Horological Meandering

WatchProSite Review: Scatola Del Tempo's Rotor One Winder Review

 

WatchProSite Moderator Patrick_y reviews the Scatola Del Tempo Rotor One watch winder.  This review focuses on the strengths of the new Scatola Del Tempo Rotor One watch winder, and some of the thoughtful features integrated into this new winder. 

 

Photo Credit: Scatola Del Tempo

Pros:

1.     Attractive price

2.     Always stops vertically upright

3.     Long battery life expected

4.     Motor is made by Swiss Kubik, precision Swiss motors with a minimal magnetic field so your watch doesn’t get magnetized

5.     Standard front acrylic glass cover included

6.     Quiet operation

7.     Dark mode, a mode where you can turn off the flashing battery status light

 

Cons:

1.     Can’t be stacked like a box

2.     Only one winding program

 

 

Some of you were probably resetting your perpetual calendars a few days ago because you didn’t keep it on a winder.  Some of you may also recall that I got a new Scatola Del Tempo Rotor One winder as a generous gift a few months ago.  Well, the verdict is in!  I like it!  And here’s why…

 

Pricing and Quality

 

In the USA, the retail price is $550.  While this is expensive compared to other brands, keep in mind, Scatola Del Tempo is the incumbent in this field, having created the first watch winders over 20 years ago.  They are among the leaders today and along with Swiss Kubik, the two brands supply motors and winder assemblies to many prestigious watch brands, such as Patek Philippe!  The price is significantly lower than the Swiss Kubik Masterbox (which starts at $795 but features fully customizable programs).  Lesser and cheaper watch boxes have been known to employ motors with large permanent magnets or induction motors that have unstable fields which are prone to influence timekeeping. 

 

I like to use the watch winder without the glass door.  And notice the leather is impeccably stitched.  This IWC watch has a soft iron case that acts as a shield against magnetic fields.  Fortunately, it doesn't need it, because this watch winder uses Swiss made motors that don't give off significant magnetic fields.  However, there are some winders from less reputable makers that do give off significant magnetic fields. 

Aesthetics

 

The winder is very conscious of aesthetics and practicality, the winder is smart enough to stop the watch in the vertical upright position every time it pauses its winding program.  SwissKubik winders also do this, and SwissKubik supplies the motor for this specific Scatola Del Tempo winder.  I wished my old Scatola Del Tempo winder stopped upright, as it makes it so easy to read the time on the watch.  It's just a great detail that's commonly overlooked by many winding companies. 

 

The body of the winder is made of plastic with a soft rubberized coating that appears to be vulcanized onto the plastic body.  There’s also an extremely elegant piece of high quality stitched leather that goes around the body.  The leather element comes in a choice of seven colors, mine is in green.  Overall, the winder appears to be solid and well made.  The battery door is made of metal and has a pleasing heft.  The winder also comes with a heavy acrylic glass door, I don’t use my door since I try to use my watch more often, but the door prevents any dust from settling on the watch and prevents anything from hitting the watch directly.  Not every winder in this price point comes with a glass door, definitely a nice touch! 

 

You can even add special inserts to the door, like “Pepsi” or “Batman”

 Pepsi Look (Photo from Scatola Del Tempo)

Batman look (Photo from Scatola Del Tempo)

The size of the Rotor One is very reasonable and compact.  It will store well in a safe and its battery will last 3 years.  But because of its shape, it cannot be stacked.  The Swiss Kubik watch winder may be more efficient in a safe if you plan on stacking multiple winders in a small space.  All the more reason to keep this box outside where you can enjoy its aesthetics and see your watch. 

This Ressence timepiece enjoys worn on the wrist.  But when it's not worn on the wrist, it enjoys being on the watch winder, a winder that does not give off electromagnetic fields. 

 

Functions and Features

 

There is a single button for operation and the button has a green LED that lights when the battery is healthy.  This LED flashes periodically to indicate the battery’s health.  This flashing LED may be interpreted as bothersome to some individuals who keep the winder on their nightstand next to their bed.  But don’t despair, the engineers at Scatola Del Tempo were smart enough to allow you to turn off the flashing LED!  The motors are virtually silent for most watches, however, when installing a very heavy gold Panerai I did noticed the motor was slightly noisier than it was with lighter watches.  I keep mine on a bookshelf in my bedroom with the LED light off and it doesn’t bother me; with the heavy acrylic glass circular door, the noise would be even further reduced. 

 

The winder makes 900 clockwise rotations and another 900 counter-clockwise rotations every day.  This is the only program and no changes can be made.  This is perfectly sufficient for virtually all watches; especially Rolexes which benefit from winding in both direction.  If you have a watch that you want to have a specific winding program, then you’ll love the Swiss Kubik version, where you can program it to the exact number of rotations a day in whichever directions you like. 

 

The winder accommodates watches that are very thick and quite large too.  The largest watch I put on was an IWC Pilots watch that was 16mm thick and 46.2mm diameter plus crowns and I noticed no problems.  I like it more than my older Scatola Del Tempo winders mainly because this new version noticeably quieter and it should require less frequent battery replacements. 

The watch carrier holds the watch centered.  Both bracelet watches and strap watches.  

In Conclusion…

 

It’s been about six months of enjoyment of my new watch winder.  It’s definitely a perfect watch winder for a watch that benefits from bidirectional winding.  If you’ve got a watch that’s difficult to set, be it an annual calendar, a perpetual calendar, or some fancy celestial function (try resetting a Patek Philippe Celestial, I don’t even remember the password to get into the website to reset the watch), then you need to get yourself a watch winder!  The Scatola Del Tempo Rotor One is definitely THE BEST choice for timepieces that wind BI-DIRECTIONALLY.  And I maintain the customizable Swiss Kubik I reviewed last year to be the BEST WINDER in the world if your timepiece requires a highly specific winding regimen. 

All my Scatola Del Tempo watch winders have never had any problems, nor ever require any servicing.  There's just the one-time cost and batteries.  My oldest has been with me for nearly twenty years and it's been flawless. 

 

Many thanks to my generous friend who gifted me this winder!  I will cherish it! 

Link to my review of the Swiss Kubik winder which can be fully customized; www.watchprosite.com /

I've owned multiple Scatola Del Tempo Watch Winders, the oldest I've owned for over fifteen years!  They're very good, solid, and reliable!  Definitely a solid product.