Jaeger-LeCoultre

I am aware many are divided about whether we should use watch winders for automatics and keep our manual watches wound from 'time-to-time', but I wonder what people think about storing of watches.

While I keep mine in a safe, recently I was told you should not do so unless you place them in a plastic bag with silica gel to absorb moisture -- important for stainless steel and leather. Further, that you should still have them serviced every three years, even if stored that period of time. Also, if you store you watch in a 'flat' position, they should be turned over every couple of months to allow the lubricants to sit where they are supposed to be.

I have yet to see a thread on this forum about how to properly look after our treasured JLCs. The issues raised in the last two paragraphs might be a good place to start some sharing of views on this important matter.

Thoughts?

Adrian

right. Of course I do not abuse my JLCs, but I do not care too much how to care/store. The JLCs we have will outlive us way long anyway. lol

Best,

Jean

And wind them at least once a month...

BUT the best place for a watch is on our wrist...



Best,

Nicolas

but you cannot wear them all at once....

Why don't you like the watchwinders Nicolas?

Cheers

Watches are like us, they need some time to work, some time to rest.

I don't think it is a good thing to let them perpetually work.

When you don't wear a watch, let it in its place, in a box, suedine, whatever it is.

Just wind it once a month, and it will be great.

Therefore, it is a pleasure to wind your manual watch, each day, or 7 / 8 / 15 Days, don't you agree?

This is just a priviledged moment between the owner and the watch.

Best,

Nicolas

that the watch will last long(er) if it works every now and then instead of standing still for years. lubricants will lubricate what need be and things will be fine.
servicing every 3y seems a bit much especially if the watch does not run very often. the basic servicing of the watch consists of unmounting it completely, removing old lubricant and putting  the watch back together using fresh lubricant to lubricate where required.
the improvement in the quality of lubricant used in modern watches is such that a 5y servicing is probably good in most cases for modern watches. Now, if you have many watches and they "rotate" on your wrist, it is likely that the servicing can possibly stretch further.

One thing to pay attention to, is the fact that one can easily run a watch for a long time withtout servicing and the pivots and other parts may start to wear out without the owner to notice much until the damage is big and the repair costly. Prevention is better than cure ...

the winding machine is, to me, expensive for what it does and could be justified only for perpetual calendars with moonphase, otherwise, resetting the calendar and the moon phase to the right date must be a bit of a chinese puzzle (but probably good fun).

now to comment on the pleasure of winding, I have to say that this is almost a "religious" moment when I wind on the first day of the week my reverso grande reserve, to be ready for a brand new week. I love this moment.

It is very simple.

One single pusher does synchronize all the datas, even the moonphase, so you don't need to go and search the good moonphase to set it!

Actually, I have this problem on the PP 5712, as there is no synchronization at all, which is normal for a Date watch.

I have to go on the net to find the moonphase of my 5712...

Best,

Nicolas

It is a pleasure to wind your manual watch- that might be the reason I prefer manual watches over automatic lol
(although I do believe that they are more accurate)

I see your point about watch winders, but there are some arguments for them too- practicality and several ADs claim that it is better to keep them running for "lubrication reasons". I know of an AD that winds his watches(that he sells) on a regular basis- while when I bought a watch after a couple of months it needed servicing because it was sitting on the AD display for a year without being wound....

Your thoughts would be appreciated....:)

Cheers

If you never wind your watches, this may be problematic...

But at an AD Window display, there may be much more probleamtic factors...

For example: Is the display window directly exposed to Sun?

Are the display windows not too warm due to the lights used ?

There are very serious problems which are not that often considered...

Best,

Nicolas

the watch in the window of an AD that would  be exposed to the sun in summer and, subsequently the lubricant inside could age much faster than the same watch in a drawer at home or on the wrist of a happy person.

(an interesting article here www.oilanalysis.com regarding aging oil and temperature, although not directly applicable to horology, the principle is there.if you increase temperatture, all lubricants will be damaged after a while and will not play their role properly)

Its a ritual for the soul, mind and spirit

The Flipper

Yo Nic, shouldn't perpetuals run uninterrupted til 2100?

I know it's a pain if I need to push my 3940, hey it's a PP! We feel the pain when we paid for it, and now we have to feel it to push it? we're a confused lot

I do agree a watch needs a rest, I wonder how Mr Stern does his 3940? coz he has never serviced it. I can only assume since he said he wears his on a daily basis, it's like putting it on a winder right? now, what's that 3 year service theory thingy coming from?

I know my 3940 hasn't been to PP and it's still keeping dead accurate time.

Mech.

And yes, theorically, you should do it every 3 years...

But depending on how often you wear it, light, warmth, etc...you may give it later for a whole service.

Hopefully!



Best, and enoy your 3940!

Nicolas