| Whatever Happened to Winding? | | | | Oyster line created in the early 1930s. |
| | | | Emile Borer was the Rolex technician who came |
| Depending on your age, you may or may not | | | | up with the system, but he was not the first |
| remember seeing your father wind his watch | | | | to develop a rotor. That distinction goes to |
| each night before going to bed. If he did | | | | Swiss watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Perrelet as |
| not, he would surely wake to a watch that had | | | | long ago as 1770. This was quite the |
| stopped. Those days became history with the | | | | invention because it wouldn't be until much |
| advent of the automatic watch. What makes it | | | | later in time that wrist watches were worn |
| automatic? It still has the same basic | | | | and there just wasn't enough physical |
| mechanism to keep the watch working, but how | | | | movement with a pocket watch to make it a |
| that mechanism is powered changed the way we | | | | feasible way to move the rotor and wind the |
| cared for our watches. | | | | mainspring. |
| | | | |
| All mechanical watches work in a similar | | | | Automatic watches differ from quartz watches |
| manner. They require a movement of a series | | | | which are powered by batteries and not by |
| of gears to "tick" of increments of time, | | | | either a manual or automatic winding system. |
| which in turn registers as movements of the | | | | Powered by a battery, the quartz crystal |
| hands on the face of the watch. A rotor in | | | | inside a quartz watch vibrates nearly 33,000 |
| the watch sits on a staff in the middle of | | | | times per. Watch batteries last about two |
| the watch's movement. It rotates in a | | | | years, where automatic watches have a never |
| circular motion and winds the mainspring | | | | ending source of power: movement or motion. |
| which is the source of power in mechanical | | | | |
| watches. With an automatic watch the winding | | | | Quartz watches account for most moderately |
| of this spiral spring is done automatically | | | | priced watch sales today, but connoisseurs of |
| with any arm or wrist movement. | | | | watches still like the prestige and elegance |
| | | | of a finely crafted mechanical watch. |
| Self-winding, automatic watches work great | | | | Automatics have started to regain some of the |
| for people who wear the watch each day, but | | | | quartz market in recent years accounting for |
| if you do not wear the watch frequently, it | | | | huge increases (95%) in sales between 1993 |
| needs manual winding about twice a week. Even | | | | and 1995. |
| automatic watches will stay working better if | | | | |
| they are wound manually about once every two | | | | Lubrication is essential to keeping an |
| weeks because this helps keep the watch | | | | automatic watch running well. Watches can be |
| lubricated. It is a misconception that | | | | lubricated by manually winding the watch |
| automatic watches never need any winding, | | | | periodically and taking it in to a jeweler |
| since it all depends on the movement of the | | | | once about every 3 to 5 years. When winding |
| arm to keep it functioning well. | | | | an automatic watch, just wind it about 30 to |
| | | | 40 times or until you feel some resistance. |
| A power reserve lets the movement of your | | | | Keeping the watch is a watch winding box is |
| watch keep time for anywhere between 10 and | | | | also a good way to keep the watch lubricated. |
| 72 hours. There is something called a power | | | | |
| reserve, and the bigger the reserve, the | | | | Automatic watches are also quite affordable. |
| longer your automatic watch will keep running | | | | They actually come in every price range. Some |
| without further movement or manual winding. | | | | economical brands include Invicta watch and |
| | | | Orient watch, and then the price can reach |
| Rolex was the first watch manufacturer to | | | | into the very expensive range depending on |
| devise and patent the rotor system that is | | | | the embellishments or the prestige of a |
| still used today. They called it the | | | | specific brand. |
| Perpetual and it was part of the popular | | | | |