Automatic Watch Care 101: Winding, Storage, and Maintenance

An automatic watch runs on nothing but motion. There's no battery inside, just a small rotor that spins as you move your wrist and winds the mainspring that powers the watch. That's a big part of the appeal, and it also means an automatic asks for a slightly different kind of care than a quartz watch. None of it is complicated. Here's what actually matters.

How an Automatic Watch Keeps Running

Every time you move, the rotor inside the case swings and stores a little more energy in the mainspring. Wear the watch for a normal day and it stays fully wound on its own. Take it off, and it keeps running on stored power until that reserve runs out. The Seiko NH35 movement inside Space City and HTX2, for example, holds roughly 40 hours of power reserve, which is enough to carry it overnight and well into the next day.

If you want to see this happening, Regent and R2 both have an exhibition caseback: a clear window on the back of the case where you can watch the rotor and movement at work.

Winding: When and How

If your watch has stopped because it sat unworn for a couple of days, you don't need to shake it back to life. Most automatic movements, including the NH35, can also be wound by hand:

1. Unscrew the crown if it's a screw-down crown, then leave it in its first, pushed-in position.
2. Turn the crown clockwise (away from you) about 20 to 30 times. You'll feel a smooth, light resistance.
3. Set the time and date, then push the crown back in, and screw it down again if your model has a screw-down crown.

You can't overwind a modern automatic by hand, since the mainspring slips once it's full. There's no need to force it, though. Twenty to thirty turns is plenty to get it running, and your wrist does the rest.

One Timing Rule Worth Knowing

Avoid changing the date between roughly 9 PM and 3 AM. During those hours, the movement's own date-change mechanism is already engaged, and forcing the date manually at the same time can strain it. If you need to adjust the date, first move the time outside that window, then set the date, then set the correct time.

Storage: Short Breaks and Long Ones

Day to day, just set your watch on a flat, dry surface when you take it off. If it stops overnight, a few hand-winds in the morning gets it going again.

If you rotate between several watches, a watch winder keeps an automatic running while it's off your wrist. It's a convenience, not a requirement: letting an automatic stop and restarting it later does no harm.

For longer storage, keep the watch somewhere cool and dry, away from direct sunlight. Keep it away from strong magnets too, including speakers, magnetic phone mounts, and some laptop cases. Magnetism can make a mechanical movement run noticeably fast.

Everyday Care

• Wipe it down after wearing it, especially after sweat or saltwater, using a soft, dry cloth.
• Push in (and screw down) the crown before any contact with water. An open crown is the most common way water gets into a watch.
• Avoid hard knocks. Mechanical movements are durable, but a sharp impact, like a dropped watch hitting a tile floor, is the kind of shock that can affect accuracy.
• Give it a service every few years. Like any finely made mechanism, an automatic benefits from occasional professional cleaning and lubrication to keep it accurate over the long run.

A Little Care Goes a Long Way

An automatic watch is built to last for years, and most of what keeps it that way is simple: wear it, wind it when it stops, keep the crown closed around water, and keep it away from magnets. Do that, and the movement you can watch through the caseback will keep ticking for a long time.

Still deciding between an automatic and a quartz movement? Here's how the two compare.