6 ways you can ruin your watch

Whether we are talking about a mechanical, automatic or quartz watch, we can easily destroy each one if we follow these steps:

1. Let's get it out of hand or hit it against hard surfaces.

One of the surest ways to damage our watch is to drop or hit it. Regardless of whether we drop it from a greater height or just "a little", small damages can occur inside it, but which can affect the entire mechanism. "Small" is a relative term when it comes to the tiny and sophisticated world inside the watch.

2. Let's expose it to extreme temperatures

The transfer from excessive heat to cold or vice versa can cause damage to the clock mechanism and seals. Due to them, the gaskets can undergo sudden expansions and contractions, allowing water vapor to enter the dial and mechanism. In particular, the heat can dry the lubricant that ensures the avoidance of friction between the wheels or it can coagulate and then their teeth can rub against each other and even break.

If you keep the watch at room temperature, it would be ideal to gradually subject it to the temperature change.

3. Match the time in the interval called "danger zone"

Very few people are informed about this aspect. Normally, it would be indicated that when purchasing a watch, you should be given a minimum of instruction regarding its use, and I always start from this primordial information.

Between the hours of 9 pm and 3 am, the time is NOT changed and none of its other functions are adjusted. During this time interval, the clock couplings are set in motion to change the date. Any intervention on it, during this movement, can cause the date to no longer be aligned in its window and parts of the mechanism to break.

Also, never change the time counterclockwise. The results can be just as disastrous.

3. Expose the watch to magnetic fields.

A magnetic field is like an anonymous defendant in terms of the damage it can cause to a watch, because it is unlikely that we will realize it in time and not take it into account.

Especially with regard to automatic watches, the regulator can start to move chaotically and thus can no longer maintain the oscillations of the watch to indicate the exact time.

Avoid placing the watch next to radios, speakers, electronic devices, mobile phones or tablets.

Of course, there is also the optimal option of owning a Rolex Milgauss or Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra, which were specially designed to counteract the negative effects of magnetic fields, but until then it is good to take these indications into account.

4. Screw the winder wrongly

The winder is the button with which we adjust the time and date. Depending on the brand, it can be threaded and screwed/unscrewed or it can be operated by simply pulling.

(As an additional notice, for watches that display the date, there are two very fine positions of the winder. In the first position, when we pull out the winder, the date can be set. Just like the time, the date must be set clockwise, even if we are tempted not to complete the entire rotation)

You must be very careful when inserting the winder or screwing it back in place. If it enters at a wrong angle, it can get stuck or break. Avoid using force when screwing, they usually close in the interval of 1.5 - 3 rotations and it is good not to tighten them excessively hard.

If the winder twists due to improper use, it can allow water to enter the dial and the mechanism.

5. Use the chronograph underwater

For those who are passionate about diving, starting the chronograph underwater can be a fatal move for the mechanism, as it allows water to enter the dial. For timing underwater, I recommend using the uni-directional bezel, as in the photo.

Operating the winder under water can compromise its tightness, allowing water to enter the mechanism and cause corrosion.

6. Store the watch where you can

Yes, if you want him to be exposed to danger, you can do it.

The recommendation is to keep the watch in its box, on the pillow or on the special support that you find in any respectable watch box. In this way, avoid the metal parts of the watch rubbing against each other and causing scratches, avoid faulty handling and exposure to the risk of shocks.

In a future post, we will discuss the water resistance of watches and what is the difference between the markings on the watches, whether they are measured in meters, atmospheres or bars.