Self-Winding Mechanical Watches

Self-winding mechanical watches only!

I have already confessed my love for mechanical watches. Ever since childhood, I have marvelled at the ingenuity of the people who put gears together so that the hands move at different speeds, the date and day of the week change, the phases of the moon are tracked, and so much more. Of course, all of this is calculated using computer software these days, but still.

I am not a fan of smartwatches for two reasons:

• Smartwatches collect all sorts of data: heart rate, step count, flights of stairs climbed, sleep stages and so on. To avoid gaps in that data, you have to wear a smartwatch almost constantly.
• A smartwatch that you wear all the time is not easy to customise. Of course, you can change the watch face and straps, but be honest: does anyone actually do that? And even if you do, you cannot change the shape of the watch itself.

So a smartwatch ends up limiting your choices.

Having a collection of different mechanical watches means I can switch between them depending on my outfit, the occasion and my mood. My watches have dials in different sizes and colours, as well as straps in different colours and materials. Finding a watch that fits is not particularly difficult.

I only buy self-winding watches. A special mechanism called a rotor takes care of the winding. The rotor is usually shaped like a sector of a circle and mounted on an axis at the centre of the movement, with its centre of gravity as far towards the outer edge as possible. When you move your arm while wearing the watch, inertia causes the rotor to swing about its axis. Through a gear train, these movements wind the mainspring tighter.

Self-winding watches need to be stored in a special watch winder: a box that periodically rotates them back and forth to keep them wound and prevent them from stopping. This is particularly relevant for watches with complications, such as a perpetual calendar or a moon-phase indicator, as setting them is complicated and takes time. If you keep them in a winder, they are always ready to wear: wound and showing the correct time, date, day of the week, month and moon phase.

I realise that in the age of smartphones, few people wear a watch at all, let alone one that is not smart. Still, I would love to know: do any of my readers share my passion for mechanical watches?