The benefit of an automatic mechanical watch is that it winds itself. If you have one automatic watch you wear daily, it’s as straightforward as keeping the watch on your wrist to keep it wound. However, the answer to how to wind an automatic watch becomes slightly more involved if you rotate between several watches or don’t wear your automatic watch often. Let’s get into everything you need to know.
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Winding Mechanics
There are two common types of movements in watchmaking: mechanical and quartz. A battery powers quartz movements, while mechanical movements rely on a mechanism called a “mainspring,” which needs to be wound. For manual-winding (“hand-wound”) movements, the mainspring is wound by twisting the crown on the side of the case.
Automatic, or self-winding, movements commonly use a rotor to wind themselves, which swings around the movement as the wrist moves and winds the mainspring. As the mainspring gradually unwinds, it passes its stored energy to the gear train and then to the rest of the timekeeping components within the movement. Most automatic movements can also be wound by hand.
![This AP Millenary movement has a beautifully finished rotor](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/232323-1024x683.jpg)
How to Hand-Wind an Automatic Watch
If your watch has a screwdown crown, as soon as you unscrew it, it should “pop” into winding position. From there, simply rotate the crown clockwise a few dozen times. If your watch has a non-screwdown crown, typically you can just wind it when the crown is fully flush against the case.
![How to hand-wind an automatic watch: Non-Screwdown](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/nooooooskew-1024x683.jpg)
![How to hand-wind an automatic watch: Screwdown](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SCREW-1024x683.jpg)
If you rotate between several watches, you may need to wind them more often. Another option is to use a watch winder to keep the mainspring wound. Luckily for the modern collector, there are a lot of winders out there to choose from, including those that rotate the watch all day and others that only move the watch every so often.
Read More About Watch Movements:
Do Rolex Watches Tick? Yes–Here’s Our Guide to Rolex Beat Rates
Rolex Quartz Watches: The Complete Guide
What is an In-House Movement? And Do We Care Anymore?
A Primer on Watch Movement Types
How Often Do You Have To Wind An Automatic Watch?
There’s a lot of conflicting information about how often a watch should be wound. Is it better to keep it wound? If not, is it bad to let the movement run down completely and rewind it when you want to wear the watch again? Many watchmakers have provided professional opinions on the topic on various online platforms. The consensus seems to be that it isn’t bad for the movement to let the power reserve run down. The lubricant between the different components shouldn’t dry out any faster than if the watch were wound. Modern-day synthetic oils are a wonder!
![](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/343434-1024x683.jpg)
Additionally, some prefer to keep their watch running so they don’t have to worry about winding it or resetting the date or other complications before wearing it, particularly trickier complications like perpetual calendars or moon phases. Setting the watch can cause wear if we’re being picky about wearing down the movement. However, if the lubricant inside the movement is still in good condition and maintained by regular servicing, there shouldn’t be much wear between the different components once it’s running.
Let’s say you want to keep your watch wound. In that case, how often should you wind it? Mechanical movements have a power reserve, usually a few days’ worth, depending on the caliber. In theory, this means that the wearer can put the watch down for a day or so, and it should keep running once they strap the watch back onto their wrist. By that logic, it shouldn’t need to be wound by hand if it’s worn often.
![](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mainspring-Hustvedt.jpg)
If the watch hasn’t been worn for a while, or the wearer doesn’t move their wrist much throughout the day, the mainspring can completely uncoil, causing the movement to run out of stored energy, aka power reserve. The movement will indeed start winding itself once the watch is back on the wrist, and that might be enough to get it up and running again long enough to set the watch, but it can take a while to completely “recharge.” That’s when it is worth it to hand-wind the watch to power the movement sufficiently.
How Many Times Should You Wind An Automatic Watch?
Automatic watches typically require winding the crown 30 to 40 times to reach their maximum power reserve. It’s common to see a stopped seconds hand jump to life after about a dozen winds, but motion doesn’t mean the power reserve is full. If you don’t have time to wind the crown, waving the wrist from side to side or doing a thumbs up/thumbs down motion until the seconds hand starts to move again is usually enough to get the movement up and running again. Collectors have given this motion a nickname.
What is the Seiko Shuffle?
The Seiko Shuffle, or Seiko Shimmy, is a method for winding Seiko watches by shaking the watch back and forth for about 30 seconds. This will cause the rotor to spin enough to wind the watch sufficiently. This method was once the only way to wind many Seiko watches because, until recently, most couldn’t be wound by hand. Even today, many people still call this winding method the Seiko Shuffle, even if the watch isn’t a Seiko.
![You can wind automatic watches by gently rocking them back and forth](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image.jpeg)
How Long Does It Take To Wind An Automatic Watch?
It only takes about a minute to wind an automatic watch by hand. But if you’re the throw-it-on-and-go type, how long does it take to fully wind the watch just by wearing it? Depending on the brand, how long the power reserve is, and how active the wearer is, it can take an entire day for the watch to wind itself fully. For a more physically active wearer, it might fully wind in about an hour.
![Off-catalog 2021 Day-Date 36 release](https://www.luxurybazaar.com/grey-market/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/dd-orange-1024x702.jpg)
Can You Overwind an Automatic Watch?
No, you can’t overwind an automatic watch–no worries there. Because the wearer’s motion winds the watch, and people can’t be expected to take off their automatic watches when the power reserve is full, they have to have a mechanism (called a slipping bridle) that makes winding non-problematic even when it’s fully wound.
Despite all the types of movements in watchmaking, automatic calibers remain among the most sought-after because they don’t need to be hand-wound or have their batteries replaced. Knowing how to keep them wound properly can ensure the best performance, but the great thing is, you usually don’t need to think about it.
More on Watch Fundamentals:
What is a World Time Watch?
What is a GADA Watch?
What is a Grand Complication Watch?
Common Materials Used in Watchmaking
Wristwatch History: A Timeline of Horological Firsts