Over the years you’ve built a collection of automatic watches that you love and you want to display them at your home or office for everyone to see your good taste. You would also like to make sure they are ready to be worn at any moment (i.e. they are fully wound and display the right time). Finally, it’s a well known fact that automatic watches suffer if not worn regularly. Without regular use, tiny amounts of lubricant harden inside, resulting in potentially costly repairs.
So, once you have decided that a watch winder is right for you and want to invest in one, the question is which one. The watch winder industry continues to be a niche market, however, in the last few years, there has been an explosion of options in the market: brands, style, watch capacity, security, and, of course, price. In the following sections, we will guide you through a few key points that can help in making your decision.
Style
The first thing that you should be concerned about is the style of the watch winder you want. You have probably already seen a few of them, even if just in photographs to get an idea of what watch winders look like. Not surprisingly, most watch winder makers have opted for the overly simple box style. They are perfectly functional watch winders that offer some room for personalization, in particular, the skin color. They are a very valid option if you are on a budget and you are looking for strictly functionality, aka keeping your watch on time. They fail, however, when it comes to showing off your watch collection and encouraging conversations. They’re not very eye-catching and, even though they can be personalized on the outside, they may fail to convey the idea behind your collection.
Another type of watch winder is the secure box style. Besides the standard functionality, an advantage to these watch winders is that they hold multiple watches at the same time inside a safe box. They are based on the premise that you want to secure your collection at all costs (and they are very effective at doing so). There are two disadvantages to the secure box style watch winder, however. The first one is the price tag: they are by far the most expensive watch winders in the market. The second is the display: because of the 5 cm thick metal walls, your beautiful collection will be hidden from the eyes of friends.
Lastly, there is the unique watch winder category. These are watch winders that break apart from the rest. The craftsman of unique watch winders focus on design, just like watch makers do. These watch winders might also come in a limited production series and they might have patented design and technology. The premise of these watch winders? Your watch collection is beautiful, and your watch winder should be, too. They cover the functional part like the box and safe type winders, but they are a piece of art on their own. A sure eye-catcher for anyone around, a great conversation starter, and overall an ideal way of winding your treasured time pieces.
Watch Capacity
Another important feature to consider is the watch capacity. This will depend largely on your collection size and your usage patterns. If you only have 1-2 time pieces, a single or dual watch winder, with a 1 or 2 watch capacity, respectively, will likely suffice. However, if your collection is larger, you might need to consider buying more than one watch winder. Kunstwinder offers both single and dual watch winders.
Rotation
Another key feature of a watch winder is its rotation features, which includes speeds, directions, and modes. Most automatic watches are best rotated clockwise (CW). There are, however, exceptions to this rule depending on your watch maker, so you should read the recommendations for your particular watch model in your owners manual. All of the Kunstwinder watch winders offer clockwise, counter-clockwise and mixed modes. Our watch winders also have different resting settings, where the watch is winded and then rested for a variable amount of seconds. Continuous rotation is available for display purposes, too, but note that it might put unnecessary stress on your watch, so ideally a watch winder would include a mode of rotation and rest.
A full explanation of Kunstwinder’s rotation features are available here.
Noise
Often overlooked, noise is actually a key feature you should consider when selecting a watch winder. Noise stems from motors that are not equilibrated and produce vibrations that, along with creating noise, put stress on your watch. It’s the audible representation of those vibrations that over continuous use will wear down different pieces of the internal watch mechanics. Noise can also be important if the watch winder will be in a room where silence is required, like an office or a bedroom.
Kunstwinder has done extensive research on optimal motors for our watch winders. Our final choice was a Swiss company that manufactures brushless direct current electrical motors. They are tested to work thousands of hours, keeping vibrations and noise to an industry minimum.
Summary
Now you’re ready to buy the perfect watch winder for your automatic watches! Make sure you take into account display style, watch capacity, rotation features, and motor noise before you buy.
