When you’re young, you want a great timepiece. But what you don’t realize is that in having a great watch, you also have to invest time maintaining it. Though they are never referenced in rap videos or on red carpets, a quality watch winder is key to extending the life of your watch and ensuring optimum performance.

Adult sensibilities aren’t sexy, but damn it, they win out if you’re doing it right. Once you drop some coin on a watch, keeping it wound is essential. A watch winder is used to keep automatic or self-winding watches running when not worn.

So, how does a watch winder from Barrington work?

Automatic watches operate by winding themselves using a moving weight inside the watch. The weight moves around while the watch is worn and turns the winding mechanism inside the watch.

The winder from Barrington operates on a basis of gentle rotation to wind watches.

Older generation watch winders were programmed to be always on (i.e. rotating without a pause) in an effort to wind the watch as quickly as possible. This can lead to over-winding of a watch and potential damage to the main spring. Gentle rotation ensures a consistent movement over a longer period of time that won’t over-wind your watch.

When initially turned on, the Barrington rotor turns for 1 minute before pausing. The length of the pause is determined by the Turns Per Day setting (a lower TPD setting will mean a longer pause and vice versa) and once it is completed the rotor turns again for just one minute. This cycle continues silently for 12 hours, then rests for 12 hours, before beginning again and so on until the winder is turned off.

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