aBlogtoRead.com » Watch Winders

Dottling Colosimo Spike & Mies “Stylish” Watch Winders

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:05:55 +0000

We have now entered the world of designer watch winders. Did you ever think that your next watch winder would be inspired by a chair? Or perhaps high heels? Well these two are. German safe and watch winder maker Dottling has built a follow-up model to their famed Colosimo watch winder safe. I originally wrote about the Colosimo here.

The new winder is still called the Colosimo, but is smaller than the original and now has room to wind three versus one watch. To begin, Dottling will offer two limited edition versions of the second generation Colosimo. These are Colosimo "The Spike" and Colosimo "The Mies." Aren't they stylish?

The main idea of the Colosimo is to look like a small safe. It has a safe-style door that opens up to reveal the winding drum. The drum has been redone here to offer space for three watches. The second gen Colosimo dimensions are 21cm x 21cm x 20cm. It is almost a perfect square and about 7 centimeters smaller than the original. It also weighs a lot less. Dottling wanted the original Colosimo to really feel like a safe - so that made it quite heavy. The new version is 14kg in weight (down from 30kg).

The first limited edition Colosimo The Spike watch winder is inspired by Louboutin spike high heels (and other shoes). The black leather housing is lined with steel spikes - just like the shoes. Matching the red under-surface of the shoes, Colosimo The Spike also has a red base color. My only question is, "how do you safely lift it?"

The second limited edition 2nd generation Colosimo watch winder safe is The Mies. This is based on the look of the extremely well-known 20th century Barcelona chair designed by Mies van der Rohe. No office is complete without one. That classic quilted black leather look is used on the sides of the Colosimo winder box. You could almost use the Colosimo Mies as an ottoman with the Barcelona chair if you have one.

Dottling will produce 20 pieces of each of these two limited edition Colosimo second generation winders. Price for each will be 15,555 Euros. The standard version of the second generation Colosimo three-watch winder will be 13,500 Euros (the original model now costs 10,800 Euros). While highly limited and pricey, items like this make watch winders more interesting to more people. More important is that news of these items further increases awareness of what watch winders even are.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder In The Wild

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:04:59 +0000

A reader sent in a picture of his limited edition aBlogtoRead.com watch winder by Wolf Designs (that looks lovely on soft carpeting!). You can see how the name personalization plaque came out nicely on the top of the winder. Thanks for the picture and note on your happy experience. We make Breitlings happy everywhere apparently.

You can still get your own limited edition aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder and learn more about it here.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

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Buy It Now: aBlogtoRead.com Limited Edition Watch Winder By Wolf Designs

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:05:23 +0000

The limited edition aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder by Wolf Designs is now available for purchase while pieces last. As previewed a few days ago, this useful winder is a necessary accessory for most people who own automatic mechanical watches. I've worked closely with Wolf Designs to bring dedicated aBlogtoRead.com readers a special item that celebrates our shared passion for watches and can be used with their watch collection. This winder is fully aBlogtoRead.com branded and will come with a special customized plaque with the owner's name engraved and number in the limited edition series.

Based on Wolf Design's Cub Winder module 2.1 single watch winder, the unit is black leatherette wrapped and purposefully angular in shape to allow for them to be stacked or set in a row with other winders. The unit is 5 inches wide, by 4.5 inches deep, and 5.75 inches tall. There is no need to adjust any settings as it is designed to fully wind the majority of automatic watches out there. The winding mechanism turns 900 times per day and goes in both directions. Watches are placed on a removable cuff that snaps into the housing drum securely. The aBlogtoRead.com watch winder is A/C wall plug powered and will ship with a compatible plug for your country.

Special features for the limited edition winder will include aBlogtoRead.com visual accents all over the winder. On the top of the winder is an aBlogtoRead.com logo printed in gold foil, and the ring around the drum will be gold rather than silver. The watch cuff will have an aBlogtoRead.com logo recessed into the watch mount, and the fabric used for the cuff as well as the front of the winder will have a special pattern created out of repeating aBlogtoRead.com logos.

Best of all the aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder will be customized for each owner. A gold-colored plaque set on the top of the winder box will read "for YOUR NAME" and then the number of the piece in the limited edition set. You can even request what number in the limited edition you'd like (based on availability). These winders are small and simple enough to put on a desk, shelf, or in your closet, and are priced right. This series of the aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder by Wolf Designs will be limited to 100 pieces only. Price is a reasonable $149 and that includes shipping within the continental US. Shipping elsewhere is fair and depends on where you live.

Buy it -> Get an aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder by Wolf Designs right here via Wolf Designs' website while they last.

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Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Buy It Soon: aBlogtoRead.com Limited Edition Watch Winder

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:16:42 +0000

As a way of rewarding readers I've teamed up with Wolf Designs to create a special limited edition aBlogtoRead.com branded single watch winder. It will be available for sale in just a few days. People have been asking for an aBlogtoRead.com wrist watch for a while - that one might take a while... but I am really excited to offer you a new any to enjoy aBlogtoRead.com and keep your automatic watches safe and wound.

My intent was to offer a very simple plug and play system that doesn't require any fussing around. The aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder by Wolf Designs is based on their Cub Winder single watch winder system. You plug it in, put your watch on the cuff, and turn it on. The winder winds in both directions and requires no extra thought or settings. Perfect for the vast majority of automatic watches out there. Real easy - just how I like it.

The limited edition winder is totally aBlogtoRead.com branded. The logo is placed with gold foil on the top of the leatherette wrapped box, the winding house ring is in gold, there is an aBlogtoRead.com logo on the front of the watch cuff, and the cloth used on the cuff and the front of the winder is done in a special "aBlogtoRead.com" repeating pattern (that is my favorite detail).

Each of the limited edition aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winders will further be customized to the owner. On top of the winder is a gold colored plaque where your name or initials will be engraved, along with the number in the limited edition. In just a few days the aBlogtoRead.com Watch Winder by Wolf Designs will be available for sale via their website. You'll get another note here on aBlogtoRead.com when it is available along with a link to where you can buy it. Price, including shipping to the US, is just $149 per winder and this series will be limited to just 100 pieces.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Wolf Designs Viceroy 6 Piece Watch Winder Review

admin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:04:16 +0000

An interesting fact that I've come to learn is that many people (even quite a few watch loving people) have no idea what a watch winder is. It is one of those things that you can show people, in action, and they still don't know what it is. I've actually had people come to my office and see a bunch of watches in winders on shelves and remark "oh really? You have to show them off like that?" Which I later learned (after some probing) was a misunderstanding thinking that a watch on a winder was some special way of displaying them in a fancy manner. I just can't anticipate misunderstandings like that in advance.

It is possible that I take for granted knowing what a mechanical watch is, and that I know how it works. There isn't a lot of sense required (in my opinion) to understand that a little weight in a watch movement winds it when you move your wrist around. Further, if you are not wearing the watch on your wrist, you can artificially create the movement necessary to keep that watch wound. I know, very simple stuff here but I have encountered plenty of people who simply aren't familiar enough with automatic mechanical watches to know all this. The point is that the pool of people on this planet who know what an automatic mechanical watch is, is not super big. Among those people, the ones that know what a watch winder is, is even smaller. Therefore, I guess I have to keep telling people about watch winders, and why they might want one.

Reviewed today is a winder that has the capacity to keep six automatic watches running. I have reviewed winders in the past from such venerable brands such as Orbita and SwissKubik, and today I review one from Wolf Designs. Wolf Designs has a history in making watch and jewelry boxes which later included watch winders. Wolf Designs is continually improving their products and offering a range of relatively affordable and functional watch winders (among other things). Today I review their Viceroy 6 Piece Watch Winder. Plus, look below for a generous discount offer on any Wolf Designs watch winder for aBlogtoRead.com readers.

The Viceroy is part of their nicer collection of winders and comes in models that wind from one to eight watches. They are housed in padded black boxes that have a closing, clear acrylic front. According to Wolf Designs the boxes are put together by hand, and have a wooden frame. All it needs is a handle on the top and you could tote it around like a suitcase. The dimensions of the 6 Watch Winder units are 16.5”w x 6.25”d x 12.75”h.

I like that the front portion opens and closes to protect from dust, but that you can also see the watches when the cover is closed. However, you'll need to have the cover closed most of the time or it just lays flat and sticks out rather far. The unit is weighty enough, but you'll still need to put a hand on it to secure it while pulling out the "cuffs" that hold the watches in place.

While the door of the winder box technically does lock, it is a very simple lock and not one that I would recommend for real security purposes. It is just sort of them to prevent it from accidentally opening and the most easily deterred thieves. The lock does however use a small key that Wold Designs provides.

This unit is powered via an AC adapter - which plugs in via a removable cord in the back of the unit. There is an ongoing debate among watch winder makes as to whether long-life batteries or plug-in units are the best way to go. Some units even offer both. Space and convenience permitting I tend to feel more comfortable with the plugged-in units.

With space to keep six watches wound, this Viceroy unit contains six different winding module mechanisms. They are the Wolf Designs module 2.7, and are their most advanced modules today. They are also easy to use and understand. I also want to add that they offer functionality you probably won't use, but still appreciate is there.

Looking at the control panel you'll see two knobs, two buttons, and a backlit LCD display. The left knob is for indicating the direction of the winding. You can choose, clockwise, counterclockwise, or both directions. The other knobs is to turn the module on or off (you don't need to have all of them running at the same time) or to activate time delayed winding. The buttons around the screen are to select either the number of rotations per day, or to indicate the time delay until it starts winding.

In my experience a winder really only needs to turn in the right direction (I usually just have it turn in both to be safe), and to rotate enough times. The majority of modern automatic watches simply cannot be over-wound. Some super discriminating watch collectors like to play with this function for a variety of "enthusiast" reasons that I won't get into, but for most people the basic settings are enough. If you don't want to investigate and learn how many rotations per a day your watch needs to stay wound, 900 is a good amount.

I actually like the module 2.7 for its ease of use and intuitive operation. One suggestion I would make is that there is a memory function. This means that when you turn the unit off, it recalls what the last setting was. By default when turned on, it will automatically go to 600 turns per day. Not a huge issue though. Technically I believe that Wolf Designs recommends you turn off the module when placing and removing a watch cuff, but I don't think it will hurt too much not too.

The winder drum is pretty silent (especially with the cover closed), and seems to run smoothly. I really don't have complaints about the unit when it is operating. The large cuff unit comes out with a snap and clicks back into place with ease. With a springy back, it is meant to collapse to handle large to small watches. I found that it was able to accommodate most, but not all watches. Women especially might find it a bit tough to put their watches on this unit. For whatever reason winders tend to be mostly made for larger sized bracelets. An interesting feature that I like about the module 2.7 is that if there is a problem with the mechanism or something is stuck or not inserted properly, the little red light will blink. Otherwise the green light will blink (slowly, but it does blink all the time).

Back when I started out my collection of automatic watches I wanted them to be all wound - all the time. I didn't have a winder, so I just sat there hand-winding them constantly. It was a pain. After getting my first watch winders I vowed to never go back to that. These days I have watches in winders, and watches just laying around. Nevertheless, I find that I almost always go to the ones in the winder first. Something about them feeling fresh and wound, and running that makes them a default choice for the day. The benefits of a watch winder are clear, but it can be a daunting purchase to a new collector. Though you won't regret getting one. The Wolf Designs Viceroy 6 Watch Winder is a fair deal at $1,799. It looks attractive, is relatively affordable, and serves up to 6 watches without whining. Best of all is that until October 17th, 2011, aBlogtoRead.com readers can score 50% off any Wolf Designs product ($100 minimum) by using the code "822500" during check out (US and UK customers only).

Thanks to Wolf Designs for the review unit. Opinions are 100% independent.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Döttling GrandCircle Watch Winder Wonder Box

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:58:16 +0000

Feast your eyes on one of the sexiest watch winders ever created. I will write more about it later, but this is the new GrandCircle winder by Dottling in Germany. There will only be 20 ever made.The furniture includes 52 watch winders, a safe, a bar, a clock, a cigar humidor, and yes - stereo. Dottling calls it grand, I call it Valhalla. Don't get your hopes up though, it costs 195,000 Euros.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Orbita Avanti 3 Watch Winder Review

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:06:07 +0000

"Fancy." Was pretty much the word that came to mind after finally unwrapping the Avanti 3 from US-based watch winder maker Orbita. This isn't the first package from Orbita that I have had to wage sweet war with to open, so I know this is a trend. I have to say that if Orbita ever decided to get out of the watch winder business they would find immediate use in the "package stuff up so that no matter what, nothing will damage it" business. If the attention to detail they use when packaging their products up for delivery speaks anything about the attention to detail in their products - these products should seemingly last forever.

About 30 minutes after climbing the unpackaging mountain you reach the summit and the Avanti 3 shows itself accompanied by something that is best described as that "new watch winder smell." I have reviewed a few Orbita watch winders (such as the Sparta 1 Mini, Tesla, and Futura), and am consistently impressed by most of their watch winders. The Avanti 3 is more than a watch winder. Here you are getting to furniture-like items (not to mention some actual furniture) that Orbita offers. The Avanti 3 is part of a family of Avanti watch winder cabinets that come in a range of sizes.

The unit is made of beautiful exotic Macassar wood with carbon fiber on the front panels and on the inside. Orbita routinely chooses very attractive woods for its products, and the finishing is very impressive. The integration with the carbon fiber feels natural as opposed to contrived as you don't often find the two materials side-by-side like this. The basic design of the Avanti is highly scalable. While the Avanti 3 is the most basic unit, Orbita offers models up to the Avanti 48. The difference is the size, and the amount of watch winders in the unit.

Design-wise the Avanti really holds it own in a room. Orbita's concept behind the look of it was to fit in most any room, but look good without having to blend into the background. It goes without saying that the dark wood and carbon fiber is masculine in style. One thing I find interesting about the design is that it feels appropriate as a housing for modest timepieces up to the most high-end ones available. The front of the Avanti opens up with two lockable glass doors. Orbita supplies two keys for the lock. The system works well, but the doors don't close with the tautness of a vault. They are secure though. While the front doors lock, its use as a security mechanism is of course limited by the Avanti itself. While the locked glass doors will deter a "casual thief," anyone can just pick up the Avanti 3 and haul it away. The cabinet weights 22 pounds, and it isn't even plugged in. Dimensionally the Avanti 3 is 13.5 inches tall, 15.25 inches wide, and 8.25 inches deep.

Orbita prefers to use batteries for the system rather than a wall plug. I personally would have preferred both options, but Orbita makes a compelling case for the batteries. Like most Orbita battery powered units, the Avanit 3 runs off special lithium ion cells. Orbita even white labels them and sells them to you when you need replacement. According to Orbita the four batteries in the Avanti 3 are good for 5 years of power. While the batteries aren't drug store cheap, they aren't a big expense to get every five years. Problem is that they aren't drug store available either. While there is probably a store in your area that has compatible batteries, when they do run out you'll need to specially order them from Orbita or hunt around for them while your watches aren't being wound. I wonder if you can run the winder off of standard D cells? I will have to ask Orbita about that. The batteries are placed in the rear of the unit. While the back of the Avanti 3 isn't unattractive, it isn't meant to be displayed - so you'll need to put the Avanti 3 against a wall. I would just get two of them and place them back-to-back!

The Avanti watch winder family isn't new, but Orbita recently upgraded them with their patented ROTORWIND watch winders. I have praised this system before and my love of it stands. In addition to only sipping power and being virtually silent, the ROTORWIND system is very efficient and safe on your watch. There is no programming necessary either as the motion swings in both directions. The system uses a slow stepping motor to spin the watch into an apex position, and then releases it. A weight on the back of the winder unit similar to that in an automatic movement falls due to gravity and oscillates back and forth. The Avanti 3 is programmed to "spin" once each 10 minutes. According to Orbita this provides enough power to keep a watch running, but wont wind it past the point it was when you placed it in the winder. This is good for ensuring optimal accuracy. The maintenance free and efficient ROTORWIND system make it one of the best types of watch winding mechanisms out there.

Inside the cabinet are three watch winders (with a single on/off switch) and a few slide-out drawers. The Avanti 6 on the other hand does away with the draws to make room for 6 watch winders. The drawers can be used to hold other watches (that lay flat) or anything else that fits. There are three drawers - one above the winders and two below. The fit and finish on the inside is well-done and the carbon fiber looks striking here. According to Orbita, if you buy an Avanti 3 and later want it to have more winders, you can send it back to them and they will install another row of winders for you to make it an Avanti 6.

Made in America, the Avanti 3 three is a well performing watch winder and attractive addition to a room where men can celebrate their hobbies. As watch collecting usually involves growing your collection, so does your need for winders. At a point you prefer units that wind multiple watches, and the better looking they are the more you want them. Price for the Avanti 3 is $2,995. That goes up to $4,995 for the Avanti 6, and way up to $54,000 for the Avanti 48.

Thanks to Orbita for the review unit. Opinions are 100& independent.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Orbita Sparta 1 Mini Giveaway Winner Follow Up

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:26:48 +0000

aBlogtoRead.com reader Michael L. was the lucky winner of the Orbita Sparta 1 Mini Watch Winder giveaway help a few months ago. He was nice enough to take some images of his winnings and provide his thoughts. I reviewed the Orbita Sparta 1 Mini myself here. Overall I think he really liked the winder for its easy functionality and quite use. Though Michael is a man which larger wrists, and some of his watches may have felt large (but not necessarily too large in the winder). Here are his thoughts (I comment a bit in there as well).

The winder is not overly large, yet I was very pleasantly surprised that it could hold my watches just fine. I have larger than normal wrists, 8.25-8.5" around and tend to wear larger watches. A good size for me is 46 mm, and I can go up to 52 mm without it looking too silly. Most of my automatics are between 46 and 48 mm.

The Orbita winder comes with two different pillows. The thicker of the two fit perfectly for my watches with bracelets sized to my wrists. The first watch I put in there was my 48 mm Debaufre Nav B-Uhr LE. It was a perfect fit around the pillow, the pillow slid into the holder and that fit perfectly into the winder.

This winder is quiet! It sat a few feet away from me by my desk and I couldn't hear it at all. The output takes 10 minutes to make a complete rotation. That means the watch will slowly rotate clockwise for five minutes and then will swing back for forth a bit and then sit still for five minutes until the motor catches the pin on the holder and starts moving it again.

This leads me to the first minor issue I had. When I first got the winder I did try to put a number of different watches in there. I suppose it's possible to just pull out the pillow, but often I'd pull the holder out as well. [Ed. note - the holder is designed to be pulled out as well. It is perfectly safe for operation and can be pulled out easily and safely.] Once I didn't push the holder in far enough for the lever on the motor's output to catch the pin, but I didn't notice it. There's no obvious indication available at all times to show the winder's working. For five minutes the watch is perfectly still and for the next five it slowly rotates 180 degrees. Sure, if it's someplace where you can see it you should notice that every 10 minutes it swings back and forth, but it just so happened that was the last watch I put on the winder for the evening and then didn't look at it again until the next afternoon. I was very surprised that the watch had stopped running. It took me a while to figure out what I did wrong: not push the holder in all the way. [Ed. note - it is true the the pillow holder needs to be put back in all the way. It is possible to not realize this the first time, but it is easy to put it in all the way, and not make the mistake again.]

The motion of this winder is the gentlest of any I've ever owned. It takes five minutes for the watch to rotate through 180 degrees and then it swings back and forth a few times and rest for another five minutes. All of the watches I put on the winder had ETA 2824s in them and they all continued to run for as long as they were on the winder. I wondered if there would be enough movement, as according to Orbita's web site, my watches with the 2824s in them need 650 revolutions/day. This Orbita's motor only makes 144 turns/day, but every 10 minutes the watch does swing back and forth. None of my watches stopped, but perhaps they were running down and eventually they'd stop... [Ed. note - Myself and Orbita have done lots of testing to ensure that the motion of the Orbita 1 Sparta Mini fully winds watches. It is true that it appears to wind watches less, but this is not actually the case. The momentum created when the weight drops is actually without and jerkiness, and results in a significant amount of force for the rotor to wind a good deal.]
I took one of my watches (the Glycine Lagunare 1000), shook it for a few seconds to get it going and set the correct time. I never manually wind an automatic watch, but simply get it going and then wear it. That's always worked well for me. I put it on the winder for 48 hours and then stopped it. The watch still showed the correct time. I then let it run until it stopped and it ran for about 26 hours. Perfect. The winder is slowly winding the watch. I know an automatic can't be overwound, but I'm sure there's more wear and tear happening if you're spinning the watch so quickly so that it gets fully wound in a matter of hours (like some I've seen) This winder would probably take a bit more than three days to fully wind this movement when it's completely unwound.

The one problem I did have with this winder was being able to use it with watch without a bracelet. I first tried to put in a 46 mm Glycine Stratoforte that's on a rubber dive strap. I like rubber dive straps as they tend to be longer than normal straps. I guess that's so they can be worn over a wet suit, but for me they're a perfect length. However, the end if the strap sticks out a bit, and when the holder is in the winder the strap rubs against the winder. The watch certainly doesn't freely swing back and forth and I couldn't use it. [Ed. note - it may be true that the largest of watch bracelet or strap lengths aren't adept for this type of winder. In fact, such large straps would likely be an issue for most winders. This won't be a problem for the majority of owners though.]

I also tried watches with leather straps and had similar problems. My Glycine Altus is on a narrow, shorter strap than the Stratoforte has. The tail doesn't extend too far, but the curve of the strap sticks out just enough so that there's friction against inside of the winder. I wouldn't want to use it like this as I'm sure it would eventually mark up the strap. Perhaps I could have tightened the strap a bit, but then I'd be using a hole I don't normally use and putting another crease on the strap. I might also run into the problem where the end of the strap would then stick out too far. [Ed. Note - Michael has big wrists!]

If there wasn't such a close fit between the watch holder and the inside of the winder this would be a perfect winder. It's silent, gentle and keeps the watch wound - what's not to like? It certainly holds some of the larger watches being made today, and I have no doubts it would work well for smaller watches that have bracelets sized for smaller wrists than I have. However, there are some watches with straps that will not work. This may be limited to larger watches with longer straps, as I can imagine shorter straps being able to squeeze the pillow more so there's more clearance.
If your watches fit properly in this winder I would certainly recommend it.

Thanks Michael for your thoughts. I take this as a positive review, with the qualification that people with very large wrists should consult with Orbita referencing the length of their watch straps before getting this, or any watch winder for that matter.

SwissKubiK Watch Winder Review

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:33:36 +0000

Veterans of the watch industry know that automatic watch winders are a relatively new addition to the horological enthusiast's world. Such an odd thing really. What did the last several decades of collectors do when they had large collections of automatic winding mechanical watches? I really don't know. In my ongoing coverage of watch winders, I seek to find the perfect winder for you. Each model and brand has something unique to offer, and will be right for many people. Personally, I have a growing collection of all sorts of winders. No winder is perfect, and the right one will depend on where you store watch, how large your wrists are, and of course your budget. For you right here is a review of the very nice SwissKubiK. It is a very modern and well designed watch winder that for some will be the world's most perfect winder.

SwissKubiK watch winders are all perfect squares (10cm x 10cm) for the single winders. Though the company does make units that are meant to wind multiple watches. They also offer grid-like units that allow for you to insert a number of winders. At the same time, the cubic nature of the winders makes them easy to be stacked neatly. SwissKubiK winders are made in Switzerland with all Swiss, and some French parts. My understanding is that the French parts mostly come from auto industry suppliers. This makes sense as the materials used in the winders has that high-grade feel.

In the past I wanted to give Asian made watch winders the benefit of the doubt. I really wanted the low cost alternatives to the more expensive European or American winders to be better options for the economically minded. Unfortunately this was not the case. My experience with Asian made winders has been that they always break, it is just a matter of when. If you purchase Asian made watch winders, simply expect to replace them frequently. Probably every 6 months or so. At the same time, European and American watch winders that I have been operating for years are doing just fine.

The SwissKubiK watch winder is an attractive, diminutive, and hardy device. You can stick your finger in the winding portion while it is running and it won't break the motor. Even though the instructions recommend turning off the unit when adding orÂ removing a watch - if you don't, nothing bad will happen to the device. On many Asian winders this will literally kill your unit. SwissKubiK adds a lot of intelligent features to the device. For instance, if you lay the winder in a position where the watch is not facing horizontally, the winder will pause and resume when the winder is in the right position again.

Like most watch winders your watch is secured via a little plastic spring loaded holder. here the holder is made from a really high grad plastic with a flexible section that won't hurt your watch. The entire holder compacts via a central spring. This makes it useful for many watch strap/bracelet sizes. Still. the largest or smallest watches will have problems. For my smaller wrists, the bracelet did not fit around the holder as the bracelet size was too small. Though this is not an issues for watches with adjustable straps. Again, I have smaller wrists, so this is not likely to be a problem for most people. There are very few "one size fits all" watch winders. So if you have a very large or small wrist, send your measurements to SwissKubiK to ensure that the unit will work for you.

The SwissKubiK watch winder is powered via two standard C batteries. These should last for about 3 years. When the battery life is low, the light built into the switch in the front of the winder starts to blink red letting you know it is time to change the battery - this is a nice feature to have. Orbita for example often has a longer battery life, but requires harder to find lithium ion batteries. To replace the batteries you unscrew the rear metal place that has a nice polished finish to it.

Operating the watch winder is really simple. Basic operation simple involves a small on/off switch in the front of the unit. While in operation, the switch occasionally blinks green. The number of blinks has to do with the mode it is in (which can be changed via connecting the unit to your computer). I like the little pulsing green light, and the ease of operating the winder. Over the watch winder access area there is a folding transparent door that protects the watch. The door click into place via the hinges, and has a good solid built quality to it.

You'll notice a USB port in the rear of the unit. This isn't for charging or power, but rather to connect the SwissKubiK to your computer to access some addition functions. It actually would have been pretty cool if this could be used for power as well. To get the necessary software to access these special functions, you will need to download it via SwissKubiK's website. This is optional software, and you don't need it to use the winder. The default winding program is 1900 rotations a day, 950 turn in each direction. You can see an screenshot image of the software here, which allows you to customize your winder. People will appreciate being able to indicate the exact amount of rotations a day, and in which directions. The software also lets you check the battery life, and test the various functions of the winder to make sure it is operating properly. Easy to use, and a good companion to a luxury watch winder.

SwissKubiK did a good job with this watch winder, and it is even available in a number of styles and finished. Lots of colors and materials. The one I am reviewing is black and wrapped in calf leather. Prices for the SwissKubiK are high, but not unreasonable for a high-end Swiss made device. The units start at $595, with this leather wrapped version going for $695. I can't see anyone being disappoineted after getting one. Don't forget to check out all the decorative options to make it "yours."

Learn more or get one at SwissKubiK.com.

Thanks to SwissKubiK for the review unit. Opinions are 100% independent.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

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admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:36:01 +0000

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