 360 days away who's counting. So I don't get to wear if for a year. We got it this year to beat price increases. Can I have your thoughts on to wind or not to wind. We took a 5 year insurance thing also.

[@dire67]

Congratulations to me. I do 90% of these "don'ts" 😅

[@H0kram]

Interesting video. My old watchmaker always told me to be gentle and consistent with my winding, so it the tear is even and well spreaded with time. But well, I don't forget neither that using a watch, is damaging a watch, it's not alive and can't regenerate so, it is what it is :)

[@vincziandrei2992]

@SillyVintageWatches , Hi, i have a question not relatet to this video but nonetheless about watchmaking , i just bought a watchmacker tools lot and with it came a bag of generic hair spring packages like hundreds of them, can you explain how to decode the numbers and sizes which are written on this hairspring packages, it will help a lot in case i need to restor watches with damaged hairsprings since i have hundreds of them . Thank you, Andrei Vinczi.

[@brothacaim]

Does This apllies to modern automatic that also hand wind?

[@fredflintstone8048]

Thanks for making this video. All great advice that person's with watches are well served to keep in mind. One thing I do is not open watches to replace a battery when the humidity in the area is greater than 20 percent. Certainly NOT in any kind of rainy weather. Sealing the watch back up with humid air inside will cause that humidity to condense when the temperature of the watch goes below dew point which will be a higher temperature with wetter air trapped inside.

[@user-hl1gb6bo8y]

Thank you for making this informative video It has been very well made wherein Dos & Don'ts have been explained very nicely I live in Mumbai where the temperature is humid I do not recall opening & closing the Crown of my Tissot Powermatic when it was on my wrist but may have done it when I was outdoor The Result : Crown spindle dot rusted & I had to replace my Crown

[@Solitaire001]

Thanks for this informative video. I haven't a mechanical watch in years but when I did I would stop winding when I felt some resistance. To deal with issue would the following work: Design the watch to run 2 full days on a full winding (20 winds), then instruct the User to wind it it ten times.

[@josefernandez2722]

Hi. Thanks for the lesson. So if you have a watch collection, you suggest not to wind the watch unless you are going to wear it, and then update the time by winding?

[@phillipwong3754]

One technique I ALWAYS use to wind a watch whether is auto or manual wind is to wind by going back and forth to feel the tension of the spring, if you wind on one direction, you won't get to feel the tension as much as going back and forth.

[@robertl8429]

I saw a video where the guy says don't pull the stem out. so do we pull the stem out to wind or not?

[@kallensaczkowski]

I like that you snuck in an image of an skx which doesnt hand wind. Nice touch. Great video. Thank you

[@lobdsk]

Winding it in a back and forth motion resets the clutch and also the click spring. So it’s a better choice than just winding it clockwise.

[@velviaman3206]

Amounts to keep ‘em is your watch box message . Me I have been winding them every morning for decades without issue.

[@dinoc]

I have a Seiko with automatic movement 6R15, and in Seiko manual states there is no issue and there is not possible to over wind this manually, am I safe in this case to wind it manually? I usually fully wind it 55 times once per week (as stated by the Seiko manual 55 times will fully wound the 6R15 mechanism), is it correct this way or not?

[@taiguy4961]

Are You wearing it? If You are wearing the watch daily for at least several hours at a time while moving around then don’t bother winding it. You only need to wind it if it runs dead and stops or if it has been two days since You wore it. Also, either dead or two days of not wearing the watch should really only need 20-30 winds before it is ready to be worn or time to be set. The mainspring on many watches needs to be partially wound before the balance wheel is spinning with enough rotational amplitude to remain accurate. A full 55 turns is not needed, doesn’t hurt but it’s excessive. After half wound, the watch will wind back to full while You wear it. I’d recommend only manually winding the watch full if You wish to keep it running for a day or two while not wearing it.

[@michaelriera6277]

My Breitling with an ETA movement recommends 40 turns when winding from dead stop. Seems a lot so I simply wind it by swinging it back and forth for 1 minute and allow the rotar to wind. Is there any harm to allowing the rotar to the winding and not the stem on an automatic?

[@H0kram]

I never wind my ETA 2824 because it's prone to damage the automatic system. Basically you end up feeling the weight of the rotor when winding the watch, because you turn around the rotor as you manually wind the watch, which puts a lot of stress on it and requires a service to get fixed. It did happen to one of my watches. It's been 4 years since I exclusively wind by shake and got no problem at all. Not for 1min though, just to start it. Consider how many times a rotor spins around during an active day, which can be multiplied by thousands of days before a potential service. I don't think a good shake can harm it.

[@michaelriera6277]

Thank you for the advice.

[@davidsparling3505]

@@H0kramJust don’t ever wear the watch and it will always be perfect…

[@erichipp1737]

Where can one find clear movement holders as shown in the video?

[@James-pl2oy]

Not to mention the nuance between different brand’s manual winding feel. For instance some watches like a JLC Reverso will stop winding once it reaches that limit. However, on an IWC Portofino, the crown will let you keep winding even though the power reserve indicator has reached its max. The only way you can tell is that the winding feel has a little more friction. However it’ll still let you turn the crown. It’s very nuanced and you really have to pay attention to when it starts becoming a little harder to wind

[@zacwoodward6054]

Almost all Portofinos on the market right now (unless specified as hand wind) are automatics. Many Reverso's are hand wound. This is like the difference you speak of. Automatic movements must allow the mainspring to slip in its barrel and you will not feel a stop. Hand wound movements will reach a complete stop.

[@robertdeland3390]

question, is it better to hand wind or use a winder with my Invicta 8926ob pro diver automatic watch? (Seiko NH35a movement)

[@em.142]

Either is fine. The Seiko movement can take hand winding like a champ.

[@davidcrandall4958]

Thanks

[@CasparSchlickum]

Saw a video recently (sorry can't remember who it was) who referred to "Mechanical Empathy". I thought that was a really nice way to think about it. These are complicated mechanical machines, and approaching how you work with them (wear them, wind them, clean them etc) requires a certain level of empathy or recognition that you are not dealing with a swatch.

[@sinjinadams2862]

Great video! Very informative.

[@dgriffin6074]

Very informative. Thank you. I fracture my back a few months ago and have been wearing a brace. Several times as I was pulling the straps up and over my shoulders they caught the watch crown and broke it off; in some cases I did not locate the crown (it happened to several watches). Now, I admit I'm a cheapskate; they are not high end or collectible watches so is it worth spending the money for a jeweler to fix the watch or best just to purchase new ones?

[@SillyVintageWatches]

Thank you for your comment. I hope you get well soon!

[@user-bm8qn8oz9b]

Why wouldn't you take your watch off before putting on your brace?

[@larryscott3982]

My hand wound Rolex Precision I count the number winds. And completely rundown is 23-25, and daily is about 18. So I know when slow down and don’t take it a hard stop, just increased resistance.

[@1SaG]

AFAIK, the 2824 (and its clones) still seems to suffer from a built-in flaw with the hand-winding mechanism. I think Sellita changed the teeth profile on one of the wheels on their SW200 (resulting in the SW200-1 variant) some time ago to remedy this, but it still seems to be a problem. Apparently what happens is that, over time, one of the wheels involved in hand-winding might sheer some teeth. I, for one, usually don't hand wind any of my autos. It's also a matter of laziness, since all my watches have screw-down crowns. Just gently shake the watch back and forth for 20 seconds or so when you want to put some power into it. Then simply wear it and the automatic works will do the rest. I never had an auto stop while I was wearing it and I don't keep my watch on wrist when I go to bed.

[@MrMadvillan]

yes, I believe it would be the reversing wheel, and the swiss type usually have two. Some manufactures call them a differential wheel.

[@steve8510]

Makes me want to buy a quartz

[@mtbkmaniac1]

It's not that bad. Newer movements have a clutch to prevent overwinding

[@folksurvival]

Get a quartz Eco-Drive.

[@aashutosh9285]

Mecha-quartz

[@HughesEnterprises]

Grand Seiko 9F blows away every mechanical watch in terms of accuracy

[@Spurdospaerde692]

​@@HughesEnterprises Just about any quartz movement blows away the most expensive mechanical movement in terms of accuracy. No need for a 9F only to do that.

[@jacobliddiard158]

I do not remember him speaking about that. But do you know if it makes real diference to wind the watch moving the crown in one single direction avoiding to put it backwards and instead kinda just opening the hand to reset the position or we should hold the crown at the clockwise motion and at the counter clockwise motion too?

[@zacwoodward6054]

The watch will only wind in one direction. The clicking you hear when winding it in that direction (mostly clockwise) is from a part called the Click working on the wheels of the mainspring barrel to keep it from unwinding. When you wind the stem in the opposite direction you often still hear a form of clicking but this is the clutch mechanism slipping in reverse, not winding your watch. There's usually little harm in winding the stem backwards even though it's not contributing to winding your watch. On some watches like old pocket watches where the hoop interferes with your ability to wind the watch, it can be easier to just hold onto the winding crown and go back and force instead of repeatedly repositioning your fingers around the hoop.

[@Rimanshu001]

I have pusher in my automatic watch don’t know what’s the use of it I can’t find date or week area in the watch.

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

I'm confused. The guy who serviced my hand wound watch demonstrated winding it gently, feeling the tension increase until it meets the stop. I've followed that method for about 5 years and the watch works perfectly. How can this be wrong?

[@Mr_Paw_revised]

If You doing it carefully and don’t overwind the watch, You are ok. Just follow the instructions from Your watchmaker and from this video. I agree, that video is somewhat confusing, especially the title. You need to listen very closely, I only picked up the crucial words second times I listened, cause english is not my first language. Don’t overwind it, be careful, don’t let moisture inside the watch and avoid fully winding automatic movements manually too often.

[@wbwills2]

Thx. Bought 1st automatic watch recently.

[@street2030]

do i have to fully wind the watch up? how is winding it at any time i want different to exactly the same time everyday? I am new to watches sorry

[@SillyVintageWatches]

Hi, very good question, thanks for asking! While the watch unwinds, the power curve of the mainspring drops. Usually, the accuracy also drops a little bit while the power drops. Winding it every day at the same time evens out that drop in accuracy over the days. So it mainly has a practical reason.

[@podrikpo]

I've noticed you hand winding seems to be back and foward and not just clockwise... Is this ok?? or you shoul just wind with a clockwise move??

[@MCDU81]

Every morning my Speedmaster needs 22-25 windings before reaching the hard stop. I just stop at 20 windings and call it a day. Who cares if I start the day with 95% or 100% power reserve ;-)

[@markgeorge6341]

hi therer , My Hamilton khaki king just arrived and when I wind it manually the rotor slightly moves is that normal or is something wrong with it

[@SillyVintageWatches]

That seems to be okay. The ETA movement in that watch gives a very slight impulse to the rotor. Some movements are designed that way. Nothing to worry about, I would say.

[@markgeorge6341]

thanks alot that's a relief 🙏@@SillyVintageWatches

[@TheRomeogigli]

My new Murph 42mm started vibrating extremely while winding, but then I stopped and never did that anymore..?

[@MrPINKFL0YD]

The problem is that there is a design fault with eta and the sw and PT clones. This is well known and called cheese gears which are a very weak alloy and they will shed teeth. NH and Miolta movements do not have this weakness.

[@JPV246]

These factores are of significance when purchasing a mechanical or automatic watch for sure.

[@blackfacebogart]

Amazing that you show a Seiko that doesn't hand wind to talk about winding on the wrist.

[@Watchamacallit]

I think he's over reaching a bit with the thing about not winding or setting a watch in high humidity. What then would you do in summer anywhere south of Baltimore or even further up the East Coast? And you shouldn't wear a 200 m diver under a raincoat because of condensation?

[@sergeyten1683]

First you can not overwind modern automatic, they have protection from overwinding. On some automatic watches manual winding moving rotor, on some not, on some sometimes. Manually winding automatic often may require servicing it sooner ...if watch was overdue for servicing anyway. Practically reputable watchmaker on WUS implied that wearing out form winding is about the same for automatic and manual if they are based on the same base caliber.

[@Rhizostoma_pulmo]

Hi, I recently bought an automatic russian watch but I still don’t get how much can I wind charge it because it doesn’t “click” while charging as shown in your video and after a couple of round it kinda snap back but it doesn’t seem as a “friction”. What does it means? The snap back is a sort of protection or it is the limit i should not trespass?

[@amenhotep7704]

These chinese/russian watches are horse shit, i would buy swiss and japanese always. I have had nothing but bad trouble with this 2416b inserted in them Vostok's.

[@wh0tube]

Does winding an automatic watch by tying it around a belly dancer’s waist damage your watch?

[@sarahjessicatamon7083]

😂

[@thewhippetwhispereretal4438]

Only if it's a one direction belly rotation.

[@robdac1]

The proper way to properly wind a manual watch is to just be present. Take a moment. Feel this mechanical marvel of human ingenuity. Pay attention to just the watch while you're winding. As you get to know your watch you'll learn when you are approaching the stop. You'll also be able to reach the stop without pushing on it or creating stress on the watch. It will tell you when to stop winding if you slow down and learn to listen.

[@rangersmith4652]

When I put on an automatic watch that I haven't worn for a while, I give it five or six winds, set it, and put it on. For the few hand-wound watches I own, I wind for 10 seconds, set it, and put it on. A few hours later, I wind it again for 10 seconds. I've never had a watch stop during the day. Since I wear my watch on my right wrist, the crown is inaccessible for on-wrist operation, so I have to take the watch off to set or wind it. I use two fingers, and I don't "ratchet" the crown.

[@ronch550]

Modern movements, at least those from Seiko and ETA, are resistant to overwinding. The issue is that when you thread in the crown often, you wear the threads more easily. I've cross-threaded many watches already, particularly those without non-signed crowns (and even those signed but have symmetric symbols). The reason why signed (non-symmetric) crowns are less likely to cross-thread is that you can figure out in which position to start turning the crown in instead of having to push and twist the crown counter- clockwise until you feel it go in before you start to twist clockwise to tread it in. Even with this technique to try and not cross-thread the crown, it still damages the threads.

[@hex6593]

You make winding sound like such a risky thing on a watch. So do u recommend using a watch winder so u dun have to pull out the crown to wind, so avoid humidity, dust entering the movement? Or the constant movement on an automatic watch wears out the movement much faster too? Balance of 2 evils

[@ThatGuyUpThere]

Winding can become very nuanced if you consider every particular caliber, 10 to 15 spins is a good rule of thumb.

[@Michael.Chapman]

0:58“Putting extra power into the movement via the crown” is the principle of operation of a manual wind timepiece. In my 64 years I’ve never experienced a busted mainspring-whether in wristwatches, pocket watches or my beautiful clocks. It is generally impossible to overwind. If you are a good steward of your antique/ vintage watches and clocks (for the enjoyment of future generations we are NEVER ‘owners’, only simple, very modest caretakers) then you’ve already maintained regular servicing, overhaul and lubrication (as we do with our motor vehicles). If so, no issue here. If not-‘watch’ out… and for all our sakes-don’t caretake timepieces.

[@cedarcanoe]

Why don’t handwound movements have a protection against overwinding?

[@SillyVintageWatches]

That is a very good question indeed. In some high-end watches there is a winding limiting mechanism used called a Maltese Cross, but to be honest I have no Idea why modern hand wound movements are not also just fitted with a slipping mainspring.

[@cedarcanoe]

@@SillyVintageWatches thanks

[@mr.personal-ity]

It's not that handwound movements don't have protection against overwinding, it's that the mainspring in the barrel does not have a slipping bridle, the bridle will rest inside the wall inside the barrel and therefore can only be wound to a certain point. And the channel owner doesnt know what he's talking about sort of, A maltese cross is a type of stopworks in watchmaking, it prevents the mainspring from unwinding past a certain point to where the amplitude on a watch would be less than ideal and result in a gain in time. And there are some handwound movements out there with slipping bridles in the mainspring but it's uncommon. I'm a watchmaker.

[@JamesIdentity]

So you know when it‘s fully wound.

[@airborneranger-ret]

Liked and subbed

[@zillsburyy1]

a watch with a GOOD movement will prevent damage from over winding

[@HRM.H]

0:35 the answer shouldnt be, absolutely yes, but, yes depending on the watch and movement... i own many manualwind pieces with a slip.

[@Tom-zn9cp]

Good tutorial. The only thing I would disagree with is hand winding near the end of the day if your watch has a date complication. Hand winding may interfere with the date change function, damaging the watch.

[@AbslomRob]

Winding "backwards" creates tiny metal particles due to the rubbing of the gear and the spring. Its minor, but adds up over time.

[@oxfamshop]

With my Automatic watches I am inclined if they have stopped is to pick them and give them a few circular rotations . And I aways take the watch before going anywhere near water

[@rustyudder]

I pretty much just wind when I haven't moved much or I had my watch off for awhile.

[@randallhill7979]

Thank you for this helpful information 👍

[@privateinfo4820]

So, couple of things: 1) if you have a quality manual-wind, like my Speedmaster Professional, you don't pull the crown out to wind it, and you have to wind it daily. You can easily wind it with a finger from underneath while on the wrist as there's zero stem issue since it's not pulled out at all. It is easier however, to take it off to wind (it can be annoying to wind a Speedy). 2) winding at the same time of day is stupid. Wind it when you need to, or want to. 3) like my Sub, ref.124060, you can wind it as many times as you want, whenever you want. You can't over-wind a good quality automatic watch (if your watch doesn't disengage when winding, throw it away and go buy a decent watch).

[@zipitar9018]

I am winding my watch from 10 years no problem you wit

[@amenhotep7704]

Some movements are more susceptible to get into problem or break from winding but generally if automatic watches wrecked by winding i'm pretty sure they wouldn't have a damn hand winding feature.

[@Gabriel.A.L.]

I have seen over 100 pocket watches, i saw a few balance staffs broken, couple of other issues and maybe one main spring broken. I cant really agree that much. It is pretty hard to overwind a watch.

[@danielbercovici5202]

How strong to screw back the crown?

[@yehoshuacirt8645]

Do not ever tighten the crown once it stops screwing. You will damage the gasket and damage the screw threads.

[@danielbercovici5202]

@yehoshuacirt8645 Great thanks for the tip 👍

[@kevintanumihardja3881]

If what you mean by overwinding is to reaally really reaally forcing to wind after the the spring is in full tension, then yes you can break the spring. But replacing a mainspring is much easier and cheaper than other parts of the watch like gear train or balance staff or hairspring. As for the automatic movement, I dont see manually winding it will give significant wear to the auto-winding mechanism, more than if you wear it occasionally. The part that is prone to wear is the reversal wheel, but this is cheap and easy to replace. Then again this part wear even with you wearing the watch. But that is just my opinion from my own experience servicing watches through out the years

[@miked91101]

Guess i am too hard on automatic mechanical watches! my 1st Chistopher Ward diver (paid about 750.00) from 2014 winder broke in just 4 years, took it to a local shop to get fixed in 2019, came back fixed for just under 200.00, but it is no longer water resistant... my 2nd Chistopher Ward watch i got on sale for 400.00 was the same style as my 1st watch from them, i tried to be easier on winding it every day after work but the winding mech broke just last week. And unlike my 1st CW watch this newer watch won't even keep time... i am not about to go through the hassle of sending it out to the CW service place overseas just to have to pay 200.00 or more to have it repaired! even though it's still just under the 5-year movement warranty, over winding is not covered under the warranty... do i just need to go with 1 of those watch winders to prevent me from damaging my next automatic?

[@Jake-bt3fc]

I doubt you broke either of your watches by winding it. Watch winders are stupid. Just stop buying Christopher wards, lol.

[@miked91101]

@@Jake-bt3fc well my 1st C.W. would still work as long as i gave it a good shake everyday lol... not sure it would have run for the full 38 power reserve, if i tried manual winding it just click without any tension when turning the crown... i been wearing that watch for now, just can't get it wet... my 2nd C.W. does the same thing when trying to manually wind it, but even though i can get it to run by shaking the watch good, it only runs for about 12 hours before stopping completely...

[@Jake-bt3fc]

Watch collecting is seriously the most neurotic hobby out there. Just wind your watch. They're tools. They can wear out. Who cares.

[@CT99234]

Exactly right.

[@gentlemanzackp6591]

this may be funny to some. morbid gore to others. but as a kid (1994?) we had this mantle clock made in 1909. we used key to wind it. One cold morning it stopped. I must have forgot to wind it. I put key in, turn, it only went two full turns and it stopped solid. I looked around within with light of my small pocket flashlight. I twist the key a bit harder. Spring blew up. and start boinging up and down. a cog flew around within. My heart sank to my stomach. My dad came up and said " what was *THAT* Weeks later after researches. He made me carry 15 pound mantle clock to nearest clock maker/repair shop. Owner of store repaired it. only part it needed was new spring/barrel. turns out the teeth on barrel were sheared off (probably by me) and it just unwound with such force and throwing several things out of whack. at least its running now. So yeah. overwinding is bad!.

[@marko1314]

Good advice thanks

[@nycbklynrmp]

so how i know over wind on a closed watch

[@skd]

I wind my Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical every morning. I do it exactly 22 times every day at 7 AM. It's a nice feeling to wind your watch every day.

[@miked91101]

Don't ever get a Christopher Ward watch lol...

[@CT99234]

Does looking at things, wear out your eyes?

[@a0r0a7]

The spring in the barrel of a manual watch will only compress so far. It is a bit like folding a piece of paper, you can only fold it so many times. If there is no more space between the coils of the spring that is it, the winder simply stops turning. The only way you break it is force, breaking the rachet or stripping/ damaging the teeth on the winding mechanism. Usually just being too heavy handed. Gentle winding and feeling the spring stop compressing when the crown stops turning. Manual wind watches are designed to be wound.

[@TheBarondeFreyne]

You'd need to work hard to over wind a ETA 6497. I usually go into a totally sterile room to pull out the stem on mine.🙄

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

Thanks! I was wondering about over winding automatics by shaking- I was making a lot of cocktails and shaking tiki drinks for many minutes. I started taking my watch off worried it may be damaged

[@m2pozad]

Poor Adrian, of Bark and Jack, admitted to all day fidget winding his Explorer to death. The watchmaker had to tell him to knock that OCD stuff off.

[@MrMadvillan]

You just have to imagine how slow a rotor spins up the autoworks compared to a hand wind. The differential and reductions wheels are primarily geared for the very slow rotor. When you hand wind you're spinning everything up much faster than its baseline. I have replaced a lot of worn differentials I suspect bc of hand winding. Besides that crownwheel, winding clutch and winding pinion are all typically smaller in an auto just bc there's less space. If you really love wind your watch, get a Manual.

[@highnrising]

No, I'm not into handwinding a watch every day. An automatic is better.

[@deecarter147]

This would explain why the manual for my Seiko automatic says if hand winding is necessary, 'wind slowly'.

[@davidobrien9362]

I have never ever in my l8fe seen a wstch repair where they have found issue and just fixed that,they always always seem to find the issue but still go on and strip the whole thing and clean it all.(youtube).

[@GentlemensWatchServices]

As soon as you remove bridges etc you need to reapply lubrication on reassembly, to do that you need to clean the parts first…and once you repair a watch and hand it back, in the mind of the owner you become responsible for any subsequent faults, so best check everything.

[@akaJekyll]

Roughly how many times to rotate the crown in order to wind a manuel watch from zero to hundred percent?

[@Bertminator]

Can you even buy a NEW mechanical only watch nowdays?

[@andrewallen9993]

If I don't wind my Vostok "Botchhka" it stops. My Vostok GMT winds itself as I wear it and has a design that prevents overwinding.

[@tezzanewton]

I just wind up my watch till I can’t wind any more. Am I doing this wrong?

[@JohnSander-dg1rb]

20 winds to start it up no from cold?

[@marvean2519]

I personally put my watch on, wait until it starts running, set the time and forget about it. I never feel the need of hand winding my autos.

[@Jinx45099]

HOW DO I SET THESE WATCHES THO I CANT FIND A SINGLE VIDEO ON HOW TO SET THESE WATCHES

[@think2023]

OCD is a hell of a disease

[@miked91101]

Yup, i damaged 2 C.W. divers with winding the watches after getting home from work...

[@steampunk888]

As an owner of various mechanical watches, I have to admit, if it weren’t for marketing, sales would probably fall away to nothing. Watches are available today that never need to be opened, have no battery, take solar power through the dial, invisibly, and can correct their time keeping over the internet. Add to that, say, a titanium case and a sapphire crystal, and it seems the watch buyer may have to move on. This is especially apparent at $1500 or more for service on a mechanical movement.