There's Technology inside a Watch Winder




Some people want to go through the process of ripping a winder apart to take a look at the parts and build one himself using similar parts.


[Quote] I've got one of the cheap 8 watch ones from ebay…….. My current plan is to buy a good winder, strip it apart to look at the electronics, and then build a big one for myself using similar components. [Quote]


Let him try! Inside every decent winder is a micro-P. And this microprocessor has all the technology inside… does he know that? In addition, it has been encrypted. Poor guy, hope he can re-assemble the winder after taking it apart and be contented with what he bought. Anyway it’s good to be curious. Let him take a tour inside a winder unit.


Another comment much similar to this is as follow.



[Quote] I would love to know why watch winders are so expensive. They seem like the sort of thing a kid could make in his D&T (Design and Technology) class without too much trouble. [Quote]


From my example above, a CDRom is just probably $0.50 and once it contains “technology” the value becomes six times more.


Looking from the outside, some technology is also present but not realized by users. There are some secrets to the construction of the watch winder housing. Different manufacturers choose different angle of tilts which has a relation to the motor’s RPM and the winding sequence. In turn, this is related to battery life and the effective TPD it provides… etc., etc.


Now, let’s look at the materials used inside. Has anyone stripped away the velvet/velcor/suede or whatever material that covers the mounting board? I’m referring to the board where the manufacturer mounts the winding pods. Again, different manufacturer will select different types of boards to minimize vibrations the motor makes. This is turn lowers the mechanical noise. But of course, this applies to real professionally made winders by professional manufacturers. I’ve seen a chinese-made winder having a mounting board made from sheet metal, which in my opinion is crap as it is a best medium for vibrations. I’ve covered this in my blog posted on Jan. 27th 2010.


For a real manufacturer, there’s so much Research and Development that goes into a small box. This takes time and money. With newer materials being introduced every day, watch winder manufacturers are trying new motors, new electronics and new fabrics to make a better winder for the users. FYI, other companies also do R&D but of a different kind… Reverse (engineering) and Duplicate.


So I hope the question of “Why Watch Winders are so expensive?” would eventually not be asked when people get to know that a lot of effort has been put into the product that maintains your timepieces.

Labels: watch winders