How to wind a hand-wound watch (and how often)

A hand-wound watch has no rotor. The only energy it gets is what you give it through the crown, and it gives that back over roughly two and a half days. That is the whole relationship.

Once a day, same time

Wind it every morning, off the wrist, before you put it on. A full wind from empty takes about forty turns of the crown; a top-up from yesterday takes fifteen or twenty. Daily winding keeps the mainspring in the upper part of its range, where the watch keeps its best time.

Stop at the resistance

When the mainspring is full you will feel the crown tighten over a quarter turn. Stop there. The watch cannot be over-wound, but forcing the crown past that point strains the stem.

If it has stopped

Wind it fully, set the time, and put it on. A watch that has run down loses nothing — it is simply waiting.

What to avoid

• Setting the date between 21:00 and 03:00, when the date wheel is engaged.
• Winding with the crown pulled out to the setting position.
• Strong magnets: speakers, phone cases with clasps, induction hobs.

If the watch starts running more than ten seconds a day off, write to us — it usually means it wants a regulation, not a repair.