How to store a mechanical watch
Keep a watch safe between wears and through long storage: where to put it, what damages it, whether to keep it running, and what to do with a quartz battery.
Published
Between wears
- A watch box or a soft pouch, so watches do not scratch each other.
- Somewhere dry and at room temperature. Not the bathroom, and not a sunny windowsill, which fades dials and straps.
- Away from magnets: speakers, laptops, tablets, induction hobs and magnetic clasps on bags. A magnetised watch runs fast.
- Crown pushed or screwed fully in.
Leather straps
Let a sweaty strap dry in the air before it goes in a box, and do not store it bent tightly. Leather kept damp in a closed box can grow mould.
Long storage
- Add a silica gel sachet to the box and replace it now and then.
- Wind a mechanical watch and let it run every few months. It keeps the oils spread around the movement.
- Have the battery taken out of a quartz watch you will not wear for a year or more. A dead battery can leak and damage the movement.
- A watch safe or a bank box for anything valuable, and photos and serial numbers kept somewhere else for insurance.
Do you need a winder?
Usually not. A stopped watch comes to no harm, and setting it again takes a minute. When a winder is worth it.
Taking it out again
Wind it fully, set the date the safe way, and set it to the second.