Is it possible to overwind a watch

As the rotor budges, it also winds the mainspring. This action happening on the mainspring then powers the watch and enables it to operate. This means that if you wear your watch the whole day, take it off before sleeping then put it on once again in the morning, the automatic watch will operate without needing your input. This is due to the power reserve of the automatic watch, which is often slated at 36 hours or more.

Power reserve in watches refers to the energy that is stored in the mainspring of the watch. The mainspring unwinds gradually whenever the watch runs until all energy is used and the watch requires to be wound. Majority of mechanical watches have power reserves ranging from hours. This means that these watches can operate for those durations if wound completely.

There are automatic watch models that have a power reserve feature which allows users to see how much time is left before the watch stops running.

You can also check the specification of the watch and see the power reserve duration that you can expect from the model. However, you still need to manually wind automatic watches. Thus, it is essential to wind the crown of the watch around 30 to 40 times which is sufficient to wind the mainspring on the majority of watch models. Automatic watches feature a mechanism that winds the mainspring each time its wearer moves about. However, this is only possible if it is not completely wound.

Whenever the mainspring is wound completely, the rotor will stop turning in the course where the mainspring is wound. Thus, overwinding an automatic watch is not possible. Automatic watches run in conjunction with our active bodies, meaning it operates when we move. Overwinding the watch manually is impossible as well. When the mainspring is fully wound, turning the crown of the watch will have no drastic effects on its functionality. As explained earlier, the automatic watch must be wound manually first before it automatically functions.

When the crown is turned, the center of the spring turns and compresses, thereby drawing in the coils to store energy. The reverse process happens as the movement runs; the spring slowly unwinds as it doles out its stored power reserve. The red handle below illustrates that this spring would be wound counter-clockwise in order to store power,. As the outer end is affixed, the wearer can feel the spring as it starts to tighten, letting them know that the watch is fully wound.

Relying on this feedback becomes a problem when we are no longer looking at a manual watch. Creating an automatic movement means that we must be able to cope with constant winding and movement.

In an automatic movement, such as the one found in a Rolex Submariner , the spring can be wound either through twisting the crown or the movement of the wrist. However, given the uncontrollable nature of wrist movement, a solution had to be found to address the potential that the spring would be overwound.

Privacy Policy. By Melvin Hollenberg. In Watch Basics , Watchmaking. There are two situations where the term over-winding might be used: 1. You force and break the watch most likely the mainspring while winding it. Break a watch by winding it too much Hand-wound The mainspring in a manual wound watch is secured on both ends.

Some hand-wound watches have some protection against over-winding. Automatic The mainspring in an automatic or self-winding watch is only secured on one end, the barrel arbor. So, can you break a watch by over-winding it? Common reasons for a watch to stop Broken balance staff Tangled balance spring Presence of dried and thickened oil Presence of dust or dirt or a hair Severely magnetized A damaged, bent or worn pinion A broken, bent or worn tooth on a wheel Loose, cracked or worn bearing jewel Etc.

His favorite hobby is to pull watches to bits.