Watch Care Guide

Manufacturers recommend that a mechanical watch be serviced every 3 to 5 years even if it is running fine. The reason for it is that over time the oil that keeps the different watch parts lubricated will deteriorate thus increasing the friction between movement's parts. This will make the watch less accurate as well as cause abrasion. When the watch is serviced, the watch is taken apart and the movement components are cleaned chemically. Parts are checked and worn parts are replaced. Then the movement is reassembled, lubricated and regulated. With mechanical watches, especially automatic watches, being more and more affordable now and consider the cost of having a mechanical watch serviced, it may not be cost effective to service an inexpensive mechanical watch.

It is recommended that mechanical watches be wound everyday even if it is not worn. A mechanical watch performs better when it is fully wound than when it is wound down. Winding the watch everyday will also prevent the movement's lubricants from congealing.

When winding a manual wind watch, you should feel the tension and gauge whether the main spring is full wound. It will take a little bit of practice to figure this out if you are new to owning a mechanical watch. While it is rare that the main spring will break from over-winding, it is theoretically possible and does happen from time to time. Automatic watches do not have this limitation.

The accuracy of a mechanical watch can be affected by many factors including the position that the watch is worn (most watches are designed to be worn on the outside of the wrist with the crown pointing down), the wearer's wearing habit, and the amount of reserve the watch has left (a mechanical watch that is wound down is generally less accurate than a watch that is fully wound). A typical mechanical watch will gain or lose 5 minutes a month. However, a watch can achieve much higher accuracy by having it regulated once the wearer has develop a consistent wearing habit.

Watch care for quartz watches

A quartz watch generally doesn't need much maintenance as it contains far fewer parts than a mechanical watch. Probably the only kind of maintenance you will ever need to do is battery changes. A silver oxide battery will need to be replaced every 2 years or so. A lithium battery can last 10 years or more.

Quartz watches are inherently more accurate than mechanical watches. Quartz watches are generally accurate to within 10 seconds per year assuming that temperature is moderate. The accuracy of a quartz watch is most affected by temperature. Quartz watches work best at room temperature. At 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the accuracy of a quartz watch can be off by 1 second per day.

Regardless of whether you have a mechanical watch or a quartz watch, if it is a water resistant watch, once the watch case it opened, the water resistance of the watch is compromised as the gaskets that keep water out are dislodged from its position. Hence it is important to check the gaskets to make sure they are not dried or cracked. If you want to maintain the water resistance of the watch, you should take your watch to a repair shop equipped with water resistant testing equipments. Note that the water resistance of a watch will deteriorate over time even if the watch is never opened due to the natural aging of the gaskets.