The best thing you can do to make sure your mechanical watch stays in good shape is to wear it. Mechanical watches are designed to operate continuously, so don’t sit around and let your watch wind down. Wear it and keep it wound all the time.
If you have more than one mechanical watch, a watch winder (a powered box that turns the watch for you, keeping it wound) might be a good idea. If the watch is operating, the fine oils don’t have a chance to dry up and the watch will function well for a long time.
The following are tips and procedures that if adhered to will provide you with years of trouble-free use of your fine timepiece.
Adjusting Bracelets, Watchbands & Watchstraps
What to do when the watch bracelet or watchstrap needs adjusting:
In the case of bracelets, there is often some adjustment available in the clasp itself, through the use of a spring-loaded pin which locks into holes in the clasp. Usually, there is no problem attempting this adjustment using a tool thin enough to press the pin from the outside, thus releasing it. But be careful, these small pins can accidentally spring loose and fly across the room, never to be found again. Always make sure that the watch is lying on a soft cloth or other similar surface before attempting this adjustment, or you may inadvertently scratch or dent the side of the case or the crown.
Straps have multiple holes so finding a comfortable position is no problem.
Removing Bracelet Links or Adding Holes to the Watch Strap:
Some bracelets utilize push-pins and others use screws for attaching links to each other. If you don’t have the proper tools to remove these (such as jewelers’ screwdrivers or bracelet pin removal tools) then usually it is best left to a watchmaker, since one slip is all it takes to inflict a scratch across the face of the link. In the links are secured with screws, and you have the correct screwdriver, then ensure that the bracelet is held securely before attempting to unscrew the fasteners (there are special bracelet holders available for this). It is imperative that the screwdriver is not only the correct size, but also the correct thickness, otherwise you can end up with a damaged screw slot.
If your bracelet utilizes push pins, there are usually little arrows on the underside of the links indicating which way the pin should be pushed out. Some pins are of the split type, these are normally found on lower-to-mid range watches. Again, it is possible to remove them yourself if you have the proper tool that fits the pin hole correctly, and if the bracelet is supported properly while removing. Usually, lightly tapping the tool is enough to remove the split-pin type fastener. The links are then inserted and the pins are carefully replaced from the opposite end from that used during removal.
The solid type pins can be significantly more of a problem as bracelets utilizing these often have special collars within the bracelet links, which must first be in the correct location when the bracelet is reassembled, and secondly are incredibly easy to use. Solid pins are often an extremely tight fit, and without specialized tools it is recommended that you have a watchmaker do this for you.
If the watchstrap has too few holes, and you feel confident doing it, then the easy solution is to take a leather awl/punch and insert the holes where you need them. Otherwise, it is recommended you take the strap to someone who can do this for you and has the necessary tools, such as a shoe cobbler.
How to Properly Wind and Set a Watch
If it’s a manual/mechanical watch don’t you just wind it up?
Yes and no. If you have a manual/mechanical watch then try to wind it at the same time every day. It is probably best if wound in the morning, as the watch will then have optimum power throughout the day, resulting in more consistent timekeeping. When winding a manual/mechanical watch, do so relatively slowly and consistently; when it is fully wound you will feel resistance as the mainspring tightens. Don’t try and force it any further as damage could be done both to the mainspring itself and to components in the escapement.
When winding manual/mechanical watches it is highly recommended that you remove the watch from your wrist. If you wear the watch while winding it, it is quite possible you’ll put unnecessary strain on the winding stem at all points, but particularly where the stem attaches to the winding crown.
But what if it’s an automatic watch, those don’t need winding?
They do if they’ve stopped! Some of the cheaper automatics watches out there don’t have manual winding capability. In cases such as these you swing the watch gently in an arc for a minute or so to get the watch running. In the case of watches with a manual wind capability, it’s normal to give the watch approximately 30-40 gentle and slow turns of the winding stem; this puts the movement in an optimum state of wind to start with. Normal arm motion should then be enough to keep the watch wound. If you are relatively active during the day, it should be fine removing the watch overnight without need of any further manual winding.
Watch Settings
There are special considerations when setting the time and date:
First, a watch equipped with a date feature will normally have three positions for the crown:
• Pushed In
• Pulled out one click (to set the date)
• Pulled out two clicks (to set the time)
Two recommendations here:
First, when setting the time wind the hands slowly if possible, don’t wind the hands too quickly. Doing this quickly can cause premature wear to the components upon which the hands are supported. Relatively slow and gentle is best. Also, do not adjust the time backwards past midnight unless a watch specifically designed to allow this.
Second, when using the rapid date advance feature – the quickset feature – as a general rule avoid doing so between 8:00 p.m. and around 4:00 a.m. Serious damage to the date mechanism can result if you do this. If the watch has stopped, then make sure that you set the time once through midnight and well into the safe zone before you quickset the date.
Watches and Daily Wear
Watches and Exposure to Water
How wet a watch can get depends on how much water the watch was designed to withstand. Generally, a WR30m watch is designed to withstand a little water being splashing on it, a WR50m is fine for light swimming but not prolonged immersion in water, a WR100m watch can be used for swimming, and a WR200m could be considered a diver’s watch.
Avoid submerging even a depth rated watch in hot water, such as a bath or shower – the heat of the water can distort the watch seals and detergents can damage them. Also, the chlorine found in swimming pools can be harmful to watch seals. After swimming in a pool thoroughly rinse off your watch in fresh water. The same applies to swimming in the ocean – use fresh water to rinse off the salt as soon as you come out of the water.
Watches and Exposure to Heat and Sunlight
Heat, such as that found in saunas, is not recommended, particularly if after exiting the sauna you get into the cold water of a plunge pool. The rapid hot-to-cold exposure makes it more likely that the watch may contract too rapidly, compromising the integrity of the watch seal and potentially leading to serious problems. Also, because it has air in it any watch will contain some degree of water. Subjecting the watch to rapid cooling means this water may condense, probably only to disappear again, but it could result in stain under the crystal or worse.
Heat, in terms of wearing the watch in hot weather, can’t be avoided. Since this is fairly constant compared to the conditions stated above, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. However, if at all possible avoid leaving or wearing the watch in direct sunlight. First, the watch will get very hot causing a thinning of the lubricants, degrading their lubricating ability. Second, exposure to direct sunlight can prematurely age dials and cause dial lacquers to lift or micro bubble. This is not to say that your watch must be kept shielded under shirt sleeves whenever it’s sunny. Just try to avoid excessive exposure to these conditions.
Watches and Shockproofing
Even though a watch might be listed as being shock-resistant, it’s best to avoid exposure to excessive shock. Mechanical watches are almost always fitted with certain shock absorbing devices nowadays, but even so avoid exposing your watch to sudden shocks, vibration, dropping etc. Mechanical watches are fairly rugged, but there are limits. Exposing a watch to a severe shock can at the very least affect it’s timekeeping ability, and at worst result in mechanical failure.
Watches and Anti-magnetism
Most watches are antimagnetic to some degree, which is to say that they will withstand exposure to limited magnetic fields without adverse affects to their timekeeping ability. However, only specialized watches are built to withstand high magnetic fields and exposure to them.
So, for everyday automatic watches what should be avoided? First, it should be remembered that mechanical watches have a lot of metal inside them. These metal components are interacting with each other in various ways – wheels meshing with pinions, for example. If these or the even more delicate components become magnetized, then at best the watch will run very erratically, or at worst will stop altogether.
Try to avoid getting your watch too close to devices with magnetic fields such as magnets, stereo speakers, computer monitors, etc. All these devices could potentially be a source of trouble for your watch. Fortunately, if your watch ever encounters problems due to exposure to a magnetic field, a competent watchmaker should have the equipment to demagnetize the watch and return it to its normal operation.
Watch Maintenance
How Should I Clean my Watch?
A watch needs to be cleaned externally once in a while. Assuming your watch is water resistant to a minimum of 50m, it can be cleaned by using warm water, a little soap, a very soft brush, and a very soft brush to gently remove dust, grime, etc. from difficult to get to areas. Grit and particles in bracelets can act rather like sandpaper, causing premature wear to the watch. It’s best to keep the watch clean. Once clean, simply dry the watch off with a soft cloth.
If the watch crystal has been scratched – can it be polished?
If your watch has an acrylic crystal, the answer is yes. People use compounds such as specialty polishes for this, and some even use toothpaste! Apply a little polishing compound by using a soft cloth and rubbing the crystal in a circular motion. This should work fine for light-to-medium scratches. Deeper scratches will require more effort and sometimes it is necessary to follow the line of the scratch first, then follow that up wiyh a circular motion. Buff the dried polishing compound off and the watch crystal should look like new.
Mineral crystals can be a big problem if they get chipped or scratched. You can’t polish this yourself unless you have access to optical lens polishing equipment. The suggestion here is to have the watch fitted with a new crystal. They are inexpensive and easy for an experienced watch professional to install.
Sapphire crystals are extremely difficult to scratch, but a diamond will do it, so it’s a good idea to avoid contact with diamond jewelry. Also, keep in mind that a sapphire crystal chips more easily than others. If the sapphire gets scratched and it bothers you, you’ll have to replace it with a new crystal. Sapphire crystals can be purchased and fitted for around $50 to as much as $200 or more.
How often should a watch be serviced?
Like any other mechanical object, including your car, your watch may need servicing from time to time. Some watch manufacturers recommend service at roughly five year intervals, while other manufacturers don’t advise owners to get service until the watch is not operating properly (losing time, running fast, etc.). Heed what the manufacturer advises and do it.
That being said, it is suggested that no mechanical watch go more than five years without a complete servicing, since it is likely that by this time any lubricant will, at the least, have started to lose its lubricating properties. Also, some parts of your watch – like water resistant gaskets, chronograph pushers, watch bands and more – may wear out quicker, depending on how you use your watch. The gaskets may dry out and lose their water resistancy in as little as two years, so keep track of how long you have had your watchand get it checked by your authorized retailer every so often.
Consequences of Ignoring Routine Watch Maintenance
A watch could run for ten to fifteen years without encountering any problems. However, when a problem eventually does occur it could be major, and expensive. Also, parts may be required that need to specially ordered, further extending the time that you are without your watch. To avoid this inconvenience it is best to adhere to the maintenance guidelines set forth in this section.
