How To Wind A Pocket Watch

How many turns on the winding arbor, on a pocket watch should it take to wind a watch fully?

Please keep in mind the number of half turns of the winding stem varies in different watch models as there are factors which have great bearing on this operation.

For example, some watches have thick mainsprings that will give possibly five turns of power, while there are other watches that employ thinner mainsprings and longer mainsprings that might yield six to six and one half turns, then the winding wheel ratios vary in different models.

Some of the winding arrangements are so designed that full winding is quickly completed. This arrangement generally results in a hard-to-wind watch, while other gear ratios are such that it requires a longer time to fully wind the watch but the winding will be smooth and easy, requiring very little effort.

The size of the winding crown is also a factor—the larger the crown, the easier it will be to wind the watch and a small crown does not offer the grip for smooth winding.

Special note: no harm can come in winding the watch unless it is forced and it is an easy matter to tell when a watch is fully wound as the crown will come to a stop, signaling that the winding is complete.

Automatic Winding. Self-winding watches use the movements of the body in order to wind up the mainspring slowly and almost continuously.

Watch Winders FAQ

Q: What about the terms “self-winding” and “automatic” when it applies to a watch?
A: Let’s start with the basics. A “mechanical” watch is one that derives its power from a tightly coiled mainspring that is housed in a drum or barrel within the watch. As the spring unwinds, it provides the power for the gear train escapement, balance wheel and other would every day. The “automatic” watch is a special type of mechanical watch that is wound by the movement of the wearer’s wrist. That Motion causes a rotary pendulum or rotor inside the watch to rotate or oscillate and wind the mainspring. The term “self-winding” is a misnomer. The watch cannot wind itself. It must be worn by user or hand wound in order to operate.

Q: How long will an automatic watch run when unworn?
A: Depends on the watch movement and the other watch functions called “complications” (date, day, moon-phase, etc.). Generally, most automatic watches will run from 42 to 60 hours before stopping.

Q: Why use a Watch winder?
A: Automatic watches are designed for continues running, not to lay unused in a drawer. The lubricated used for these complex watch mechanisms tend to migrate away from critical surfaces when the watch is not “exercised”, causing wear then the watch is finally worn, with a resulting loss of accuracy. A well-designed Watch winder keeps unworn watches properly lubricated and ready to wear. Needless to say, it also provides the owner with the convenience of not having to reset or adjust his/her watch after unused periods.

Q: Why not use A/C electric to power our Watch winders?
A: The advantage of D/C powered watch winder is portable and can be easily moved from place to place. You don’t have to place your winder that close to well electric power out-let. D/C units are frequently used when watches are kept in safes. We recommend using alkaline battery for your watch winder. Battery life is generally over 10-12 months although some units claim lives in excess of one year. It all depends on the TPD mode settings. Of course, D/C (battery powered) winder can also run on AC by using an AC/DC adapter, which plugs into a wall outlet.

Q: How much winding time is right for my watch?
A: Rather that talking about winding time in terms of minutes or hours, let’s substitute Turns Per Day (TPD). That is the number of turns of the internal pendulum that is required each day to keep the particular watch wound. Most automatic watches require 500 to 800TPD. For example, a Rolex President needs about 650 TPD. Rolex watches are designed to wind in both directions, as do many other brands. However, some other watches wind in one direction only and direction can be clockwise or counterclockwise. For example, many Patek Phillipe watches only wind counterclockwise. All IWC Chronographs using a Valjoux 7750 movement wind only clockwise. Accordingly, the best-engineered Watch winders are programmable both for TPD and double rotation direction to meet these diverse requirements.

Q: Can an automatic watch ever be over wound?
A: No, that’s impossible. All automatic watches have a built-in slipping mechanism that prevents over winding. However, the safety device should not be overstressed, as it will eventually wear. All high quality Watch winders should be provided with a time control of some sort to regulate the actual winding time cycles.

Q: What about watch winding mode – “cycle”?
A: Our watch winder equipped with 2-hour cycle and 4-hour cycle winding mode. Let’s presume your particular watch needs to 600 TPD to keep it wound. Some watch winders just continuously for several hours and turn off for rest of the day (i.e. 100 turns per hour times 6 hours = 600 TPD and rest 18 hours). One winder runs for 24 minutes per cycle by every 4 hours or 2 hours program, but do so all day long. Both methods keep your watch fully wound but the second method is definitely better to keep watch accuracy. Why? Because the mainspring attains its greatest torque when it is fully wound. As it slowly unwinds over the day, torque decreases and this torque reduction impacts the running accuracy of the watch. So, periodic rewinding all day long translates into more constant torque, a constant running rate and a more accurate watch.

Q: Motor equipped inside the watch winder will damage the watch by magnetic?
A: Non-magnetic motor is not available under existing electrical-motor technology. all electric motors are magnetic; the principle that governs the operation of every electri motor is a rotating magnetic field – that is what makes the motor operates.

You may use telephone everyday. Interestingly you may probably wearing your watch on is just only inches away from the telephone handset which has both magnetic microphone and loudspeaker with substantially more magnetism than our micro motor. How come your watch is not affected? It is very simple. All modern watches are made of non-magnetic material: titanium, brass, stainless steel, etc. Consequently, they are non-magnetic and unaffected by close proximity to magnetic field. Ever if the watch is exposed to magnetic fields, it will not be damaged. Modern watches are designed to operate in magnetic filed as all quartz watches are driven by stepper motor.