Packard Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I am a member of a sartorial forum (men's fashion) and the subject of watches came up. I reminded a member that it was generally not a good idea to manually wind an automatic watch and here is a reply: Quote: Originally Posted by Packard Keep in mind that the "automatics" (self-winding) models are considered much more desirable and will retain their value much better--but you have to wear them in order to keep them wound. Hand winding is not recommended for automatics. -- Not true. All modern automatic movements have a mainspring "clutch" which slips when the mainspring is fully wound. AD Was I right or wrong with this advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronology1066 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 As a rule, I try not to wind my autos, many instances have been reported of auto movements being damaged by manual winding. Maybe a couple of turns and then let your carbon footprint do the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 You're both right. Manually winding is hard on the movement but...... What he's saying is that you can't over wind an automatic. Which is also true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I am a member of a sartorial forum (men's fashion) and the subject of watches came up. I reminded a member that it was generally not a good idea to manually wind an automatic watch and here is a reply: Quote: Originally Posted by Packard Keep in mind that the "automatics" (self-winding) models are considered much more desirable and will retain their value much better--but you have to wear them in order to keep them wound. Hand winding is not recommended for automatics. -- Not true. All modern automatic movements have a mainspring "clutch" which slips when the mainspring is fully wound. AD Was I right or wrong with this advice? What KBH said - and really, what you said too - generally not a good idea - not necessary and depending on movement can be VERY bad idea - A7750, hand winding is a big no-no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Manual wnding may damage the clutch and click levers over time and if not careful. So, while it's possible, it may not necessarily be a good idea to do on a daily basis; especially when an auto wind rotor will do the job anyways. BTW, if you've ever handled a Seiko automatic, there is no option to manually wind... They just remove that option altogether... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSoxMan Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Handwinding an auto movement is a big no-no. A little shake to get the movement going is best. The Zigmeister did a thread on this; all you have to do is glance at some of his pics to get the point... http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...omatic+movement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramerica2 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 What about letting the watch lose it's power reserve? Any risk it won't "come back to life" after sitting a while? I'm talking especially about the cheaper asian movements.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Having over a dozen watches, I simply hack the movement when I am not wearing a watch. When I want to wear a particular watch I just set the date and time and I'm ready to go. I used to wind each watch every night, and that was a very tough habit to break, but after seeing Zigs post I made the effort to change my ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mardo Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 What does it mean to "hack" a movement? Can someone explain this to me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSoxMan Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 "Hack" means to pull out crown so that watch ceases movement--this way, one could preserve their power reserve overnight. However, this only works on a "hack" movement, obviously... A little shake is all that it take for my automatics to get rolling. And sometimes they get left unused for a long period of time. Mostly, they're either Swiss ETA or ETA Clone movements, however. Not sure about the cheapo 21J's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packard Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) "Hack" means to pull out crown so that watch ceases movement--this way, one could preserve their power reserve overnight. However, this only works on a "hack" movement, obviously... A little shake is all that it take for my automatics to get rolling. And sometimes they get left unused for a long period of time. Mostly, they're either Swiss ETA or ETA Clone movements, however. Not sure about the cheapo 21J's... Is there any down-side to hacking the movement in terms of accuracy or durablity of the movement? I would not have thought of this and it sounds like a good answer for my watches too if there is no peril to the watches. Edited July 23, 2009 by Packard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mardo Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 "Hack" means to pull out crown so that watch ceases movement--this way, one could preserve their power reserve overnight. However, this only works on a "hack" movement, obviously... A little shake is all that it take for my automatics to get rolling. And sometimes they get left unused for a long period of time. Mostly, they're either Swiss ETA or ETA Clone movements, however. Not sure about the cheapo 21J's... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Personally, I just let my watches wind down and let the mainspring and hack lever relax (i.e. no unnecessary tension on these parts). Since the hack lever comes in contact with the rim of the balance to stop movement, I'm not certain if there is any detrimental effect to keeping a movement in the hacked position for the long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Personally, I just let my watches wind down and let the mainspring and hack lever relax (i.e. no unnecessary tension on these parts). Since the hack lever comes in contact with the rim of the balance to stop movement, I'm not certain if there is any detrimental effect to keeping a movement in the hacked position for the long term. I have to admit, I'd often wondered just how the hack function functioned, and now I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neuuubeh Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Why do you even handwind an automatic?? I just give it a quick swirl and its good to go.. Handwinding seems counterproductive to me in that aspect . I don't think hacking movements with fully wound mainspring is a great idea, the stress coming from the mainspring constantly cant be good . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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