How to Look After Your Automatic Watch

With our team all owning an automatic watch, we understand the importance of looking after it. As a watch lover, you’ve invested in your mechanical wrist piece and there’s always a fear that it will get damaged, stop working & need servicing. Since we’ve spoken a lot about our watch winders which keep your watch wound and health, we wanted to give you some insight into other ways that you can look after your watch.

Remove Before Showering

Despite whether or not your watch is water resistant, the chemicals in soap and shampoo can harm the gears & components inside. For most watches, the sealed surface and gasket inside will inhibit exposure to chemical & water harm, however your gasket may have worn down after years of use & will no longer provide the appropriate protection. With some newer automatic watches being manufactured quickly in bulk, they may have pinched gaskets or cut o-rings (essentially; there are gaps) and therefore also run the risk.

Have Your Watch Serviced Regularly

The best way to ensure your watch doesn’t need servicing..is to get it serviced beforehand. After years of wear, it is going to need cleaning, just like any other mechanical device. We’d recommend having it serviced every 5 years. Servicing your watch can cost anywhere between £50 to £500 depending on the brand, jewellers etc.

Keep it away from the Sunbeds.

Consistent exposure to direct sunlight can fade the colour of your timepiece whilst the heat can expand the mechanical pieces (and then shrink when subjected to cold). This is particularly prevalent with watches with coloured cases.

Leave your watch on your watch winder when not in use.

Keeping the mechanisms inside wound and the lubricant inside flowing (preventing any oil from congealing) ensures you’re watch is kept healthy and ticking. Not only does a watch winder help with the internals of your watch, but keeping it in a case stops it from getting scratched on a table/desk.

Have a leather strap? Avoid spraying fragrances.

If you’ve got a watch with a leather strap, try to avoid spraying cologne or perfume around it (quite popular to spray the wrists). The chemicals in fragrances can damage the band causing it to weaken and then potentially tear. If you’re heading out for the night or dressing for work, we’d recommend spraying it before you’re dressed and putting your watch on after it has dried