Your Watch Needs Care
If you want to enjoy your watch, you should follow these simple rules:
- Like every mechanism mechanical watches require regular survey, cleaning, lubricating and adjusting watchwork accuracy. It is desirable to do it every three or four years in an official service center specified in the list attached to the watch certificate. This is an important condition, because even the tiniest speck of dust that gets into the watch may influence its accuracy due to increased friction. Don’t wind up your watch while wearing it. Doing this you eliminate uneven pressure on the crown, which is one of the most vulnerable watch components. Watches with manual winding must be wound at the same time by turning the crown clockwise until it stops. If you wear a watch with automatic winding every day, wind it once a week (20-30 rotations of the crown clockwise). It is preferable not to go in for extreme sports or use pneumatic tools wearing mechanical watch. The recoil strength affects the operating life and accuracy of the watch. No matter how perfect a shock-proof mechanism is, there is always a chance of excessive load that the details can’t sustain.
- Quartz watches don’t require the same thorough care, but they also need to be surveyed, cleaned and lubricated every four or five years in official service centers specified in the list attached to the watch certificate. In order to replace the batteries in the quartz watch, contact an authorized dealer before the battery expires. Empty batteries can leak and begin to corrode and ruin the watch. Do not try to change the battery yourself. If your watch is water-resistant, after replacing the battery, the watch should undergo a water-resistance test, and you must be sure that moisture won’t get inside.
In order not to spoil the calendar, it is better not to change the date between 10 pm and 2 am. At this time all the gears are moving to change the date automatically. It is better to take away an hour hand to the lower section of the dial (for example, to six).
You shouldn’t keep your watch in the same box with jewelry, especially with precious stones, or in places where they will be subjected to minimal friction. The best option may be an original box. Such boxes are upholstered with special soft material and are made exactly for your watch.
Replace broken or cracked glass immediately as even a smallest crack allows dust particles to get into the watch, and it will affect its accuracy. Do not keep your watch in a cold place. Otherwise lubricants can get thick, the gears stop, axel journals may be damaged. Do not leave your watch on stone tables, for example, from marble, as temperature changes which are typical for marble can cause damage of some parts, especially springs and spirals of an old watch which were made of stainless steel. It is recommended to take off your watch before going to bed. In bed you can make uncontrolled movements which may damage the watch. Besides, in bed our body produces sweat, it accumulates on the watch and can damage the body and gaskets which provide tightness. If your watch is water-resistant, you can wipe it with a weak solution of mild soap or detergent from time to time, and then wipe it dry. If your watch has a leather wristlet, then you should wipe only the watch body. If your watch is not water-resistant or you are not sure about this, wipe it with a slightly wet cloth, then wipe dry. If you regularly do physical exercises and lead an active way of life, you should choose the watch with a metal wristlet, instead of natural leather. Sweat being produced during sports activities will gradually destroy the natural leather wristlet.
Do not wear your watch in saunas and hot shower. Excessive heat and moisture can damage the body and gaskets.
Salt water does harm to most watches. Therefore, after swimming in the sea even waterproof watches should be washed with soap solution in warm running water to prevent corrosion and early gasket wear. In contact with water the crown and all the buttons should be screwed in.
After 2-3 years your watch can lose tightness due to gasket wear. Therefore, in two or three years you should check tightness and if necessary replace gaskets. Do not leave your watch near speakers or other magnetic fields. Most watches don’t have magnetic protection, and if the watch details are magnetized, it can become slow or fast.