How important is the motor of a watch winder?

In this blog article we write about the importance of a watch winder motor. The motor is the heart of the watch winder, and due to it's rotation the automatic watches are wound.

What is a watch winder?

A watch winder is an accessory for automatic watches with which you can provide them with energy. When an automatic watch is not worn, it loses energy, causing it to stop. Standstill is not good for an automatic watch because it has many moving parts in the movement that are best to be in motion. You simply place the watches in the watch winder, which then rotates the watches so that they obtain energy. This makes the watches immediately ready to wear, without having to wind the watch and without having to reset the time, date or other functions. A watch winder is very handy! In addition, a watch winder has several other benefits that we have already written about in our other watch winder blog articles.

Most important parts of a watch winder

What are the most important parts of a watch winder? A watch winder is actually a kind of case in which you place the watches, which then rotate the watches. The rotation of the watches is done by small motors. These motors are built in and you cannot see them. The motors are controlled by the CPU, which receives instructions via the control panel of the watch winder. The operation of a watch winder can be a button, LCD display or touchscreen. Each setting via the controller is sent by the CPU to the motors. For example, when you set or change the direction of rotation or the number of revolutions per day (TPD: turns per day). The main technical parts are the motors, the CPU and the control panel. Of course, the watch holder is also very important, because you place the watch on it.

Information about the motor of a watch winder

Inside the watch winder are small motors that rotate the watch holder with the watch on it. These small motors can run clockwise, counterclockwise or alternately. In addition, they can run in a specific program, for example with an X number of revolutions per day or with a pause between the running cycles. The motor is one of the most important parts of the watch winder because it ensures that the watches rotate and thus obtain energy. Most watch winders have one motor per rotor (so one motor per watch). This allows you to set each rotor individually for one watch and you are completely flexible. However, there are also watch winders where one motor drives a plateau on which 2 or even 3 watches can be placed. This is not our preference because the motor has to deliver more energy/power and you are not flexible in terms of watches that you want to wind up. Simply because all 2 or 3 watches turn in the same direction with the same number of revolutions per day. Because the movement of automatic watches differ, it is common for the requirements for excitement to differ per watch. For example, one watch is wound clockwise at 900 TPD, while another watch is wound counterclockwise at 1500 TPD. With a watch winder with one motor for several watches, you cannot separate and the watches will be wound in the same way. This may lead that one or more watches will not receive energy and will still come to a standstill. The motors drive the watch winder and are therefore very important. They must work in harmony with the CPU and control.

Origin of watch winder motors

Most watch winder motors are made in China. These motors are relatively cheap to produce, so they are widely used in unknown watch winder brands, which you can buy on Amazon, Ebay or Alibaba, for example. The price of these watch winders is low but you don't really know what you are buying. In terms of durability, quality and functionality, the Chinese motors are less good than motors made in Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Chinese motors often tend to break down relatively quickly, can produce a lot of noise or can have malfunctions. This makes the use unpleasant. After all, you want a good watch winder in which your automatic watches are wound safely and professionally.

Japanese motors are used by most good watch winder brands. Examples are Benson, Paul Design, Boda Concept and Heisse & Söhne. All leading brands that produce good watch winders with an excellent price/quality ratio. Japan is known for their high professional knowledge, innovation and sustainable technology. Think of brands such as Sony and Toyota. Japanese motors are very good quality, reliable and affordable. This combination ensures that the above watch winder brands can offer good quality for a very competitive price.

There are also brands that use German motors, a good example is Chronovision. This beautiful German watch winder brand produces watch winders in-house. These watch winders are equipped with a motor that has been fully developed and produced in Germany. These Chronovision motors are powerful and durable. Because they are made in Germany, they are also more expensive than Japanese motors. In terms of durability and functionality, they are comparable to Japanese motors.

Most high end watch winder brands use Swiss motors. These “Swiss made” motors are used by brands such as RDI, Bernard Favre, Orbita and Swiss Kubik. The advantage of Swiss watch winder motors is that they offer the best features. They are powerful, durable, functional and virtually silent to use. As a result, these motors are the most expensive compared to Japanese and German motors. Just like with Swiss watches, with a watch winder with a Swiss motor you also pay a bit for the “Swiss made” designation. This predicate is still very highly regarded and brands know that they can ask a little more for their products.

The differences between a Japanese, German and Swiss motor are relatively small. The difference is most in the sound that the motor produces. But this noise plays a relatively small role when the motors are built into a watch winder box that absorbs sound. For example, a wooden and lockable (watch winder with a door or lid) watch winder already absorbs a lot of noise, making the motors barely audible.

The difference between a Chinese and, on the other hand, a Japanese, German or Swiss motor is, however, very big. That is why we have no watch winder brands with a Chinese motor in our range. We only choose quality, durability and good functionality by having only watch winder brands with a Japanese, German or Swiss motors in our collection.

Power and durability

It is important to choose a watch winder that has good motors. You want to be able to wind all kinds of watches, from small to large and from heavy to light. Especially larger and heavier watches demand more from an motor. This motor has to provide more energy/power to run a larger and heavier watch. A powerful motor will rotate such a watch much more easily than a motor that is less powerful. If you have a watch winder with low quality motors and place larger and heavier watches in it, the motors will quickly cause problems. They will wear out faster and will therefore rotate more irregularly, make more noise and break faster. Our advice is therefore always to choose a watch winder that has good Japanese, German or Swiss motors. These last mentioned motors also last longer in terms of sustainability. This allows you to enjoy your watch winder for years.

Sound level

Watch lovers put their watch winder in different places. One puts the watch winder in the living room, another prefers the office or the bedroom. The sound level plays an important role in this. In a living room or office you accept a higher sound level than in your bedroom where it is important that the watch winder does not keep you out of your sleep. Now the perception of the level of sound is personal and one can handle background noise better than the other.

The sound that the watch winder makes is highly dependent on the motors, design and material of the watch winder. The main rule is that a watch winder motor always makes a certain level of sound. They consist out of parts that rotate, making total silence impossible. A good motor makes relatively little sound. A Japanese or German motor produces a very low noise level. Most Swiss motors produce the lowest sound level.

The design and materials of which the watch winder is made may play an even greater role in the degree of sound. For example, the Benson Black Series watch winders are made of wood (absorbent) and have a lid and door with which you minimize the noise of the motors. A combination of good motors and good design is preferred.

Conclusion

The watch winder motor is very important. After all, the motor ensures that automatic watches are properly and safely supplied with energy. The motor is, as it were, the heart of a watch winder. There is a choice of many different motors. The best watch winder motors are made in Japan, Germany and Switzerland. It is best to ignore the watch winders with Chinese motors.

There are big price differences in watch winder brands. Watch winder brands from Germany and Switzerland are predominantly more expensive in price than watch winder brands that use motors from Japan. These Japanese motors are almost as good. German and Swiss motors have the advantage of providing the lowest possible noise level.

However, you do pay a little extra for this.