Watch Education

Caring For Your Watch

Watches, jewelry - they're all valuable additions to your jewelry box. Jewelry.com shares all the important tricks of the trade so you can make your watch last a lifetime.

Whether you're a connoisseur of watches with a collection of watches lovingly compiled, or own just one watch for pure utilitarian purchase, watch maintenance is a must.

Safe From Harm

Always store your watch in a dry place. If you are fortunate enough to own a collection of watches, it's worthwhile to invest in a watch box which will make it not only easier to view the watches, but also keeps them safe from outside dust and chemicals. All watches though should always be kept away from any chemicals or synthetic material that may cause discoloration on metal, especially gold.

If you're not planning on wearing a watch for a period of time, make sure you wipe the watch clean and remove any dirt before storing it.

Keep your watch in either the crown down position or in the dial up position. Watches are regulated to run accurately in these two positions, meaning it will not lose or gain any more time than it is supposed to when kept unused in the duration of its reserved power.

Do not store a mechanical watch near any appliance components, such as motors, loud speakers or television screens.

Servicing Your Watch

Most watches (apart from quartz watches) should be taken into a specialist for servicing around every 5 to 8 years. A watch mechanism needs to be lubricated regularly to prevent any damage that can be caused by the accumulation of dust in the watch's movement. Dust, usually created by the friction between the parts, builds up when oil deteriorates over a certain period of time. This will result in the inaccuracy of the watch.

Quartz watches need little servicing, just a battery change every couple of years depending on the watch.

If you use your watch when swimming, diving, fishing or other activities involving water you should have its water resistance checked annually.

Battery Life

A silver oxide watch battery will last 2 to 3 years, while a lithium battery will last an average of 10 years. Before you replace the watch's battery, check which is needed as most watches have specific battery requirements. Keep note of the date the battery was installed. Some spent batteries may start to leak chemicals into the movement if not immediately replaced.

When To Wind?

If you own a watch that needs winding don't wind the watch while you're wearing it, as this positioning can place stress on the stem of the watch. Instead, hold the watch in one hand and position the crown between the thumb and index finger when you wind it.

A mechanical watch needs to be wound everyday before using, and occasional winding is needed when the watch is kept for a long period of time to prevent the movement's lubricants from congealing.

An automatic watch should be wound approximately 20 to 30 times before each use when the watch has completely stopped. This allows the watch to regain reserve power that permits it to run more accurately.

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