Wristwatches have become an ingrained aspect of timekeeping in Western cultures. There may be a time when cell phones overtake the symbol of a watch as a timekeeper, but we’ve not yet (and hopefully won’t) reach that point. When someone wants to silently ask what the time is, they point to their wrist even if they don’t wear a watch. No one reaches for their hip. This motion of silently asking for time is such a part of our collective consciousness that American Sign Language uses the motion for one of the definitions of the word “time“.
Some people wear wristwatches so often that they only notice their watch when the watch is missing. We take these steadfast keepers of time for granted. They’re just, simply, supposed to be there. They’re just, simply, supposed to work. Some people are able to get themselves in the habit of winding a wristwatch every day or every other day and some people check their wrist only to learn their watch has stopped or has become grossly inaccurate. People who fall into the second category may find it fortuitous to invest in a self-winding watch (also called an automatic watch).
A word of caution: self-winding watches tend to lose five to twenty seconds a day! Generally speaking, these watches do not hold the accuracy needed for military or scientific purposes. They’re fine for Average Joe Citizen. Always check the accuracy of the watch before making your purchase. No one likes this kind of surprise.
The invention of self-winding watches is typically accredited to John Harwood. Contrary to popular belief he was not Swiss. He was an English watch repairer and clockmaker. Many people think he was Swiss because on October 16, 1923 he registered an invention with the Federal Office for Intellectual Property of the Swiss Confederation at Berne. In September of the following year, he was given his patent. In 1926 at the Basle Trade Fair, he showcased the world’s first self-winding watch.
John Harwood, Watchmaker from the Isle of Man in the UK
As with many things clock related, Harwood’s invention is dependent upon technology conceived of and developed many years before. In the 1770s someone else had the idea of a self-winding watch. This watch was a pocket watch. Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented it. The mechanism worked like a pedometer and would require fifteen minutes of walking to properly wind the watch.
In the 1780s Abraham-Louis Breguet tried to improve upon Perrelet’s design, but failed to do so. His design changes reduced the reliability of the pocket watches and he stopped producing them in the early 1800s.
Harwood’s design has become known as a “bumper” watch. It uses a pivoting weight inside the case of the watch. It does not rotate a full 360 degrees, but would “bump” back and forth through 180 degrees. Once fully wound, Harwood’s “bumper” watches would run for 12 hours.
In 1930, Rolex tweaked Harwood’s design. They used a semi-circular weight that would rotate a full 360 degrees and would hold time-keeping tension for 35 hours.
Early self-winding watches could become over-wound and the delicate springs inside the watches could become damaged. Modern self-winding watches typically do not have that problem. If you’re thinking about purchasing a self-winding watch, make sure you check with the manufacturer and find out if it can be over-wound. All self-winding watches should not be worn when doing an activity that requires constant arm motions. Some sports like tennis or “slinging poi” are too much for the safety mechanisms that prevent over-winding.
For some people over-winding a self-winding watch isn’t a problem. Some people worry that the watch will not be wound enough which will cause the watch to slow down and create an accuracy problem. Generally speaking, this isn’t a problem as just a few minutes or even seconds of movement will put enough energy in reserve for two days of operation. Still, some consumers worry about the accuracy of their timepieces. There are winding machines that will wind a self-winding watch available for those consumers, but, honestly, they’re truly not necessary – save your money!
Some people own a variety of watches and will not wear the same watch every day. Those people do not need to purchase another apparatus to wind their self-winding watch either. If a self-winding watch has stopped there are two ways of restarting it. The first is to manually wind the watch. The crown (that knobby bit on the side of a watch) on self-winding watches sets the time and can be used to manually wind the watch. Some manufacturers feel that this mechanism is redundant and do not include it as part of their design. If the watch lacks a manual winding-function then the watch owner can hold the watch and move it in a circular motion for a half of a minute or so to kick start the watch. At that point, the watch owner logs into their computer, opens a browser, goes to one of our online clocks, and sets their clock. (What? That is the standard procedure for setting a clock, right? It should be. We don’t maintain the accuracy of these clocks for our health. We do it for all of you who ever need to set a clock. We’re selfless that way. But, seriously, our clocks are just as accurate as your computer’s clock: no more and no less… )
Self-winding watches are not “maintenance free”. No watch is.
All watches and clocks should be taken into to a certified horologist or watch repairer and get a “lube job” annually (“lube job” – that’s technical clock talk for ya, sorry if it’s over your head 
).
The gears, springs, and other working bits of a watch need to be well lubricated. A watch will also need new seals every year or so to prevent water from getting into the mechanics.
Regardless of whether they run off a battery, are manually wound, or are self-winding, we here at OnlineClock.net encourage you to spay and neuter your watches…wait…wrong tag line. (Sorry about that.)
Until next time readers, keep those watches wound!
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