Yes. A winder is cheap insurance for your valuable watch! Compared to the price of most fine automatics a winder, though pricey is nothing compared to what you paid for your automatic watch!
Yes! A Watch Winder protects watches from elements and dust.
Yes! A Winder protects your watch from being lost/stolen.
Yes. Using a Winder ensures your watch is always ready to wear.
Yes. Locking winders protect watches against theft.
Yes. Winders protect watches from the risks associated with the movement not running.
Do I need to buy a watch winder?
Yes, you do if you own an automatic watch.
If you own an automatic watch, then an emphatic yes might be more accurate and you need a quality watch winder! Years ago I used to be wishy washy about this statement. Saying things like "nah, it is a luxury item and you can wind your watch by hand", but over the years I have come to realize how wrong my past advice was when saying you do not need a winder, when clearly you do! (Donald Geib Owner WatchCases.com)
Notice how with cars a "Garage Kept" car always sells for more money? Well a watch winder box is your garage for your expensive automatic watch! The Winder protects it from the elements. People spill things all the time or knock watches off of dressers. We have heard more stories than you can imagine on the demise of expensive automatic watches not kept in a safe place.
I have had more customers than I can count share stories with me about the expense they incurred in repairs of winding stems because they always wound their automatic by hand. $600 and up is the average expense of such a repair. So it would seem a watch winder is in fact a good investment if you are interested in protecting your watch.
Other customers tell me how they shipped out their watch for repair and how it was "lost" in shipping. Some were smart enough to insure the shipment, and others did not, but in all cases the lost watch was actually irreplaceable.
A watch winder will keep your watch running like it is supposed to and you will be able to wear it at anytime without a lot of fuss. Now a watchwinder can not keep a watch wound any better than the intrinsic abilities of the watch, however resetting by 10 minutes or so is a lot different than resetting by days or months. Resetting a watch and winding a watch using the watch stem on a daily basis will eventually lead to breaking the stem. I wish I could list all the customers who have told me, how they were penny wise and pound foolish not buying a winder sooner, since the stem repair job put them back more than the winder would have. Plus one customer lost a priceless heirloom in shipping and was not reimbursed for the loss because his secretary failed to insure it for the current market value!
Winders normally come with a protective case for the watch to be stored in, thus protecting it from the elements. Most cases are lockable, thus protecting it from people.
Insurance claims are more likely paid in the event of theft or loss, since you can say emphatically where the watch was stored. Instead of "I think it was in the bottom drawer of my dresser behind the socks".
"Do I need a watch winder?"
Yes you need a watch winder. Absolutely yes! Why?
A winder Protects your watch from damage caused from non usage.
Protects watch from being misplaced.
Watch is always ready to wear without risk of breaking the stem to re-set time date etc. (Average repair of a watch stem $600-$900.)
Winders decrease the need for frequent servicing.
Winders usually have locks so your valuable watch is more secure from "curiosity" and worse, theft!
