Maintaining Your Watch
Our care guide to keeping things ticking along
You’ve made it this far, so your watch must be important to you! After all, it’s a substantial investment, a sentimental item and something you wear every day. Therefore, it needs to be kept in tip-top condition for as long as possible. To help you keep your watch in pristine condition and pass it down to future generations, here’s our guide on how to maintain your watch.
Clean your watch regularly
It sounds obvious, but are you doing it right? A lot of dirt can build up on your watch when you’re wearing it every day. That’s why it’s important to know how often you should clean it and how to clean different parts of the watch. Here are some handy DIY tips: 1. Clean it as often as you can – it can never be too much. 2. To clean metal watch cases – use a soft, damp cloth to wipe away any dust or dirt. 3. If your watch has diamond embellishments, you can scrub them softly with a soapy brush. 4. Straps – rubber straps can be soaked in soapy water but try not to get the leather straps wet as this can ruin the appearance. 5. Do not put your watch in hot water – this can damage the gaskets, even if your watch is water resistant.
Get your watch serviced frequently
If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time before your watch stops working. How frequently you choose to service your watch depends on several factors. Specifically, how often and for how long the watch is worn, how it is stored and the brand of watch it is. In general, guidelines suggest a mechanical watch should be serviced every two or three years, and a quartz watch every three to four years. Most stores from which you buy your watch will be able to advise you on when you should get it serviced.
Where to store your watch
Don’t just leave it on the side – keep it safe. You’re unlikely to be wearing your watch every second of every day (in fact, you should not be doing that anyway – which we’ll come onto). This means you need to store your watch in a safe place to avoid it getting damaged. Therefore, the best option is to keep it in the box it came in. If you set the watch on its side or on the crystal, it might end up getting scratched. Your best option is to keep your watch safe by storing it in your watch box, as this offers the best protection.
Stay away from magnets
Repel any magnets to keep your watch ticking. Leaving your watch near strong magnetic fields can negatively affect the timekeeping of your watch or even stop it from working, meaning your entire day is out of sync! Whether it’s a fridge, mobile phone or radio speakers, a number of everyday household items could damage your watch if they’re in close proximity to it.
Look after the crystal
Cracked crystals are all too common. We know you probably already know this – but do everything in your power to protect the crystal. It could easily be scratched or even crack if it comes into contact with a wall or unit.
Know when to remove it
In contact with sunlight, chemicals and water? Think. Unfortunately, you can’t wear your watch 24/7 if you want to keep it in its best possible condition. Therefore, it’s important to know when to remove it. There are three things you should consider:
1. Keep it away from too much sunlight
As we all know, this is less of a problem in the UK, but the weather can surprise us! If the sun comes out to play or you are on holiday, it’s useful to bear this tip in mind.
Sunlight can fade the colour of your watch and heat can shorten your watch’s battery light, so take precautions and try to avoid extended exposure to sunlight if you’re wearing your watch.
2. Avoid contact with chemicals
Many of us like to keep a clean house, as well as receive compliments on our new cologne or perfume. However, it’s important to take your watch off when using chemicals.
Cleaning supplies such as solvents or detergents can damage your watch case or strap, and perfume or cologne can damage leather straps by weakening them, causing them to tear.
To avoid this, wait until your perfume or cologne has completely dried become putting your watch on your wrist.
3. Know your watch’s water resistance
Again, this sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong. It’s common for watches these days to have some water resistance, but it’s also important to understand that this can change over time.
For instance, seals can be damaged by too much wear, or accidental blows to the crown.
Here are the things to consider when wondering how much water your watch can handle:
• 3 ATM / 30m: Splash proof and waterproof in small amounts of water.
• 5 ATM / 50m: Can be submerged in water. Suitable for shallow swimming.
• 10 ATM / 100m: Suitable for swimming, snorkelling and water sports.
• 20 ATM / 200m: Ideal for scuba diving.
• 30 ATM / 300m and over: Professional and deep-sea diving.
Also, if your watch has a leather band, you should avoid getting it wet as this will weaken the strap. It’s equally important to test the waterproofness of your watch every year, just to be on the safe side.
Never open the watch by yourself
Unless, of course, you know exactly what you’re doing. Opening your watch can expose it to dust, dirt and other particles you don’t realise exist. These can get inside the movement and damage your watch. The risk just isn’t worth it, so it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
Read your watch manual
At the risk of stating the obvious, the manual is pretty handy. Unlike other manuals that might get stuffed into your kitchen drawer, you should take the time to read this one. Although the manual’s steps are helpful when taking care of every luxury watch, it’s important to remember that watches differ. In your watch manual, you will probably find tips specific to your watch to help you care for it as best you can.
Let’s not forget specialist watch insurance
Getting watch insurance is the best thing you can do to care for you watch and it takes no time at all. It covers your watch wherever you are in the world, against loss*, theft and accidental damage. Whatever your make of watch, protect it with our tailor-made watch insurance for peace of mind.
*If the item you are wanting to insure was purchased/gifted more than 60 days ago, and you have not had it insured in the last 60 days, then loss cover will be excluded. Your policy will still provide cover for theft and accidental damage for all items you have chosen to insure with us.
