Hand-wound watch
What is a hand-wound watch?
Hand-wound watches are the archetype of mechanical timepieces. Also known as manual watches, they require winding by the wearer to function. Usually this means winding the crown in a clockwise direction on a regular basis—which manual watch enthusiasts appreciate as a moment of calm in an otherwise hectic daily schedule. These hand-wound timepieces may be simple to use, but there are still plenty of things to learn. We’ve listed some of the most important points to know below.
Watchfinder: find the perfect hand-wound watch for you
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Functionality
How do hand-wound watches work?
When the crown is wound, it sets a series of cog wheels—including the crown wheel and the ratchet wheel—into motion. These transfer energy from the watch’s crown to its mainspring to wind it. The wound spring then slowly unwinds again, releasing energy to power the watch. This is where the escapement, a component comprised of the balance, escape wheel, and pallet, comes into play. The energy first flows to the escape wheel, where the two pallets of the anchor regularly engage with the teeth to transfer energy pulses to the balance wheel. This is what gives mechanical timepieces their characteristic tick-tock!
What is the difference between hand-wound watches and automatic watches?
Hand-wound watches require manual winding to function, which is done via the crown. Automatic watches are usually wound by being worn on the wrist. Then the rotor in the watch’s caliber takes care of the winding instead.
How do you use a hand-wound watch?
Our three top tips are as follows:
- take your manual timepiece off your wrist before winding it. Depending on the angle, using the crown while worn on the wrist can put lateral stress on its winding system.
- Stop winding the crown when you feel a clear point of resistance—this will protect it from overwinding.
- To make sure that it has a full power reserve, make a habit of winding it daily if the power reserve lasts less than 48 hours.
How often do I need to wind my manual watch?
That depends on its power reserve. Hand-wound watches typically have a power reserve that lasts somewhere between 24 and 56 hours and should be wound either daily or every two days respectively. Once fully wound, most manual timepieces from NOMOS Glashütte have a power reserve of 43 hours (or 42 hours, if the watch has a date function). NOMOS watches with DUW 4601 even tick for 52 hours, and the DUW 1001 and DUW 2002 movements for the gold watches Lambda and Lux have twin mainspring barrels that provide a total of 84 hours of power reserve.
How long can you leave a hand-wound watch without wearing it?
Theoretically—as long as you like. Eventually the watch will run out of energy and stop ticking until the wearer decides to wind it again. This causes no harm to the mechanical movement within.
Can you overwind a hand-wound watch?
While it is not impossible to overwind a hand-wound watch, thankfully this issue is rare. As a manual timepiece is being wound, at some point the crown hits a clear point of resistance. It is difficult to wind the watch beyond this point without applying force. This resistance comes from the mainspring. As long as it is in good condition, the mainspring and the rest of the watch’s winding mechanism will easily withstand the pressure applied by the wearer turning the crown.
How do you know if a hand-wound watch is fully wound?
You will feel a clear point of resistance when the crown cannot be turned any further. This means that a manual timepiece is fully wound. That said, hand-wound watches do not need to be fully wound to work—a few turns of the crown should be enough to get them ticking. After that, winding the crown stores energy for the hours to come. If the watch is fully depleted of energy, it will take more turns of the crown to wind it fully. Once the point of resistance is reached, the watch will be ticking for its full hours of power reserve.
Advantages
Why choose a hand-wound watch?
Strictly speaking, watches are no longer essential. There are other ways to tell the time these days. By selecting a manual timepiece, you are choosing a piece of watchmaking heritage for your wrist—and making a clear statement about your values. To wear a hand-wound watch is to appreciate fine mechanical craftsmanship, especially if you choose one with a sapphire crystal glass back. This puts the intricate hand-wound caliber within on display. On a more practical level, manual timepieces also tend to be thinner and so sit better on the wrist. This is because the manual movements lack a winding rotor, which often adds height to the watch.
Is a hand-wound watch better than an automatic watch?
Hand-wound and automatic watches are equivalent in terms of accuracy. When it comes to functionality, therefore, it would not be correct to say that either type of mechanical watch is better. However, some wearers do have a clear preference for one type of watch over the other. Some watch wearers appreciate having a timepiece that can wind itself—which is one less thing to think about. Others, by contrast, enjoy the daily ritual of winding their manual watch.
How to find the best hand-wound watch for you?
There is a wide range of hand-wound watches on the market today—for men and women, in different sizes and colors, with various complications and dial designs. It can be hard to know where to start, which is why we have created a watchfinder to help you pick your next timepiece from NOMOS Glashütte. In general, the size of the watch is decisive, and it should be proportional to your wrist. To find out the best size for you, it is important to know your wrist size—which can be checked using a tape measure. For the best fit, the dial diameter should be significantly smaller (at least around 10 mm) than the width of your wrist. However, the case also plays an important part: For that reason, we try to show as many pictures of the watch on different wrist sizes as possible.
Top 3 selected: Best hand-wound watches
Admittedly, it's hard for us to choose—but whether you're looking for a sporty model or something entirely classic, we’ve managed to curate a small selection of our hand-wound watches for men and for women below. Even though we have much more to offer, of course. Like all our timepieces, these are developed and produced in Glashütte, Germany.
Hand-wound dress watches for men
Hand-wound watches for women and smaller wrists
Hand-wound tool watches
Accuracy
How accurate are hand-wound watches?
Mechanical watches always exhibit an element of tolerance as far as accuracy is concerned. This depends on the way a timepiece is worn, for example. Variations in temperature and air pressure, minor jolts and irregular winding can also have an influence.
Learn more about the accuracy of mechanical watchesWhat makes a hand-wound watch accurate?
Like all mechanical watches, the accuracy of a hand-wound watch is determined by the precision of its caliber – specifically the pace-setting part known as the escapement.
Discover nowLongevity
Can hand-wound watches be repaired?
A well-made manual timepiece can be maintained indefinitely. All mechanical calibers, whether hand-wound or automatic, require occasional servicing by a watchmaker. During these inspections, worn parts are replaced and the watch oil lubricating the mechanism is refreshed, which keeps the mechanism working smoothly. Every part of a mechanical watch can be replaced if required.
How do I take care of my hand-wound watch?
You can find what you need to know about mechanical watches in general here. Specifically for hand-wound watches, please also note: It is better to take your hand-wound watch off your wrist before winding it, so that the pressure does not come from an angle that would put strain on one side of the winding mechanism.
Avoid overwinding your hand-wound watch by stopping winding once you reach a point of clear resistance.
Hand-wound watches from NOMOS Glashütte
What is special about NOMOS hand-wound watches and calibers?
Like all NOMOS timepieces, our hand-wound watches are designed and built in-house—and powered by a mechanical caliber that is similarly designed and built in-house. Even in the world of fine watchmaking, this combination is rare. The result is that mechanical timepieces from NOMOS are Glashütte through and through, and the result of a great deal of watchmaking know-how.
Why choose a hand-wound watch from NOMOS Glashütte?
A hand-wound watch from NOMOS Glashütte offers a combination of award-winning modern design and traditional mechanical craftsmanship from Glashütte, Germany. It is also a long-lasting object that is sustainably produced using high-quality materials—such as stainless steel, 18 kt gold, sapphire crystal glass, and Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan leather. In short, it is an investment that will stand the test of time.
