Maintenance
How to keep a watch healthy for years: servicing, water-resistance testing, storage and winding.
A good watch lasts for decades when it is looked after. The oils in a mechanical watch dry out over time and the gaskets wear, so regular servicing protects both accuracy and water resistance.
The terms in this section explain how to store a watch, when to have it serviced and which accessories are actually worth it.
- Servicing
- Servicing is a full overhaul where a watchmaker opens the watch, cleans the movement, replaces worn gaskets and oils, then reseals and tests it. Mechanical watches need it every few years and quartz far less often. It keeps both timekeeping and water resistance reliable.
- Watch Winder
- A watch winder is a motorized box that gently rotates an automatic watch to keep it wound and running while you are not wearing it. It is handy for a watch with a date or for a collection in rotation. Hand-wound and quartz watches do not need one, so it is purely a convenience.