Watchwinders have been discussed many, many times on here.

In terms of damaging the watch, the main thing to avoid is a winder that doesn't have rest periods, the constant motion isn't good for a watch.

In terms of bang for the buck, people will have their own good news / bad news stories, but you essentially have two types - the cheap Chinese type that you need to think of as consumables, and the expensive ones with predominantly American or German motors that should be more reliable, and certainly have better warranties.

If you go cheap I would never buy one that was designed to have two watches on a single head - the cheap winders have platic parts in the motor and if you have two watches per head then the balance will be off (uneven weight distribution) and the platic parts will wear very quickly.

I guess some people just arent comfortable using such cheap winders on nicer watches but to me it is really a matter of functionality... could just be me though

As a matter of fact - for a 6 watch winder I think this looks interesting.
I'm thinking about buying one.
Price is reasonable and not only does the main spoked wheel rotate but each watch rotates so it mimics human arm/wrist movement.

http://www.superiorwatch.com/Pages/boxes.html

I will be the one who admits to having cheap winders

I have 3 extremely generic dual winders that I got from different sellers on eBay (they are all the exact same model but one came with led lighting in it [which I have subsequently disabled]). I have had the oldest one (just kept buying more as my collection grew rapidly in Q2 this year ) for a year and it still functions perfectly and very quietly.

The model I have has the following features:
- 5 programs (set different wind/rest intervals)
- bi-directional winding (can either set to wind a specific direction or alternate direction between rest periods)

For $75 each I feel like I am getting more than my money's worth. In reality I don't take advantage of all of the different programs as I usually keep all 3 on the "wind 1 hour, rest 5 hours" (with alternating direction) setting.

I have gauged the functionality of these cheap winders by the power reserve on my Panerai 090. So far, so good.. if I put the watch in with 40 hours on it, it stays at 40 hours until I take it out.

As far as "treatment of the watch", they all have spring-loaded holders you place the watch into which then clip into the empty bays. I have 'lings with a few different bands/straps (rubber, navi, pro 2, pro 1, and "chainmail" [sohc] ) and the PAM is on rubber while the SMP is on the Bond ss. No clasp has been scratched and the bracelets seem to fit well on the little plastic guide tabs on the holders.

I guess some people just arent comfortable using such cheap winders on nicer watches but to me it is really a matter of functionality... could just be me though

Anyway... I'm sure you will find something that suits your needs!

Garmin makes a 4 watch winder you can get from Amazon for under $200. The 6 and 8 watch winders I have are Garmin.

I also use a Brookstone. mfserge..do you have an older model without all these setting choices? The rest periods seem to be okay.. I think..Maybe not?

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21350 This is the thread i started asking about correct TPD.

http://www.brookstone.com/watch-winders ... 7C10373017 This is the link directly to the winder I have from Brookstone.

After almost 2 years the winder is still working perfectly! Quiet as ever!