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This is another article which, I guess, will be relevant to most of us here. This article was also lifted from the recent Watch Supplement of the Business Times (BT):
With tender loving care
ARTHUR LEE advises collectors on how to keep their watches in tip-top condition
AFTER owning some 100 watches, I would like to share a few simple practical tips that may help you keep your watches clean and in good working order - and keep you a happy and proud owner of your collection. The most common mistake is to remove too many links when sizing up a bracelet. Most watches have four or five holes at the clasp for adjusting length.
The new Rolex Ceramic subs and Deep Sea features a 'Glidelock' clasp that allows for instant sizing. Remove as few links as possible and push the bracelet inwards on the clasp. If you misplace the links later, the watch can still fit others by extending it on the clasp if you decide to sell it later.
With a Rolex sub 16610 spare link costing $88 each, that's not a bad idea. Also, a particular bracelet type may have been discontinued rendering it impossible to find spare links later. When adjusting bracelets, hold the watch up by the clasp and see if it is centred. Usually the six o'clock side has one or two links less then the 12 o'clock side.
Case backs are easily scratched by metal clasps. A simple one dollar piece of sponge makes a good pillow when you put it away. Use one that is fairly big and it will keep the watch facing up even with certain models like the Sinn U1 which rests on its side because of its very firm rubber strap.
Generally speaking, watches should be left facing up when resting to minimise the effects of gravity on wear. For those who are fussy about trying for the best accuracy, the resting position of your watch at night sometimes does seem to have a very slight effect. A well made time piece is a marvel of accuracy when you look at the figures in perspective. There are 86,400 seconds in a day and if your watch is 99.99 per cent accurate, there will still be a deviation of about nine seconds a day.
The Swiss COSC (chronometer) standards allow for a deviation of minus four to plus six seconds a day. Each movement is individually tested for 15 days, in five positions and at three different temperatures for certification. My experience has been that most chronometer certified watches perform better than this and a daily difference of only two or three seconds a week is the norm with new watches.
Over time, due to wear and tear, it can drift below the COSC standards. A full service at a reliable service centre should restore the performance at least for a few years. In fact, my non-chronometer 15-year-old Tudor submariner was running at plus one second every two days after a complete overhaul at the Rolex Service Centre.
Still - a few seconds off a day does add up to over a minute a month. You can adjust for very small gains and losses by altering the way your watch is kept resting when you sleep. Putting it flat may gain a few seconds while angling it with the crown lower or the crown up may lose a few seconds a day. Experiment with the resting position for a week to see which one is best for your watch. Stainless steel straps last a very long time though there may be some 'stretch' over time.
The current trend is towards solid end links over folded ones. It's much better because folded end links over time will etch out a groove into the watch case. Leather straps have a very wide range in quality, and prices start from below $20 to as much as $600. The feel and look of a top notch very fine quality leather is hard to describe. Wear one for a few days and you may understand why some watch lovers are willing to spend so much.
It's hard to find good quality after market leather straps here but there are several overseas dealers who offer a very wide selection. Use a liquid leather protector to keep the expensive straps in good shape. I find Armor All to be good but there are several other brands that are just as good.
Keen outdoor lovers sometimes prefer a Nato or Rhino strap. Made out of nylon, they come in many nice colour combos and are very comfortable. Its main advantage is that if you snag your watch under moderate force, so long as one spring bar is still on, you are safe.
Length is important as the longer ones allow you to reverse the strap backwards into the middle ring making it far more secure then slipping it through a keeper. Just remember to wash it every few weeks to keep it smelling nice.
Spring bars are what hold your watch to the strap and over time they do deteriorate and they are often neglected. It's wise to have them changed once in a while, more often if you use your watch for sporting activities. When you do, fit the best quality you can get. What's the point of saving a few dollars when your watch costs a few hundred times more? Seiko makes some of the fattest spring bars but sometimes they may not fit snugly into the lug holes of some watches.
Another more common problem is that some bracelets and straps have narrow openings that do not accommodate fat bars. I once forced a fat spring bar into a rubber strap and found that the only way I could remove it later was to use a pair of pliers, which damaged it. Some watches such as Oris and Fortis use tubes with tiny screws on the opposite ends. Be gentle when screwing it in as too much torque will snap the tiny screw head and spares are only available from the agents.
Watch boxes come in all sizes and types - small, big, cardboard, plastic, leather and nicely polished wood. Sadly, a well known brand comes in boxes that peel after a few years. You can prolong the life of these boxes by keeping them in a fairly dry storage area, wrapped up neatly in plastic bags. Clear plastic sleeves that you find in stationery stores make very good storage pouches for manuals and guarantee cards.
I keep the instruction manual, purchase receipt, spare links and warranty card facing outwards for quick reference in these plastic bags. These are placed into a 'Lock n Lock' box before storing them in a secure place. They are more important than the box itself and centralising them makes it faster to find them instead of opening the empty boxes. They are very important when you decide to sell a watch and can account for an extra few hundred dollars.
This is especially true for Rolex. Watches that do not come with the famous 'green' card often go for a few hundred dollars less. A fine antique Rolex with purchase receipt and the old style paper certificates can increase its value by as much as a thousand dollars. Keeping your watch free of dings is a constant challenge. One colleague keeps his nice pieces rarely used. When he is free, he takes them out to wind them up, admire them and then put them away. His daily beater is an antique Seiko costing less then 5 per cent of one of his nice watches.
Most of my friends and I wear our nice ones often as we believe that they are meant to be used. Leaving them unused still attracts steady depreciation which can add up to several thousand dollars in a few years. Watches, like cars, do depreciate except for the very high end complications. The sharpest drop is in the first few years but if you keep a piece for say 10 years, the loss per year is much less. Prices of fine watches increase ever so often and this often helps to mitigate the actual depreciation.
A common source of dings occurs from opening and closing doors. Lift doors are notorious as they sometimes close quickly or suddenly. Staying alert for sharp or rough edges takes a conscious effort but you will be rewarded with a near mint looking watch years down the road. You can also reduce the likelihood of dings by removing your watch before working on a bit of manual labour like changing your flat tyre.
Also, keep a basic quartz watch in your office drawer so it's ready for the rough and tough world if needed. Watches do collect a fair amount of dirt and grime from daily use. I use mild liquid soap and a soft toothbrush to scrub them clean if they are sports watches.
Dress watches will also benefit from a gentle wipe down with a non abrasive cleaning cloth. But perhaps the most important care you can give your mechanical watches is to use them regularly.
This can be difficult if you have a large number and some people believe in watch winders. A two-watch winder allows you to rotate between three watches regularly - with one on your wrist and the other two on the winder.
Change all three once a month and you keep six watches running every other month, which is good enough to ensure longevity. And do remember to change the battery in your quartz watch once it runs out. A dead battery will leak and ruin the entire circuit.
Article lifted from the Business Times, Friday, August 26th, 2011
With tender loving care
ARTHUR LEE advises collectors on how to keep their watches in tip-top condition
AFTER owning some 100 watches, I would like to share a few simple practical tips that may help you keep your watches clean and in good working order - and keep you a happy and proud owner of your collection. The most common mistake is to remove too many links when sizing up a bracelet. Most watches have four or five holes at the clasp for adjusting length.
The new Rolex Ceramic subs and Deep Sea features a 'Glidelock' clasp that allows for instant sizing. Remove as few links as possible and push the bracelet inwards on the clasp. If you misplace the links later, the watch can still fit others by extending it on the clasp if you decide to sell it later.
With a Rolex sub 16610 spare link costing $88 each, that's not a bad idea. Also, a particular bracelet type may have been discontinued rendering it impossible to find spare links later. When adjusting bracelets, hold the watch up by the clasp and see if it is centred. Usually the six o'clock side has one or two links less then the 12 o'clock side.
Case backs are easily scratched by metal clasps. A simple one dollar piece of sponge makes a good pillow when you put it away. Use one that is fairly big and it will keep the watch facing up even with certain models like the Sinn U1 which rests on its side because of its very firm rubber strap.
Generally speaking, watches should be left facing up when resting to minimise the effects of gravity on wear. For those who are fussy about trying for the best accuracy, the resting position of your watch at night sometimes does seem to have a very slight effect. A well made time piece is a marvel of accuracy when you look at the figures in perspective. There are 86,400 seconds in a day and if your watch is 99.99 per cent accurate, there will still be a deviation of about nine seconds a day.
The Swiss COSC (chronometer) standards allow for a deviation of minus four to plus six seconds a day. Each movement is individually tested for 15 days, in five positions and at three different temperatures for certification. My experience has been that most chronometer certified watches perform better than this and a daily difference of only two or three seconds a week is the norm with new watches.
Over time, due to wear and tear, it can drift below the COSC standards. A full service at a reliable service centre should restore the performance at least for a few years. In fact, my non-chronometer 15-year-old Tudor submariner was running at plus one second every two days after a complete overhaul at the Rolex Service Centre.
Still - a few seconds off a day does add up to over a minute a month. You can adjust for very small gains and losses by altering the way your watch is kept resting when you sleep. Putting it flat may gain a few seconds while angling it with the crown lower or the crown up may lose a few seconds a day. Experiment with the resting position for a week to see which one is best for your watch. Stainless steel straps last a very long time though there may be some 'stretch' over time.
The current trend is towards solid end links over folded ones. It's much better because folded end links over time will etch out a groove into the watch case. Leather straps have a very wide range in quality, and prices start from below $20 to as much as $600. The feel and look of a top notch very fine quality leather is hard to describe. Wear one for a few days and you may understand why some watch lovers are willing to spend so much.
It's hard to find good quality after market leather straps here but there are several overseas dealers who offer a very wide selection. Use a liquid leather protector to keep the expensive straps in good shape. I find Armor All to be good but there are several other brands that are just as good.
Keen outdoor lovers sometimes prefer a Nato or Rhino strap. Made out of nylon, they come in many nice colour combos and are very comfortable. Its main advantage is that if you snag your watch under moderate force, so long as one spring bar is still on, you are safe.
Length is important as the longer ones allow you to reverse the strap backwards into the middle ring making it far more secure then slipping it through a keeper. Just remember to wash it every few weeks to keep it smelling nice.
Spring bars are what hold your watch to the strap and over time they do deteriorate and they are often neglected. It's wise to have them changed once in a while, more often if you use your watch for sporting activities. When you do, fit the best quality you can get. What's the point of saving a few dollars when your watch costs a few hundred times more? Seiko makes some of the fattest spring bars but sometimes they may not fit snugly into the lug holes of some watches.
Another more common problem is that some bracelets and straps have narrow openings that do not accommodate fat bars. I once forced a fat spring bar into a rubber strap and found that the only way I could remove it later was to use a pair of pliers, which damaged it. Some watches such as Oris and Fortis use tubes with tiny screws on the opposite ends. Be gentle when screwing it in as too much torque will snap the tiny screw head and spares are only available from the agents.
Watch boxes come in all sizes and types - small, big, cardboard, plastic, leather and nicely polished wood. Sadly, a well known brand comes in boxes that peel after a few years. You can prolong the life of these boxes by keeping them in a fairly dry storage area, wrapped up neatly in plastic bags. Clear plastic sleeves that you find in stationery stores make very good storage pouches for manuals and guarantee cards.
I keep the instruction manual, purchase receipt, spare links and warranty card facing outwards for quick reference in these plastic bags. These are placed into a 'Lock n Lock' box before storing them in a secure place. They are more important than the box itself and centralising them makes it faster to find them instead of opening the empty boxes. They are very important when you decide to sell a watch and can account for an extra few hundred dollars.
This is especially true for Rolex. Watches that do not come with the famous 'green' card often go for a few hundred dollars less. A fine antique Rolex with purchase receipt and the old style paper certificates can increase its value by as much as a thousand dollars. Keeping your watch free of dings is a constant challenge. One colleague keeps his nice pieces rarely used. When he is free, he takes them out to wind them up, admire them and then put them away. His daily beater is an antique Seiko costing less then 5 per cent of one of his nice watches.
Most of my friends and I wear our nice ones often as we believe that they are meant to be used. Leaving them unused still attracts steady depreciation which can add up to several thousand dollars in a few years. Watches, like cars, do depreciate except for the very high end complications. The sharpest drop is in the first few years but if you keep a piece for say 10 years, the loss per year is much less. Prices of fine watches increase ever so often and this often helps to mitigate the actual depreciation.
A common source of dings occurs from opening and closing doors. Lift doors are notorious as they sometimes close quickly or suddenly. Staying alert for sharp or rough edges takes a conscious effort but you will be rewarded with a near mint looking watch years down the road. You can also reduce the likelihood of dings by removing your watch before working on a bit of manual labour like changing your flat tyre.
Also, keep a basic quartz watch in your office drawer so it's ready for the rough and tough world if needed. Watches do collect a fair amount of dirt and grime from daily use. I use mild liquid soap and a soft toothbrush to scrub them clean if they are sports watches.
Dress watches will also benefit from a gentle wipe down with a non abrasive cleaning cloth. But perhaps the most important care you can give your mechanical watches is to use them regularly.
This can be difficult if you have a large number and some people believe in watch winders. A two-watch winder allows you to rotate between three watches regularly - with one on your wrist and the other two on the winder.
Change all three once a month and you keep six watches running every other month, which is good enough to ensure longevity. And do remember to change the battery in your quartz watch once it runs out. A dead battery will leak and ruin the entire circuit.
Article lifted from the Business Times, Friday, August 26th, 2011
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