How to Maintain Your Watch: Essential Care Tips

A well-maintained watch can serve you faithfully for decades, even generations. Whether you own a modest quartz timepiece or a luxury mechanical chronograph, proper care extends its lifespan, preserves its appearance, and ensures reliable timekeeping. This guide covers everything from daily habits to professional servicing, helping you protect your horological investment.

Watch maintenance isn't complicated, but it does require consistency and attention to detail. The practices outlined here draw from professional watchmaking standards and decades of collector experience. Follow these guidelines, and your watch will reward you with years of trouble-free service.

Daily Care Habits

The best maintenance happens through simple daily habits. These practices take minimal effort but make a significant difference over time.

Handling Your Watch

Always handle your watch by the case or bracelet, never by the crown. The crown is connected to delicate internal mechanisms, and lateral pressure can damage the stem or movement. When setting time or date, support the watch in your palm rather than holding it in mid-air.

Before putting on your watch each morning, give the crystal a quick wipe with a soft microfibre cloth. This removes dust particles that could otherwise scratch the surface throughout the day. Keep a dedicated cloth on your nightstand or in your watch box for this purpose.

What to Avoid

Magnets: Keep your watch away from speakers, magnetic phone cases, laptops, and magnetic clasps on bags. Magnetism can severely affect accuracy in mechanical watches and may require professional demagnetisation.

Extreme Temperatures: Avoid exposing your watch to extreme heat (saunas, hot car dashboards) or cold. Temperature extremes can affect lubricants, damage seals, and cause condensation inside the case.

Chemicals: Remove your watch before applying perfume, sunscreen, insect repellent, or cleaning products. These chemicals can damage gaskets, degrade leather straps, and potentially harm case finishes.

Cleaning Your Watch at Home

Regular cleaning keeps your watch looking its best and prevents buildup that can cause issues over time. The cleaning method depends on your watch's water resistance rating and strap type.

Cleaning the Case and Bracelet

For water-resistant watches (50m/5ATM or higher), you can safely clean with a soft toothbrush and lukewarm soapy water. Use mild dish soap, not harsh detergents. Gently scrub the bracelet links, case sides, and around the bezel where grime accumulates. Rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry completely with a soft cloth.

For watches with lower water resistance or if you're unsure, use a slightly damp cloth instead. Never submerge vintage watches or those without specified water resistance, as aged gaskets may have degraded.

Caring for Different Strap Types

Leather Straps: Never get leather straps wet. Clean with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Apply leather conditioner every few months to prevent drying and cracking. Rotate between multiple straps if possible to extend their lifespan, especially in hot Australian summers when perspiration is significant.

Rubber/Silicone Straps: These can be cleaned with soapy water and dried thoroughly. They're ideal for active use and humid conditions but can degrade over time with UV exposure.

NATO/Fabric Straps: Most can be hand-washed with mild soap and air-dried. Remove from the watch first and ensure they're completely dry before reattaching to prevent moisture entering the case.

Mechanical Watch Specific Care

Mechanical watches, whether automatic or manual wind, require additional considerations beyond general cleaning.

Keeping Your Watch Running

Automatic watches need regular wear to stay wound. If you don't wear your watch daily, consider a watch winder for storage. However, there's debate about whether constant winding in a winder causes additional wear on the movement. An alternative is simply winding and setting the watch when you want to wear it.

For manual wind watches, develop a consistent winding routine. Wind at the same time each day, preferably in the morning before putting the watch on. Wind until you feel resistance, then stop. Never force the crown past this point.

Accuracy Expectations

Mechanical watches are less accurate than quartz. A well-regulated automatic might gain or lose 5-10 seconds per day, while a basic movement might vary by 20-30 seconds. Significant deviation beyond these ranges, or sudden changes in accuracy, often indicate a need for service.

Position affects accuracy too. If your watch runs fast, try storing it dial-up overnight. If it runs slow, try crown-up. This leverages how gravity affects the balance wheel in different positions.

When to Seek Professional Service

Some maintenance requires professional intervention. Knowing when to seek help prevents minor issues from becoming major repairs.

Regular Service Intervals

Mechanical watches typically need full servicing every 5-7 years. During service, a watchmaker disassembles the movement, cleans all components ultrasonically, replaces worn parts, re-lubricates, reassembles, and regulates for accuracy. This service costs between $200-$600 for standard movements, more for complicated pieces or luxury brands.

Quartz watches need battery replacement every 2-5 years depending on the movement. Have batteries replaced by a professional who will check and replace gaskets if necessary to maintain water resistance. DIY battery changes often compromise water resistance.

Water Resistance Testing

Even if you never submerge your watch, gaskets degrade over time. Have water resistance tested annually if you regularly expose your watch to water. This pressure test verifies that all seals remain intact. Many watch shops and jewellers offer this service for a nominal fee.

After any service that opens the caseback, insist on water resistance testing before accepting the watch. This confirms gaskets were properly replaced and seated.

Protecting Your Watch From Damage

Prevention is always better than repair. A few precautions protect your watch from common sources of damage.

Impact Protection

Mechanical watches contain delicate components that can be damaged by sharp impacts. Remove your watch before activities involving significant vibration or impact risks, such as using power tools, playing sports, or riding motorcycles over rough terrain.

G-Shock and similar shock-resistant watches are engineered to withstand impacts that would destroy conventional timepieces. If your lifestyle involves frequent physical activity, consider a purpose-built tool watch for those occasions.

Scratch Prevention

Sapphire crystals resist scratches from everyday materials but can still be damaged by harder substances like sand, concrete, or other sapphires. Mineral crystals scratch more easily but are cheaper to replace. Acrylic crystals scratch readily but can often be polished to remove minor marks.

Consider using a travel case or watch roll when transporting multiple watches. Watches stored loose together will scratch each other's cases and bracelets.

Long-Term Storage

If you're not wearing a watch for an extended period, proper storage prevents unnecessary degradation.

Store watches in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. UV exposure can fade dials and damage lume. Avoid areas with temperature fluctuations or high humidity, such as bathrooms or garages.

For mechanical watches in long-term storage, let them run down completely. Contrary to intuition, this is gentler on the movement than keeping it wound. When you're ready to wear the watch again, wind it fully before setting the time. For detailed storage recommendations, see our watch storage guide.

With consistent care and timely professional service, your watch will remain a faithful companion for decades. The time you invest in maintenance is repaid many times over in reliability, appearance, and longevity.