How to Care for Your Watch: Servicing, Cleaning and Storage

Servicing

A mechanical watch is a machine with oils that slowly break down. Most brands recommend a full service every five to ten years; check your watch's manual. Signs it needs attention sooner include losing or gaining a lot of time, a short power reserve, or a crown that feels gritty. Services range from a few hundred dollars to much more for complicated or precious watches.

Quartz watches need a new battery every few years. Replace it promptly, because a dead battery can leak.

Everyday cleaning

• Wipe the case and crystal with a soft microfiber cloth
• Clean a metal bracelet with a soft toothbrush and mild soapy water, only if the watch is water resistant and the crown is closed
• Rinse with fresh water after swimming in salt water or a pool
• Keep leather straps dry and rotate them to let them breathe

Water and magnets

Always push in or screw down the crown before getting a watch wet, and don't press chronograph pushers underwater unless the watch is designed for it. Have water resistance tested at each service, since gaskets age.

Strong magnets in phones, speakers, laptop cases and bag clasps can make a mechanical watch suddenly run very fast. A watchmaker can demagnetize it in seconds.

Storage and watch winders

Store watches in a dry place, in a case or box where they won't knock together. Automatic watches stop when not worn; a watch winder keeps them running, which is handy for watches with complicated calendars, but it isn't required. Letting an automatic stop occasionally won't harm it.