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Big congrats, you've just purchased your first watch with a mechanical movement! That small disc on your wrist is an icon of the convergence of art and science, and a testament to man's brilliance. As a result, you are the justifiably proud owner of more than simply a timekeeper, and you should be proud of that fact.
Whether you just put it on for special events or carry it with you through all of life's important moments, it should serve you well and last for a good many years without giving you any problems, regardless of how much you spent for it (a week's or a year's worth of money). Set it and leave it. Put it on, and you're good to go. These are the benefits that come along with wearing a mechanical watch.
But before you can enjoy the advantages, there are a few things you need to keep in mind that will ensure that the watch continues to function without a hitch until the day when you can hand it down to your children or grandchildren. Invest some effort into properly familiarizing yourself with them. Your wristwatch deserves it.
Wear the watch
Wearing your automatic watch often is the first and perhaps most crucial step in keeping it in good condition. Automatic watches are those that wind themselves and obtain their power from the movement of the person wearing it. The motion of your hands and arms activates the rotor that is housed inside the mechanism, which then helps to wind the watch by pulling the springs more tightly together.
The power reserve of the majority of today's wristwatches typically ranges between 38 and 40 hours. However, after the battery reserve has been depleted, the watch will become inoperable and will need the wearer to manually wind it. One thing to keep in mind is that the crown mechanisms on a hand-wound watch will wear out far more quickly than those on a watch that is used often.
You may want to consider purchasing a watch winder if you aren't planning on using your automatic watch as your primary timepiece and you don't want to have to wind it manually every time. Your watch will always be ready to wear if you use a watch winder since it will perform all of the hard work for you.
It is important to bear in mind, however, that the movement of the watch will eventually get worn out if it is kept in the winder and the watch is always set. Unless the watch has a perpetual calendar, you should decide whether it is best to leave the watch in the winder or if you would want to wind it before you wear the piece. If the watch does not have a perpetual calendar, you should decide whether it is best to leave the watch in the winder.
Set the watch
In addition, while you are setting the piece, you should avoid setting it between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. This is especially important to remember if your watch includes a day or date function. During certain moments, the watch's gears are working towards altering the date, which might potentially cause problems with the accuracy of the watch as well as the date gears.
Keep it clean
It is recommended that you clean your watch on a regular basis. Because you probably wear it pretty often, dirt may readily accumulate on it, which might make it seem dirty. In the event that the watch is not water-resistant, clean it by dabbing it lightly with a soft cloth.
If it is water-resistant, you should be able to clean any dirt and grime off of it by wiping it with a soft cloth that has been soaked in a mixture of mild soap and water. Extra caution should be used around the watch's crown and push-pieces to ensure that the timepiece maintains its precision.
Keep your watch away from water or moisture
The second piece of advice for taking care of your automatic watch is to keep it safe from moisture. Water is a major foe for mechanical gadgets, so keeping your watch dry is essential.
It is important to note that this does not imply that the watch should not come into contact with water, which is something that needs to be emphasized. The vast majority of watches that are now available on the market have some kind of water resistance certification that permits them to even be immersed in water for a certain amount of time at a certain depth. There are other diving watches available with screw-down crowns, which are far more resistant to water damage.
The primary concern is with the watch being exposed to water on a consistent basis, particularly in the location where it is stored while it is not being worn. Even stainless steel is susceptible to rusting when exposed to water on a consistent basis, and this is true even when the watch is composed of stainless steel. After the watch has been exposed to water, it should be wiped off and kept in a dry location according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Particularly problematic is the fact that the watch's band is made of steel and has a large number of minute openings and divots that might potentially allow moisture to collect there. In order to avoid any rusting, you will need to make sure that these areas are kept dry at all times.
When it comes to straps made of leather or fabric, the presence of moisture is a major reason for worry since this factor has the potential to considerably lessen the material's strength and make it more vulnerable to tearing. You should be extremely meticulous about this, and before you put it away you should attempt to dry out the straps as soon as you possibly can.
Therefore, preventing these straps from becoming wet by avoiding being in close proximity to damp regions is unquestionably a smart decision. You obviously don’t want to wear a moist strap on your wrist right?
Refrain from placing it near electronics or strong magnets
The next piece of advice for taking care of an automatic watch is to keep it away from powerful magnets and electrical devices. Because it is fully operated by moving metal elements, an automatic watch will suffer significant disruptions if it gets magnetized. This is a very crucial point to keep in mind, as automatic watches are susceptible to these kinds of problems.
Magnetization will cause the numerous moving elements of the watch to become disorganized, which will result in the watch being less accurate.
As a result of the proliferation of electronic devices in today's society, a problem that was formerly of little concern has become one of significant importance. If you position the watch such that it is in close proximity to the electronic device, the watch may get magnetized. As a result, it is essential that you be aware of the location in which you will be keeping the watch to ensure that it will not be in close proximity to any electrical devices.
Don’t leave it unused for a long time
It's a lot of fun to amass a large collection of watches since you may do so with a wide variety of timepieces. However, after that, a major issue will arise, which is that you will suddenly discover that you can only wear one watch at a time, which will result in just a select few watches being worn on a regular basis.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that it will be impossible for you to keep ALL of your watches on the same wrist time. As my collection has grown, you will realize that there are certain timepieces that, compared to others in the collection, you like more. This might be the result of a number of variables, such as its appearance, weight, or the way it feels when worn, all of which are things that you cannot know before you purchase the watch.
For instance, there are only two or three watches that you wear often as a result of this reason, and there are other watches that haven't seen any wrist time for weeks, which is not ideal for an automatic watch.
The fact that the watch's lubricants will be kept inactive for extended periods of time and may get coagulated while the watch is not being worn is the primary concern raised by this. This will result in a reduction in its accuracy and may possibly cause the watch to stop functioning correctly.
Therefore, it is essential to check that your watch is still ticking on a regular basis, even if you do not have enough time to actually wear it. To get it going again, you may either manually wind it or give it a good shake to get it going again.
Change the strap carefully
A further piece of advice about straps is to use extreme caution whenever you swap them out. It will instantly alter the watch's appearance as well as the way it feels on the wrist. It is the same as purchasing a different watch while just spending a portion of the original price.
It is important to exercise extreme caution while changing the straps on your own watch (this warning also applies if you ask the retailer to do the adjustment), since the watch face is easily scratched.
Changing the straps requires removing the spring bar from the lugs, which should be done with care since else you risk leaving significant scratches on the lugs. It is highly recommended that you invest in the proper equipment in order to replace the straps as this will make your life much simpler. Adjusting bracelets follows the same general procedure.
It is a recipe for disaster to try to save money by using the equipment that you have lying about your home such as screwdrivers, needles, and the like in order to complete the task at hand. Tools for removing watch straps and adjusting bracelets may be purchased online for less than ten dollars each, and there is no justifiable reason why you should not get one of these tools.
Don’t wear the watch in extreme temperature
Automatic watches require a lot of steel, and steel is sensitive to temperature fluctuation (it will shrink in the cold and expand in the hot). Because of this, problems will arise if the temperature becomes too high or too low.
Multiple problems may be traced back to uncomfortable temperatures. If the steel pieces are expanding and contracting in a way that isn't what they were meant to do, accuracy will deteriorate. Then, the oil's characteristics could shift depending on the temperature (gunk at cold, thinning at hot). Another potential problem is moisture within the watch as a result of temperature changes.
Therefore, we would advise against wearing an automatic watch in a jacuzzi, sauna, or cold environment. Instead, you may use one of the many sports watches available that are built to withstand these high temperatures.
Avoid winding the watch when wearing it on wrist
One of the faults you should avoid is winding your watch while it is on your wrist. This is absolutely not a good technique since it might damage the crown stem.
The crown is usually attached to the winding mechanism by a short stem that is readily damaged. As a result, winding it while wearing it will impart tangential force to the stem, increasing the likelihood of accidentally breaking the stem.
As a result, we highly encourage you to wind the watch only by correctly holding it in your hands and using direct force while turning the crown.
Store it in a watch winder
The next piece of advice is to always store your watch collection inside of a suitable watch box. It seems to be the reason that we need to put our pricey automatic watches inside of a suitable box in order to protect them from dust and any other potential hazards that may affect them.
For example, you might preserve the watch by storing it inside of a watch winder, which will continue to wind your timepieces and prevent them from being coagulated. You could also use the watch winder to store the watch. Keeping it in a box can also protect the watch from becoming magnetized by mistake when it is in close proximity to electrical devices since the box will shield it from the magnetic field.
In addition, you will be able to arrange your watches in a way that makes it simpler to find the one you want to put on, as opposed to having to hunt everywhere for the watch you have in mind to put on.
They believe that if you love what you are doing, you will never grow weary of doing it again because you will find new things to like about it each time. The process of properly caring for your watch and ensuring that it always operates in peak condition is one that requires patience and delicacy. In the end, though, you will see that the point being made was that an automatic watch, regardless of how tiny it may appear, is still a machine. It is dependent on you to provide care for it.
So, there you have the tips on how to maintain your automatic timepieces. We hope our article could give you the insightful information that you were looking for.
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