Some advice from a good friend of ours, a watch whisperer and Master Watchmaker, Joe Urich.
- Never under-wind your watch [however don’t over-wind your Unitas movement either].
- Never let anyone wear your watch… or use your fountain pen… bad mojo!
- Never put your mechanical watch on your alarm radio over night. The magnet in the speaker could magnetize your watch, not always but could happen over a long period. Older watches are more susceptible than newer ones and some are totally excluded from this because of the material used in making the hair spring which is then not in a magnetic material.
- Never set the day and date near midnight; always set it midday.
- Automatic Watches have to be wound up; the automatic rotor does not really wind your watch, it keeps it at the wind-level it last was. Therefore a depleted mainspring or “unwound mainspring” doesn’t power your watch adequately and will therefore keep less precise time. There are a few Swiss movements which have an automatic winding function for the watch however it does so slowly and therefore doesn’t really make a difference. Consider the energy required to wind your watch with your fingers; the motion of the mechanical movement turning and the sound of the gears coming to life. What mechanical device could do that with just the daily motion of your wrist or arm.
- If you’re wearing an odd shaped watch (rectangular, square or oval) then chances are that your watch is not as water resistant as a round watch with a caseback that screws into the case [so-called: screw-down caseback]. If your caseback snaps onto the watch, keep it away from water; especially when washing your hands with liquid soap.
- Never wear a divers watch with a tux unless you’re wearing boots and a bolo tie.
- Some collectors will purchase a few replacement bands to wear, saving the original band in box with the papers; some purchase all the straps which are available for the watch just to own a complete collection.
- To save the leather band, when you put the watch on your wrist, bypass the first loop and slide the band into the second loop of the watch strap. This reduces the wear and tear aspect and lessens the bend-stress exerted on the strap.
