Reviews about Kunstwinder Watch Winder

Jenreviews article on choosing a perfect watch

Jenreviews recently published an article titled: How to Choose a Watch, According to Science – 8 Factors to Consider. The author talks about the different things everyone should consider when choosing a perfect watch, things like material and style, but also durability or size are key factors that will impact our choice.

With the holiday season around the corner, and many of us looking for the perfect present for our loved ones we thought it would be a relevant article to share. Enjoy the reading.

Kunstwinder on “The International Man”

The International Man has decided to showcase Kunstwinder in their Top 30 luxury brands for watch winders. TIM is a very well known reference when it comes to luxury brands across the board, including, of course, watch winders.

In this Top 30 Watch Winder list we see brands that have been recognized for their ability to produce great functional watch winders. Kunstwinder watch winders, however, are not just purely functional — they are pieces of art on their own.

Our family-owned company strives to deliver the ultimate line of watch winders, worthy of showcasing your treasured timepieces, and we are honored to have made the list.

Snippet from “A Blog to Watch” (Pun Intended)

Back in 2008, Ariel Adams wrote a blog piece about the first time he saw the Oil Baron watch winder in action while window shopping at a jewelry store one night. Needless to say, it was love at first sight. In his own words, he “had to learn more about these novel watch winders.” All he knew was that the company who made the watch winder was called Kunstwinder and that it was a piece from our Industrial Collection.

Adams was especially impressed with the smooth operation of the watch winder:

“The operation is so fluid, the resemblance to actual horse head oil pump derricks is uncanny… You really need to view one of these winders to appreciate it.”

He also noted the quality of the two watch winder springs and how they work for almost every watch while also making it easy to place and remove watches.

This little summary doesn’t do the story justice, so do yourself a favor and read Adams’ original blog post.

Review of Oil Baron by Watch Winders International

Back in 2011, Watch Winder International wrote a review of Oil Baron. Beauty and craftsmanship are repeating themes in the review:

“This winder could probably be considered as art.”

“Completely hand assembled and produced in limited numbers, even the box is expertly made.”

“The motor, like the rest of the machine, is beautifully crafted and whisper quiet.” 

The review states that the price of Oil Baron may seem steep, but it also notes Kunstwinder’s use of only the highest-end materials and machining. 

To read the original review in full, click here.

Oil Baron

Watchwinders as Centerpieces in their Own Right

Amidst other beautiful watch winders, Oil Baron Silver from Kunstwinder is featured front and center in an article written in the Centurion magazine. The magazine article urges the need to maintain the tradition and ceremony of mechanical watch winding, offering the combined functionality and beauty of newly imagined and unique watch winders as the perfect solution. Directly below the full page close-up image of the elegant Oil Baron watch winder before the article begins is a quote from Alex Doak:

“A must-have accoutrement for any self-respecting horolophile, watch winders are becoming centrepieces in their own right.”

Read the full Centurion article:

Osvaldo Patrizzi, founder of horological auctioneers Antiquorum and Patrizzi & Co, once said that the favorite part of his day was just before he went to bed. Every night, he’d remove his gold Patek Phillippe, wind it up and place it on the bedside table before switching off the light. It was his favorite moment because it was his daily connection with his beloved watch; he was breathing life into it. It’s almost a shame, then, that the rise of self-winding — or “automatic” — watches more and more of us are losing out on this tiny ceremonial passage each morning or evening, as the movement of an arm alone is enough to spin the rotor inside and charge the mainspring. What’s more, the average automatic’s power reserve rarely stretches beyond 42 hours, meaning you need the patience to reset the time every time you switch watches. And what if you leave it for longer? Well, leave a mechanical watch dormant for more than a few months and, like a car engine, the movement’s oils gravitate away and congeal. Start it up again and the unlubricated points of contact grind against each other, to disastrous effect.

“With the mechanical watch’s unflagging rise, so the watch winder has become fashionable.”

A watch winder is the solution to all of these issues — restoring that bit of ceremony to the daily act of removing and storing your watch, as well as running it accurately until you decide to wear it again. And with the mechanical watch’s unflagging rise, so the watch winder has become fashionable in itself. Not only are people putting their collections on display, but the displays themselves are becoming covetable, too — often crafted with equivalent standards of design and finish.

Like watches, there’s a broad spectrum to choose from — anywhere from the simple boxes produced by Orbita (orbita.com) and stylish Italian brand Scatola del Tempo (scatoladeltempo.com), all the way up to elaborate, cabinet affairs from the likes of Buben & Zörweg (buben-zorweg.com) with secret compartments that rise at the touch of a button, champagne fridges, cigar humidors, safes or all of the above. Indeed, the über-luxurious German firms Stockinger (stockinger.com) and Döttling (doettling.com) started out as safe manufacturers before branching into combined watch winders. No wonder Jaeger-LeCoultre chose a Döttling safe as the presentation box for its recent $2.5m “Hybris” trilogy.

For a touch of stripped-back, utilitarian charm, MTE (mte-motors.de) has always made its industrial service winders available for general purpose. But in stark contrast, its sub-brand Origintimes (origintimes.com) is now mixing things up at the very high end. Their Texan oil pump and Bugatti Veyron engine block (one watch per cylinder) show fresh wit and imagination. “The main difference with Origintimes,” explains Sales Director Rainer Schlumberger, “is that we’re turning away from the traditional boxes; we think the watches should be at the center of attention. Alternatively, we’ll just sell you the winding units and fit them to your requirements. Recently we fitted a wall of winders at a Formula 1 driver’s house — 400 of them!”

It’s surprising that the watch brands themselves — experts at mechanics — generally don’t bother making their own winders. But one notable exception is Erwin Sattler (erwinsattler.de). The company’s “Rotalis” winders use gold-plated gear wheels from its clock workshop to connect the electric motors to the watch mounts. Which isn’t to say Sattler would rather shun technology — its patented USB interface means you can program and upload the optimal winding patterns for over 5,000 different automatics. “By incorporating our expertise as clockmakers in collaboration with an electronic specialist,” reveals CEO Stephanie Sattler-Rick, “the idea was ultimately to make attractive objects for watch collectors.”