I have a ton of watches, and eventually started buying mostly automatics. While a winder is not essential, its nice for a watch with day, date, moon phase, etc. to stay wound, so, I started buying winders, but, like other watch collectors, wed rather spend our money on more watches, than high priced winders.
I have some go to brands for affordable winders (Chiyoda is outstanding, and Ive also had great experience with Heiden and Versa), but I saw that this also works on batteries and it had a smaller footprint for being a dual winder and those are features I was looking to have for this one.
I was not impressed with the finishing, to be honest. The outer finish is fine, but the connection housing inside the battery case was loose, and the concept of multiple sleeves over the cushion, to hold the watch, is a bit bizarre, and does not provide for the most secure fit.
So, watches on bracelet will tend to flop around, and could potentially knock into each other, so I switched to watches on straps for this winder, since I could tighten them up to stay more secure. Also, this is not suitable for larger watches, and most of mine are at least 44mm. The watches I have in there now are 42mm, and its fine, but I cant use it for any of my larger autos.
The other let down is, of course, no customized winder settings, just some generic options that probably result in too many TPD, although modern automatics are protected from being overwound. Winders from Versa and Heiden and Chiyoda all come with a range of options for TPD and rotation, so you can select exactly what your movement requires.
I note, that, on battery power (it uses two C batteries), you only get about 20 days of use / likely in part because it doesnt have a lower setting of TPDs.
Winders from Heiden that use two D cells operate for months without needing the batteries replaced. So, I have actually switched over to the wall cord, and had to relocate this winder near to a plug outlet, so, while this does take batteries, practical use is rather impractical.
Because the battery life is so short, you find the winder has stopped, and the watches as well, which kind of defeats the purpose of having the winder, not to mention youre paying for 30 or 40 batteries a year.
And, on battery power, if you want to use the very beautiful blue lighting feature, the batteries will drain even faster.
Another issue / with only a single turntable, you cant use this for two watches with different winding needs, which is a drawback.
It does look decent, and its absolutely silent, and, thus far, its keeping my two watches wound, now that I switched to the wall plug, so, certainly some good points here, but I wish it had better pillows, could house larger watches, and its disappointing that battery power is so short lived.
So, I took a chance on this brand, since my usual options were out of stock, but this one comes with some limitations, for sure. Plus, it seems there are similar winders like this one, with these limitations, but for less cost.
Id recommend considering other brands before buying (especially Heiden, if you need a battery operated one), or, if you have the room, and have a nearby outlet, Chiyoda is one of the best winders out there, with touch screen controls, individually controlled turntables, and a full range of TPD options to suit your exact watch requirements.
So, this is okay, but didnt hit a home run, for me. Despite that, I did wind up buying several / as long as you have two smaller watches with the same winding requirements, it is a handy build that doesnt take up a lot of room, and that does become an important factor when having dozens of winders.
Thanks for reading, I hope this has helped!
Its okay, but just okay
I have a ton of watches, and eventually started buying mostly automatics. While a winder is not essential, its nice for a watch with day, date, moon phase, etc. to stay wound, so, I started buying winders, but, like other watch collectors, wed rather spend our money on more watches, than high priced winders. I have some go to brands for affordable winders (Chiyoda is outstanding, and Ive also had great experience with Heiden and Versa), but I saw that this also works on batteries and it had a smaller footprint for being a dual winder and those are features I was looking to have for this one. I was not impressed with the finishing, to be honest. The outer finish is fine, but the connection housing inside the battery case was loose, and the concept of multiple sleeves over the cushion, to hold the watch, is a bit bizarre, and does not provide for the most secure fit. So, watches on bracelet will tend to flop around, and could potentially knock into each other, so I switched to watches on straps for this winder, since I could tighten them up to stay more secure. Also, this is not suitable for larger watches, and most of mine are at least 44mm. The watches I have in there now are 42mm, and its fine, but I cant use it for any of my larger autos. The other let down is, of course, no customized winder settings, just some generic options that probably result in too many TPD, although modern automatics are protected from being overwound. Winders from Versa and Heiden and Chiyoda all come with a range of options for TPD and rotation, so you can select exactly what your movement requires. I note, that, on battery power (it uses two C batteries), you only get about 20 days of use / likely in part because it doesnt have a lower setting of TPDs. Winders from Heiden that use two D cells operate for months without needing the batteries replaced. So, I have actually switched over to the wall cord, and had to relocate this winder near to a plug outlet, so, while this does take batteries, practical use is rather impractical. Because the battery life is so short, you find the winder has stopped, and the watches as well, which kind of defeats the purpose of having the winder, not to mention youre paying for 30 or 40 batteries a year. And, on battery power, if you want to use the very beautiful blue lighting feature, the batteries will drain even faster. Another issue / with only a single turntable, you cant use this for two watches with different winding needs, which is a drawback. It does look decent, and its absolutely silent, and, thus far, its keeping my two watches wound, now that I switched to the wall plug, so, certainly some good points here, but I wish it had better pillows, could house larger watches, and its disappointing that battery power is so short lived. So, I took a chance on this brand, since my usual options were out of stock, but this one comes with some limitations, for sure. Plus, it seems there are similar winders like this one, with these limitations, but for less cost. Id recommend considering other brands before buying (especially Heiden, if you need a battery operated one), or, if you have the room, and have a nearby outlet, Chiyoda is one of the best winders out there, with touch screen controls, individually controlled turntables, and a full range of TPD options to suit your exact watch requirements. So, this is okay, but didnt hit a home run, for me. Despite that, I did wind up buying several / as long as you have two smaller watches with the same winding requirements, it is a handy build that doesnt take up a lot of room, and that does become an important factor when having dozens of winders. Thanks for reading, I hope this has helped!