How much should I expect to pay for a quality single watch winder?
The key word here is quality. Quality is expensive when it comes to mechanical devices unless they are made in massive quantities like quartz watches. The more expensive winder will last longer and run more reliably than the cheaper product in almost all cases!
A few things that are missing from cheap winders are safety certifications for electrical circuitry, quiet and vibration free motors, programmed running time (most cheap winders are continuous running or have long run cycles. Short run cycles are best for winders), ability to repair the unit (most cheap winders are warrantied, but after you pay to return it they toss it and replace it with another defective unit, which they charge you to ship back.)
The cheap gadget winders sold elsewhere for less than $100, which do not work, set false price expectations for people.
Due to cheap products flooding the market, we have limited our offerings of the higher end expensive winders.
Price is affected also affected by other factors, though.
The power source is one factor in price; the cheapest winders run on batteries only. Next the winders which run on electricity are more expensive. Then the most expensive models like the ones from Orbita are dual powered running on either battery or AC power. All battery powered winders are not the same, though.
Engineering determines power drain. More expensive and better engineered products use batteries more efficiently.
Orbita Sparta batteries last for 2 years, while cheap gadget winders often have batteries that need replaced in less than 3 months usage.
The programmability and flexibility of the winder also affects price. How many different watches a winder can wind is an important factor in pricing. The more winding settings that a winder has the more expensive it will be. Cheaper winders simply offer one setting for winding and wind in both directions all the time. This overworks the watch, but will keep most watches wound. Programmable winders are designed to put the absolute minimum amount of wear and tear on the moving parts of your automatic watch.
Pay any less and the unit will fail in 3-6 months. The motor will likely fail first. The winder box will hold your watch just fine and look pretty, but the point is to keep the watch wound. Otherwise save your money and put the watch in your sock drawer! Many jewelry box manufacturers in China have seen the watch winder market as a new market for them. They may make quality jewelry boxes, but a watch winder is more than a jewelry box!(This $200 is a retail price guide, sales may get the price down to the $150 level but a 6 watch winder selling for $200 is no more than a jewelry box!) You cannot judge a winder by its box! Cheap winders tend to wind inconsistently and become noisy in a few months and burn up batteries.
"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
