The Breitling Watch Source Forums

What watch winder is the best band for the buck? ( I do not see myself spending crazy money on this btw) . It would need to be a Dual Winder as well.

Also, can a watch winder hurt the watch in any way?

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

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.

Well I am a virgin on this topic What do ya recommend? I would definitely go "expensive" then but nothing crazy that I don't need ya know?

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

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

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HeadOffice...
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-- Looking for B4B Le Mans

Well expensive is just that - Orbita is well respected and their entry level two watch model would be the Sparta Open which you can find online for $500 or so, $600 if you want the watch enclosed.

There are others in that category, but they are even more expensive. At the 'high end cheaper' category, Driver8 swears by Official Time and Wolf Designs aren't too bad either.

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!

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Matt

Current Breitling collection: 1)B4B GMT 2)SA 3)Chronomatic 4)B2
Current "other" collection: 1)Panerai PAM090 2)Omega SMP Co-axial 3) Omega Speedy Pro

I think that you are actually in the majority. Many people have found that expensive winders are just as prone to failure as the cheap ones. As long as you go into it expecting that the cheap winders will fail in a year or two, or become noisy over time then no big deal. Sometimes you get one that lasts longer, sometimes less, but you can buy a lot of $75 winders for the price of a Buben & Zorweg

My winders are cheap too but have adequate settings. 2 six watch winders and one 8 watch. Have settings for 2 minutes one direction on and off, another for 2 minutes the other dierection, etc... The one I use is 5 minutes one way, then the other direction for 3 hours followed by 9 hour rest interval. Seems to keep all my watches wound.

I fully anticipate the life expectancy to be about 2 years. But the cost for all 3 was about $1000. A quality 20 watch winder is HUGELY expensive.

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SHARKMAN

That style is often used by watchmakers, and you can find them in watchmaker supply stores - a few different styles here (Bergeon so expensive) - http://www.ofrei.com/page254.html#3408

So what brand are these? I'm definitely interested in a $75 winder if it's going to work for a year or 2. I'm personally not interested in paying any sort of good money for a watch winder. For better or for worse I just can't justify it. I also don't have a dozen or more watches either which helps

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Happines is Good Health and a Bad Memory.
"Ingrid Bergman"

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

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SHARKMAN

I also have a Garmin...in my car...they make great GPS devices.

I have a Brookstone quad winder. Very nice winder, super quiet, well built, only downside is minimal/no rest period. I will be upgrading in near future but for time being they have served me very very well.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

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!

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SA-Baton White Dial/ProII
Tissot Le Locle

Yup that's the one I have, and honestly I absolutely love it. It's not an older verision...at least I hope not they're only a few months old. Roff previously advised me that the rest period is significantly to short. Mine winds for a minute, then rests for a minute, then winds for a minute, then rests etc.. Does yours do that as well? I was told that the rest period isn't long enough which kinda makes sense. Aside from that I couldn't be happier with these winders. I previous had a cheapo one that was noisy and a very hurky jerky motion, the brookstone is perfectly smooth and I love how all the watches finish in an upright position. Makes for a very nice presenation.

Good to know it's been two years for you with no issues.....maybe I won't be upgrading now. I'm crazy, I bought a small bookcase to display them.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

I have the Brookstone dual winder...and mine is about a minute on then a minute off. Why exactly is it that the rest period is not long enough? I am very happy with mine as well and thought of upgrading to the quad that Brookstone makes, but may not if the rest period is not long enough.