How to wind a mechanical watch correctly?

How to wind a watch correctly?

Friends, hello everyone, you are on the Feeltime watch channel, with you as always Stanislav, and today we will talk about how to wind a watch correctly.  

Because what is obvious to me, or to you, is completely incomprehensible to some. Just yesterday a man wrote: "I am 40 years old, I bought my first mechanical car from you: "How to start it correctly?"  

By the way, on my Instagram channel , the link to which I will leave in the description of this video, I made a survey about what questions should be answered in this video. A couple of questions were left, so I will answer them at the end of the video.  

Well, you have become the owner of a mechanical watch, and I congratulate you on that. First, you need to understand whether you have a simple mechanical watch or a mechanical watch with automatic winding .  

In the first case, there is only manual winding and a certain power reserve. Typically, today the power reserve varies from 38 to 80 hours.  

That is, you should understand that in this version you need to manually wind the watch every other day so that it does not stop.  

Let's start from the beginning. The clock is ticking.  

There are two main types of crowns: those that screw into the case for better water resistance (usually used in diver's watches, and these are the majority these days, as they are a very popular style).

And there are crowns that don't screw in. Usually, these are classic, vintage watches, and watches with water resistance less than 100 meters.  

If the head doesn't screw in, it's simple. You start from scratch and make 20 to 35 turns.  

You choose the speed of rotation yourself. For example, I do it depending on my mood or the situation. I can rotate slowly, I can rotate quickly. I have never heard of anything breaking due to fast rotation.  

I want to make a footnote that there are mechanisms that have an obvious stop when you wind it, and there are mechanisms that don't. That is, you wind it and feel that the tension is getting stronger. If you feel it, then when you feel this tension, you need to stop, because if you twist it, you can damage the mechanism.

There are mechanisms where you can turn the head endlessly and you won't get to the end. I've never heard of anything being damaged by a large number of revolutions in that case.  

So with a screw-down crown, everything is simple. If the crown is screwed, then the algorithm is the same, but before winding you need to unscrew it, then wind the watch, then press the crown a little against the case and carefully screw it back into the thread. As soon as it touches the case, that's enough, because you can tear the thread.  

The conclusion is that the mechanics are quite simple in the factory, but you have to get used to the fact that it sometimes requires you to do this work by hand. And many people like it and perceive it as a ritual.

Let's consider another case. You have a self-winding watch, and most watches these days have one.

Do you have a mechanical watch with automatic winding?

They also have a power reserve ranging from 38 to 80 hours, but they have a pendulum that winds the spring when the watch is moved. That is, the watch, as the name suggests, is self-winding. This usually happens when the watch is moved on your wrist.

You may think that such a watch does not need to be wound at all, but you need to understand the nuances: how actively you wear it, whether it has been lying around for a long time. Because sometimes people write that the watch has stopped.

I'm chatting and the fact that the watch has been lying around for a long time, that it's not being worn actively, comes up. Then the automatic winding is simply not enough.

If the watch is completely stopped, then the principle is exactly the same as what I already told you about mechanical watches without automatic winding.

If you wear it every day, all you have to do in the morning is pick it up and shake it vigorously from side to side. This is enough to wind the watch, and the movement on your hand does the rest.  

As you can see, everything is very simple.  

Now about the questions that came to me separately.

“Where do you store your watch when you’re not wearing it?” Anywhere, as long as it’s a dry, comfortable place. I store it in a special soft case.  

For self-winding watches, people often buy special boxes that wind the watch. This way, the self-winding mechanism is always running and you don't have to manually wind the watch, even when you haven't worn it for a long time.

But I don't recommend doing that, because these boxes put a constant load on the mechanism, which wears it out faster. It's better to let it lie down if you don't wear it, then wind it up by hand. Although boxes come in different quality and with different settings. If it's an expensive box that can be adjusted, then there are no questions.

Question two:

"Is half an hour of spinning the wheel enough?" This is not enough, I recommend a couple of hours, or better yet half a day, to be 100% sure that you did everything correctly.  

Plus, it calms you down, so don't worry, you'll improve your psyche, and your anxiety will disappear completely.  

I hope I explained it in an accessible and useful way. If you have any other questions, write them in the comments, maybe I will answer them in future articles.

And that's all, Stanislav was with you as always. See you soon. See you later